Jonathan Thomas © Benoit Photo
STAKES RECAP: THOMAS NOTCHES THIRD FALL FESTIVAL STAKES WIN
All reports are good this morning. Everyone who participated in Saturday’s triple stakes action at Del Mar have come back in good order.
Will Then, winner of the G3 Jimmy Durante, will ship-out with the rest of her stablemates in the Jonathan Thomas barn early next week. It has been an impressive run for Thomas, who along with Will Then, won Fall Turf Festival races with Mrs. Astor (the G3 Red Carpet) and Truly Quality (the G2 Hollywood Turf Cup). He says getting down to Del Mar early was key to their success.
“It’s made a lot of difference with all of our runners down here,” Thomas says. “They’ve had a chance to acclimate and get works in over the turf. It’s worked out better than expected.
“I really have to give kudos to Mr. (George) Strawbridge and his breeding program,” Thomas continues. “They are all three homebreds. It’s an incredible thing for a breeder to accomplish so we’re just blessed to train for him.”
Thomas captured the first three races in Del Mar’s Fall Turf Festival. An impressive accomplishment by any means but even more significant when given the size of his barn.
“Remember we’re a small stable, we have around 20-to-24 horses,” Thomas adds. “This is the best of what I have. I just wanted to go to a place where we could showcase them. This is my card I’m putting on the table.”
So what’s next for Will Then?
“We need to look at the stakes schedule,” Thomas states. ”I think there’s a race (the $100,000 Blue Norther on December 28) at Santa Anita going a mile. I think it makes complete sense to wheel back in that spot. The timing’s good. She’s lightly raced. I don’t think she’s a filly we shut down. She’s just getting the hang of it.”
For trainer Mark Glatt, double satisfaction from his win in the G2 Seabiscuit with Mi Hermano Ramon. He not only scores in a graded stake but he clinched the Bing Crosby Season trainers title at Del Mar.
“The fall’s been great,” Glatt says. “I don’t think we can keep up this pace. It wouldn’t be human. So we enjoy these short runs when you get them and, you know, the next 40 I run I might be oh-for-40. That’s just the nature of the game.”
The Seabiscuit was Mi Hermano Ramon’s third race off of a long layoff.
“The third race off of the bench usually is a horse’s best,” Glatt contends. “The owners (Red Barons Barn and Rancho Temescal) are terrific. They’ve been long-time clients and they don’t hesitate when I tell them these horses need a break. So it’s a credit to them to give the horse the time that he needed.
“We knew he was a nice horse,” Glatt continues. “He ran against straight 3-year-olds in his last campaign so we weren’t sure how he was going to match up against olders but he ran big in the Lure (Stakes last time out) and we were super confident going into the race.”
As was trainer Michael McCarthy with Formidable Man in the G1 Hollywood Derby and the son of City of Light did not disappoint,
“He’s a horse I’ve had a tremendous amount of faith in,” McCarthy notes. “It seems like he’s getting better all the time. Super professional effort today.”
McCarthy has an idea where he might go next with Formidable Man.
“Obviously, opening day (at Santa Anita) the Mathis (Grade 2 grass mile) is there,” he says. “We have some options but this was just great today so we’ll see what happens.”
DEL MAR PUTS A CAP ON ANOTHER UNFORGETABLE FALL MEET
The 2024 Bing Crosby Season will be remembered most for hosting the Breeders’ Cup but after the dust settled from the championship weekend there was plenty of good racing on display.
There was Skinner returning to the stakes ranks and winning the G3 Native Diver for veteran trainer John Shirreffs and Formidable Man’s impressive performance in the G1 Hollywood Derby. There was Tamara, the young daughter of Beholder, returning to the races and the back-to-back-to-back stakes victories by the new kid on the block, trainer Jonathan Thomas. Not to mention the emergence of 37-year-old apprentice Serafin Carmona.
But the highlight of the meet for Del Mar racing secretary David Jerkens was the weather.
“You can never take it for granted,” he says. “Our climate is the best in the country and it proved it this fall which is so key. There’s an appetite for turf racing given the late schedule. Turf opportunities are at a premium. I thought our turf superintendent John Beggin did a great job managing the demand. Just Breeders’ Cup alone and then beyond, him and his crew did fantastic work.”
The Breeders’ Cup was certainly a weekend to remember, filled with thrilling finishes and championship moments like Thorpedo Anna capturing the Distaff and, quite possibly, Horse of the Year honors. Who can forget Sierra Leone barreling down the lane to win the Classic and Full Serrano holding on to score in the Dirt Mile. There was Straight No Chaser winning the sprint for local trainer Dan Blacker and Bob Baffert continuing his dominance in the 2-year-old races with a 1-2 finish in the Juvenile.
