Stellar Wind © Benoit Photo

STELLAR WIND, VALE DORI RESUME RIVALRY IN CLEMENT L. HIRSCH

It’ll be Stellar Wind vs. Vale Dori, Round III – plus four others being sent out to steal the spotlight – when the 47^th running of the $300,000 Grade I Clement L. Hirsch Stakes is presented Sunday.

Stellar Wind and Vale Dori were never more than a half-length apart running 1-2 for the distance of the Beholder Mile on June 3 at Santa Anita and traded the lead twice in the stretch. Stellar Wind, trained by John Sadler and ridden by Victor Espinoza, surged in the final 50 yards and held off Bob Baffert-trained Vale Dori and Rafael Bejarano by a neck. They also squared off in the Grade I Zenyatta lst October at Santa Anita when Stellar Wind edged Beholder by a neck with Vale Dori another 11 ¾ lengths back in third.

Their most recent encounter was in a race renamed this year for Beholder, the champion mare that Stellar Wind upset in the 2016 Clement L. Hirsch.

“They’re both really good horses and they run well every time, so we’re expecting another war,” Sadler said. “We’re expecting to stay close to (Vale Dori) and Stellar Wind has been tough in tight finishes.”

Stellar Wind, a 5-year-old daughter of Curlin, has nine wins from 14 career starts and earnings of more than $2 million for Hronis Racing LLC. The Beholder Mile was her second Grade I victory in as many 2017 starts, coming on the heels of an April score in the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

Vale Dori, a 5-year-old Argentine-bred, has nine wins in 15 career starts and earnings of over $1 million for Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum. She had won six straight stakes, five of them graded, before the Beholder Mile.

Of the four other entrants: Autumn Flower has been graded stakes placed in three of her last five starts, all of them losses to Vale Dori; Faithfully comes in off a victory in the $70,000 Santa Lucia on June 4 at Santa Anita; Motown Lady and Shenandoah Queen are stepping up from the allowance level.

The 1 1/16-mile race is a “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series qualifier for the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff here on Friday, November 3.

DREFONG NARROWLY FAVORED FOR BING CROSBY

Drefong, the Eclipse Award winner in the Sprint division for 2016, was established as the 5-2 favorite in a field of 11 for Saturday’s Grade I $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes on track oddsmaker Russ Hudak’s morning line.

A 4-year-old son of Gio Ponti trained by Bob Baffert for the Baoma Corporation, Drefong closed 2016 with five straight wins. The last, in the $1.5 Million Twin Spires Breeders’ Cup Sprint, clinched the Eclipse Award.

Drefong, a winner of five of six lifetime starts with earnings of more than $1.2 million, will be making his first start since the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in a race that is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the 2017 running here on November 4.

The field from the rail: Denman’s Call (Tyler Baze, 20-1), Drefong (Mike Smith, 5-2), St. Joe Bay (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1), Ransom the Moon (Flavien Prat, 7-2), Big Macher (Rafael Bejarano, 8-1), Magic Taste (Tiago Pereira, 50-1), Coastline (Jamie Theriot, 30-1), Roy H (Paco Lopez, 3-1), Solid Wager (Joe Talamo, 20-1), Kobe’s Back (Gary Stevens, 8-1) and Moe Candy (Victor Espinoza, 20-1).

TRIO OF $150,000 STAKES ADD SPICE TO UPCOMING CARDS

Friday’s $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes is the first of three stakes for California-bred horses at that purse level that will provide food for thought for horseplayers overall and support for the Grade I events later on the weekend cards.

Ann Arbor Eddie, winner of the California Cup Derby in January, tops a field of seven 3-year-olds in the seven-furlong Real Good Deal Stakes. Trainer Doug O’Neill will be seeking his third Real Good Deal win with the son of Square Eddie owned by J. Paul Reddam, but his first since back-to-back scores in 2004-05.

The field from the rail: Fly to Mars (Evin Roman, 15-1), Elwood J (Drayden Van Dyke, 4-1), Dr. Troutman (Martin Pedroza, 15-1), Edwards Going Left (Tyler Baze, 4-1), Milton Freewater (Rafael Bejarano, 4-1), Ann Arbor Eddie (Mario Gutierrez, 5-2) and Mr. Hinx (Flavien Prat, 3-1).

Saturday’s California Dreamin’, at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, goes as the third on a 10-race card, six events before the featured Bing Crosby. Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has the two favorites, G.G. Ryder and He Will, in a field of six. 

