Mucho Gusto © Benoit Photo
BAFFERT’S BOB HOPE HOPES DIMINISHED BY ONE
Saturday’s $100,000 Grade III Bob Hope Stakes – the first of nine graded stakes on the fall racing at Del Mar schedule – falls right in the wheelhouse of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
It’s for 2-year-olds at seven furlongs on the main track, conditions which have produced an ample number of victories that have contributed to his track leading numbers for stakes and overall wins by a trainer.
It is the distance and age group – albeit for fillies – that provided Baffert’s most recent stakes victory, with Chasing Yesterday in Monday’s $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes.
So it was no surprise to see Baffert with two prime candidates, Metropol and Mucho Gusto, in a field of seven when post positions were drawn Wednesday for Saturday’s program. Both were impressive winners at first asking in maiden special weight races: Mucho Gusto by four lengths on September 20 at Los Alamitos; Metropol by three-quarters of a length at Santa Anita on October 8.
But yesterday morning, Baffert’s double-barrel opportunity got reduced to a single shot.
“Metropol got sick, he had a 103 temperature and we’re going to have to scratch him,” Baffert said by phone from Santa Anita. “The owner had already flown in and I had to call with the news.”
Metropol is owned by the Peachtree Stables of John Fort.
Metropol, a son of Shackleford who was a $200,000 purchase at the Ocala sale in April, was the 4-1 co-third choice on oddsmaker Russ Hudak’s morning line. The scratch still leaves Baffert with the 5-2 morning line favorite, Mucho Gusto, a son of Mucho Macho Man owned by Michael Peterson.
The field from the rail: Extra Hope (Flavien Prat, 7-2), Mucho Gusto (Joe Talamo, 5-2), Savagery (Rafael Bejarano, 4-1), Owning (Mario Gutierrez, 15-1), Sparky Ville (Jeff Bonde, 3-1) and Sueno (Kent Desormeaux, 15-1).
Baffert reported that Chasing Yesterday came out of her victory in Monday’s Desi Arnaz Stakes in good order and will be targeted for the Starlet at Los Alamitos in early December.
KORINER, FRANCO TOP TRAINER, JOCKEY STANDINGS AFTER WEEK ONE
Brian Koriner and Geovanni Franco positioned themselves at the top of the trainer and jockey standings with commendable work through the first four days of the 16-day meeting which resumes today.
Koriner notched four wins from six starters over the Veterans’ Day weekend, harvesting three victories on Sunday, winning every race in which he had a representative – most notably Spiced Perfection in the $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes.
“It’s only one week, but it is neat to see your name on top of the board,” Koriner said Thursday morning. “I don’t know if it will stay there, probably not. I’ve got some horses still to run that I think will be competitive and could win, but I don’t know if I have enough.”
Koriner said Sunday’s success was “one of those days” that are rarities for most trainers but uplifting whenever they co come around. “We had a lot of good luck on that one day,” Koriner said.
Franco rode two winners in each of the first two days and singled on Sunday and Monday for six wins from 19 mounts. Defending fall meeting champion Flavien Prat is next with four wins from 18 mounts and summer meeting champion Drayden Van Dyke goes into the second week with three wins from 17 mounts.
INFLUX OF IMPORTS EXPECTED FOR MEET FINALE STAKES TURF FEST
Nominations close at midnight tonight for seven turf stakes, and the Native Diver on dirt, that will be presented next week (November 22-25) and on the final weekend (December 1-2).
The lists of nominees for the Grade III Red Carpet (Nov. 22), Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup (Nov. 24) , Grade III Jimmy Durante and Grade II Seabiscuit (Nov. 24), Grade III Cecil B. DeMille and Grade III Native Diver (Nov. 25, Grade I Hollywood Derby (Dec. 1) and Grade I Matriarch (Dec. 2) will be released Friday afternoon.
Racing secretary David Jerkens said he has been pleased with the nominations already received from trainers based in the East like Chad Brown, Christophe Clement, George Weaver, Todd Pletcher and Michael Stidham and is anticipating big fields in the graded stakes and other races as a result.
