By Hank Wesch
MOTION COMES IN FROM THE COLD WITH HOT STAKES HORSES
H. Graham Motion escaped the frozen East on Friday for considerably warmer and sunnier Del Mar – but only for a matter of hours.
The nation’s eighth-leading trainer for 2014, conditioner of 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and recent Breeders’ Cup Turf winner and leading Horse of the Year candidate Main Sequence, is in town to saddle favored Appealing Cat and Lady of Gold in Saturday’s $100,000 Red Carpet Handicap. Then, after a brief stopover to check on horses at Santa Anita, it will be back to overseeing his charges in the Midwest and East from his home base and training center in Fair Hill, Md.
While the 50-year-old native of Cambridge, England won’t be returning for the rest of the Bing Crosby Season, he plans to have four representatives in three of the eight remaining stakes after Saturday.
As he outlined on Friday afternoon they are: Alkazan Alkazan and Holiday Star in the $250,000 Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup on Thursday, Nov. 27, Rainha Da Bateria in the $150,000 Grade III Jimmy Durante Stakes on Saturday, Nov. 29 and Strathnaver in the Grade I $300,000 Matriarch Stakes on Sunday, November 30, closing day.
Many of Motion’s horses that shipped in for the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita have remained on the West Coast. In similar circumstances the previous two years he has been represented at the Turf Festival at Hollywood Park but not, he said, to the degree that he will be at Del Mar this year.
“I haven’t had quite the number of horses in years past for Hollywood Park; it just happened to fall into place this year,” Motion said. “And I wanted to stay for the winter and try to make it work.”
Motion has one stakes victory here -- with Summer Soiree in the 2011 Del Mar Oaks. Appealing Cat, graded stakes placed on multiple occasions, is the 7-2 morning line favorite in the Red Carpet. Lady of Gold, runner-up in the Grade III Maple Leaf three weeks ago on the Polytrack at Woodbine, is 6-1.
“I like to think all (of my horses) have a good chance,” Motion said. “You don’t bring them all the way out here if you don’t think they’re fairly legit.”
ALL IS IN READINESS FOR CALIFORNIA CHROME’S ARRIVAL
After a routine exercise at Los Alamitos, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner California Chrome was scheduled to board a van at 10 a.m. Saturday for the freeway journey to Del Mar with an expected arrival at around 12:30 p.m.
The colt will be ensconced in Art Sherman’s barn for a weeklong Del Mar stay.
Sherman has nominated California Chrome to both the Grade III $200,000 Native Diver Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on Polytrack and the Grade I $300,000 Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Saturday, November 29 while expressing a preference for the Derby.
California Chrome will acclimate to his new surroundings on Saturday then be put through a workout on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course on Sunday morning to assess his affinity for the grass.
The Sunday work is planned for 9:45-10 a.m. As is his routine, Sherman will watch from a second-level spot in the grandstand and, after conferring with jockey Victor Espinoza, hold an 11 a.m. conference with assembled media in the track’s winner’s circle.
BIG MACHER READY TO ROLL IN SUNDAY’S CARY GRANT
Big Macher, winner of the Grade I Bing Crosby Handicap at the summer meeting, will be sent out in Sunday’s $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes with the aim of rebounding from two subsequent losses.
The Richard Baltas-trained California-bred son of Beau Genius came back a month after the 6-furlong Crosby to finish sixth in the 7-furlong Pat O’Brien Stakes behind Goldencents. Trained up to the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Big Macher stumbled at the break and finished 10th.
“He had a bad break but then ran a great race after that,” Baltas said. “I (concluded) I wasn’t supposed to win.”
Big Macher has had two sharp works at Santa Anita since the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and is the 5-2 second choice in the morning line behind unbeaten 2-1 favorite Red Outlaw. Red Outlaw is nominated to two stakes on closing weekend programs and trainer Peter Miller said a decision on the Cary Grant won’t be made until Sunday morning.
If Red Outlaw is withdrawn, Big Macher would likely be the odds-on choice against six rivals. The field for the Cary Grant is: Celebrity Status (Tyler Baze, 15-1), Got Even (Martin Pedroza, 10-1), Patriots Rule (Fernando Perez, 12-1), Soi Phet (Kent Desormeaux, 4-1), Big Macher (Rafael Bejarano, 5-2), Magic Mark (Joe Talamo, 8-1) and Rousing Sermon (Elvis Trujillo, 6-1).
WHAT’S IN A NAME-- RED CARPET HANDICAP
The Beverly Hills Handicap when it was run at Hollywood Park, the marathon mile and three-eighths grass event for older fillies and mares was renamed the Red Carpet Handicap, honoring a show business tradition of celebrities being interviewed on a red carpet prior to awards events such as the Academy Awards.
LEXIE LOU WORKS FOR UNDETERMINED MAJOR STAKES ASSIGNMENT
Lexie Lou, a Triple Crown event winner in Canada, worked Saturday morning for a Grade I stakes start next weekend in either the Hollywood Derby or the Matriarch.