The field from the rail: My Italian Babbo (Corey Nakatani, 4-1), G.G. Ryder (Flavien Prat, 2-1), Dr. Troutman (Martin Pedroza, 15-1), Soi Phet (Kent Desormeaux, 4-1), Incredible Luck (Brice Blanc, 8-1) and He Will (Mike Smith, 9-5).

Sunday’s Fleet Treat Stakes, a 7-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, drew a field of eight. In alphabetical order they are: All Of A Sudden (Steve Miyadi, trainer), Alpenhorn (Mike Harrington), Dreamy Gal (Jeff Mullins), Isa Firecracker (Jamey Thomas), Lady Espionage (Michele Dollase), Miss Sunset (Jeff Bonde), Please Do (Victor Trujillo) and Queen Bee To You (Mike Pender).

TICKETS PUNCHED FOR THE BREEDERS’ CUP: DESTINATION DEL MAR?

Del Mar hosts the 34^th running of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on November 3-4. It consists of 13 races with purses totaling more than $28 million over the two days capped by the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Friday, November 3 and the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, November 4.

A victory in a “Win and You’re In” Challenge series race, of which there are 81 from January to October, guarantees a spot in a Breeders’ Cup race and other considerations.

Here are the horses who have qualified to date.

There are three “Win and You’re In” qualifiers upcoming this weekend, two at Del Mar. Saturday’s Grade I $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes leads to the $!.5 million TwinSpires Sprint and Sunday’s Clement L. Hirsch Stakes to the $2 million Longines Distaff.

The other “Win and You’re In” race is the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, which will feature Highland Reel, winner of the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf in 2016.

GULLIKSON, MITCHELL GUEST ON WEEKEND HANDICAPPING SEMINARS

Del Mar clocking crew member Thom Mitchell and Emily Gullikson, a partner in and handicapper for OptixEQ Equine Analytics, will be the guests providing selections and comments at the upcoming Weekend Handicapping Seminars.

Mitchell will be featured in the Saturday program while Gullikson will be the guest of Scott Shapiro on Sunday.

The seminars are held from 12:45-1:30 at the seaside terrace near the top of the stretch.

`ANIMAL KINGDOM COLT IS BARRETTS SALE TOPPER

A 2-year-old colt sired by Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom out of the mare Alyssum went for $180,000 to top the Barretts Paddock Sale following the races on Wednesday. The colt was consigned by Excel Bloodstock (Bruno De Berdt) Agent and purchased by Steve Gasparelli.

Two others from 43 that went through the ring commanded six-figure prices. Two-year-old filly Duck and Cover went for $140,000 to B.B.A. Ireland and an unnamed colt by Uncle Mo went to trainer Jeff Bonde for $100,000.

CLOSERS -- Jockey David Flores has announced that he will retire from riding after this weekend and move to Ocala, Fla., to work on a farm and a possible future career as a trainer. Flores, 49, a native of Tijuana whose career started at the Agua Caliente track there, won the 1999 riding title here with 38 victories, capturing four of the track’s Grade I events that year … Three Del Mar trainers celebrate birthdays today: Alexis Barba, 65, Rafael Becerra, 63, and Kristin Mulhall, 35. It’s a working birthday for Becerra, scheduled to saddle Cupid’s Bow in the first race and Mulhall, who has Cayate in the fourth … If you lost money on Arrogate in the San Diego Handicap, be consoled by the fact you’re in good company. Tuesday, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, guest Charlie Rose talked of his weekend trip here for “60 Minutes,” and spending time with trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Mike Smith before Arrogate, the top horse in the world, finished fourth. “I bet a lot of money on him, and I lost a lot of money,” Rose said … Selected works from 116 on dirt and 11 on turf officially timed Wednesday, Dirt – American Anthem (4f, :47.60), Nagys Piggy Bank (4f, :46.80), West Coast (6f, 1:12.80), Avenge (1 mile, 1:39.80; Turf – Desert Steel (3f, :34.40), Cambodia (5f, :58.40), Flamboyant (5f, 1:02.60) and Om (5f, 1:01.00).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, July 26, 2017 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, July 26, 2017 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Wednesday, July 26, 2017 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 10 out of 53 -- 18.87%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 7 out of 33 -- 21.21%

Winning favorites on turf -- 3 out of 20 -- 15.00%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 0 out of 7 -- 0.00%

In-the-Money favorites -- 33 out of 53 -- 62.26%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 6 out of 7 -- 85.71%