NINE ENTERED FOR SUNDAY’S CARY GRANT STAKES
Edwards Going Left, the defending champion in the $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes, was among nine entered Thursday for Sunday’s 42nd running of an event that was known as the On Trust before becoming a part of the fall racing at Del Mar.
The Cary Grant is at seven furlongs on the main track for 3-year-olds and older.
Edwards Going Left, a 4-year-old son of Midnight Lute owned by Hronis Racing and trained by John Sadler, rallied from nex-to-last of seven after a half-mile to a half-length victory Solid Wager in the 2017 edition of the Cary Grant. Solid Wager is also entered for a rematch in the race.
Post positions were to be drawn later Thursday but the entrants, in alphabetical order with trainers in parentheses are: Ann Arbor Eddie (Doug O’Neill), Brandothebartender (Craig Dollase), Edwards Going Left (John Sadler), Grecian Fire (Jerry Hollendorfer), Monoso (Hector O. Palma), Shades of Victory (Reed Saldana), Solid Wager (Peter Miller), Touching Rainbows (Phil D’Amato) and Tough But Nice (Hector Palma).
CERIN, FORNATALE GUEST FOR WEEKEND HANDICAPPING SEMINARS
Trainer Vladimir Cerin and Peter Thomas Fornatale will provide the expert selections as featured guests at the handicapping seminars in the upcoming weekend.
Cerin, who counts the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic in 2007 with Student Council among his 10 Del Mar stakes victories, will do the honors on Saturday. Fornatale will be the guest of Frank Scatoni on Sunday.
The seminars are scheduled from 11:30 to 12:15 at the Seaside Terrace near the top of the stretch.
CLOSERS – Peter Miller, two wins away from career No. 1,000, could move to the threshold of the milestone with a victory by Mo See Cal (7-5) in the third race. Miller’s other entrant today, Ninety Nine Proof (5-2), was scratched from the seventh.
DEL MAR STATISTICS
Jockey Standings
(Current Through Monday, November 12, 2018 Inclusive)
|
Jockey |
Mts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
In-money% |
Money Won |
|
Geovanni Franco |
19 |
6 |
0 |
3 |
32% |
47% |
$163,201 |
|
Flavien Prat |
18 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
22% |
72% |
$237,221 |
|
Drayden Van Dyke |
17 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
18% |
41% |
$133,938 |
|
Kent Desormeaux |
10 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
30% |
50% |
$105,420 |
|
Joseph Talamo |
15 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
20% |
47% |
$119,505 |
|
Ruben Fuentes |
12 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
25% |
42% |
$112,870 |
|
Heriberto Figueroa |
20 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
10% |
55% |
$82,420 |
|
Rafael Bejarano |
15 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
13% |
40% |
$89,273 |
|
Agapito Delgadillo |
6 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
33% |
67% |
$37,425 |
|
Mike Smith |
6 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
17% |
50% |
$54,470 |
Trainer Standings
(Current Through Monday, November 12, 2018 Inclusive)
|
Trainer |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
In-money% |
Money Won |
|
Brian J. Koriner |
6 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
67% |
67% |
$135,585 |
|
Jerry Hollendorfer |
11 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
27% |
64% |
$147,610 |
|
Peter Miller |
10 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
20% |
50% |
$67,981 |
|
William E. Morey |
6 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
33% |
50% |
$40,785 |
|
Robertino Diodoro |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
67% |
67% |
$38,000 |
|
Richard Baltas |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
40% |
40% |
$53,312 |
|
Vladimir Cerin |
6 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
17% |
67% |
$49,426 |
|
J. Keith Desormeaux |
8 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
13% |
38% |
$51,775 |
|
Michael Pender |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
50% |
100% |
$21,360 |
|
Craig Anthony Lewis |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
33% |
67% |
$18,825 |
Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Monday, November 12, 2018 Inclusive)
Winning favorites -- 10 out of 34 -- 29.41%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 5 out of 19 -- 26.32%
Winning favorites on turf -- 5 out of 15 -- 33.33%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 2 out of 7 -- 28.57%
In-the-Money favorites -- 23 out of 34 -- 67.65%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 4 out of 7 -- 57.14%