With jockey Corey Nakatani in the irons, the 3-year-old Irish-bred filly went the first quarter in 24.00 and a half-mile in :47.80 on the Polytrack. The work was labeled “breezing,” a designation rarely given by Southern California clockers.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BING
For the inaugural Bing Crosby Season at Del Mar, we offer a daily note, quote or anecdote about the track’s founding father for whom the fall meeting is named.
The Clemmer Theatre in Spokane, Wa., was built in 1915, renovated in 1988 and renamed in 2006 for Gonzaga University alum Bing Crosby. Among many featured events at the Bing Crosby Theatre was a “Red Carpet” (note today’s stakes name) movie night last February.
FAMILY FUN RUN, PUPPY RACE PART OF THANKSGIVING FESTIVITIES
Thanksgiving Day at Del Mar will start out with two- and four-legged runners on the track -- with nary an equine in site.
The track will hold its first Thanksgiving Family Fun Run starting at 8 a.m., a one-mile ramble around its main oval that is expected to draw up to 500 runners. Additionally, there will be the initial running of the Kenbarky Derby with 10 puppies from the nearby Helen Woodward Animal Center strutting their stuff down the stretch.
The Family Fun Run, which starts with participants passing through the actual starting gate, costs $25 for adults and $10 for kids aged 4 to 15. All runners get a race T-shirt, along with racetrack admission and parking. Additionally, there will be prizes for kids, face painting, Thanksgiving Day themed hats, entertainers and holiday crafts. Members of Del Mar’s jockey colony have indicated that they’ll be part of the run. All family members are invited to run, or attend and cheer the runners on.
Helen Woodward’s special project for disabled horses will be the recipient of all funds paid toward the Family Fun Run. Registration for the race can be accessed on line at delmarfunrun.com
The Helen Woodward’s puppy race will follow the Family Fun Run, going off at about 8:45 a.m. All of the puppies in the race are eligible to be adopted following the event.
Del Mar has an early first post on Thanksgiving with the first of eight races going off at 11 a.m.
CLOSERS – Milestones watch: Jockey Alex Solis has 4,996 career wins and has three scheduled mounts Saturday and one Sunday; Jockey Joe Steiner has 998 career wins and has two scheduled mounts Saturday and one Sunday; Trainer Jack Carava has 994 career wins with one scheduled starter Saturday and three Sunday … Selected works Saturday morning: Lexie Lou (4f, :47.80), Tizapalooza (4f, :47.60), Conquest Two Step (5f, 1:00.60), Raider Power (5f, 1:00.20).
DEL MAR STATISTICS
Jockey Standings
(Current Through Friday, November 21, 2014 Inclusive)
|
Jockey |
Mts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
Money Won |
|
Tyler Baze |
47 |
7 |
4 |
5 |
15% |
$236,980 |
|
Victor Espinoza |
29 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
24% |
$276,838 |
|
Elvis Trujillo |
45 |
6 |
9 |
5 |
13% |
$277,504 |
|
Kent Desormeaux |
39 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
15% |
$213,320 |
|
Drayden Van Dyke |
44 |
5 |
13 |
6 |
11% |
$282,378 |
|
Martin Pedroza |
27 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
19% |
$203,104 |
|
Edwin Maldonado |
30 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
17% |
$154,448 |
|
Fernando Perez |
29 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
17% |
$170,590 |
|
Joseph Talamo |
23 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
17% |
$169,650 |
|
Tiago Pereira |
32 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
9% |
$131,140 |
Trainer Standings
(Current Through Friday, November 21, 2014 Inclusive)
|
Trainer |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
Money Won |
|
Peter Miller |
30 |
8 |
5 |
4 |
27% |
$266,558 |
|
Mike Puype |
24 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
25% |
$248,670 |
|
Robert B. Hess, Jr. |
19 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
21% |
$119,720 |
|
John W. Sadler |
18 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
22% |
$150,840 |
|
Peter Eurton |
12 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
33% |
$162,210 |
|
Leandro Mora |
32 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
9% |
$139,574 |
|
Vladimir Cerin |
9 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
33% |
$70,010 |
|
Bob Baffert |
9 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
22% |
$139,920 |
|
Jerry Hollendorfer |
18 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
11% |
$165,198 |
|
George Papaprodromou |
13 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
15% |
$79,950 |
Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Friday, November 21, 2014 Inclusive)
Winning favorites -- 24 out of 77 -- 31.17%
Winning favorites on Polytrack -- 16 out of 51 -- 31.37%
Winning favorites on turf -- 8 out of 26 -- 30.77%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 1 out of 9 -- 11.11%
In-the-Money favorites -- 49 out of 77 -- 63.64%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 5 out of 9 -- 55.56%
Saturday, November 22, 2014 Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793