There were the large number of European horses who shipped over and won several grass races. And the large contingent of Japanese horses who shipped in and got shut out of the winners circle.
“I thought the event was well received,” Jerkens says. “I thought the racing was competitive. From the stand point of entertainment value I don’t think you could ask for anything more. This was the third year that we hosted the event and I was pleased.”
This was the 11th fall meet at Del Mar.
“It’s a little tricky when we host Breeders’ Cup,” Jerkens concedes. “The schedule’s different. We started on a Thursday but all the way through the meet I thought the turf racing was phenomenal. Just the quality of racing, particularly the last weekend. We were in our traditional spots with the Derby and the Matriarch on Thanksgiving week. I’ve had people come to me and mention it’s been enjoyable for the people who are here and from a betting perspective I thought we had competitive racing.”
Field sizes during the fall meet were again some of the highest in the country. The turf racing averaging over eight horses per race.
“I think we’re going to show increases on field size from a year ago,” Jerkens contends. “If you take out the two Breeders’ Cup days and look at our field size it was around 7.6. Last year we concluded the meet at 7.4.”
Finally the perfect finish to the meet, the Fall Turf Festival, which not only attracted several talented horses from across the country but some of the top jockeys in the U.S. Flavien Prat, Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Frankie Dettori were some of the cast of all-star riders battling on the seaside oval on the final weekend. Only at Del Mar can you get Dettori and Prat locked in a stretch long duel to the wire in a $25,000 claimer.
“Every race had eight or more horses,” Jerkens states. “The field size was there. The quality was there. We featured some outside jockeys and trainers. Look at the Matriarch. Half of the horses last started out of state.”
Del Mar will now close-up shop for the next seven months. But the top-of-the-line Thoroughbred action returns next summer with more unforgettable highlights and shining moments.
GLATT SEALS FIRST DEL MAR TRAINING TITLE; JOCKEYS RACE UNDECIDED
The trainers title at Del Mar is in the bag for Mark Glatt but the jockeys race this fall is still up for grabs.
The defending champion, Juan Hernandez, has the inside track with 16 wins going into the final day of racing. Two better than both Antonio Fresu and Umberto Rispoli. Due to a five day suspension, Fresu only has one mount Sunday on Game Warrior in the G3 Cecil B. DeMille, a designated race that is exempt from the suspension. Being two back in the standings, Fresu is out of contention for the jockeys title.
But Rispoli has five mounts and a fighting chance. Hernandez has mounts in every one of the nine races Sunday except one, making for an exciting finish to a race he has won twice in the past. Hernandez has a total of five Del Mar jockey titles in all. This one didn’t come easy. He just inherited the lead last Sunday.
The trainers title on the other hand is over. Mark Glatt came out and won 14 races this fall and holds a commanding six win lead going into the last day. His closest rival, defending champion Philip D’Amato, has eight wins but only three entries today. Glatt meanwhile will be a spectator with zero horses running Sunday.
“It’s very special,” Glatt says of winning his first training title at Del Mar. “Anytime you win a training title, especially in Southern California. It’s a short meet but it’s an accomplishment. We just strive to do better and hope we’ll be on top in the next meet.”
Glatt has 14 winners in only 32 starts with seven seconds and five thirds.
“I haven’t had a terrible amount of runners,” Glatt notes, “but I had horses that fit the right conditions. I thought with a little luck we could have a good meet. But I never would have dreamt anything like what we’ve had. It goes that way sometimes. 30 days from now I could be oh-for-40 and be wondering if I still know how to train a horse. You never know in this game.”
COOLING OUT: Trainer Chad Brown is gunning for his fifth straight G1 Matriarch victory today and his sixth overall. That’s still two behind the all-time leader, Bobby Frankel who won eight Matriarch’s and Charlie Whittingham who won seven…A wild ride for jockey Antonio Fresu in yesterday’s fourth race at Del Mar. Up by nearly five lengths coming down the stretch, Fresu’s mount Winds of Freedom ducked out, nearly unseating the rider. Fresu hung onto his horse’s neck to stay on and once he righted himself, guided the 2-year-old colt home to victory. Afterwards, Leandro Mora, assistant to trainer Doug O’Neill said they believe Winds of Freedom was spooked by the shadow of the Grandstand that extended out past the middle of the track. “He’ll be getting some new equipment next time” Mora stated.