Instilled Regard © Benoit Photo

EAST COAST INVADERS DOT NOMS LIST FOR GRADED TURF STAKES

Nominations for the eight graded stakes to be contested over the final two weeks of the meeting closed Thursday.

And Friday morning, looking over the lists, Racing Secretary David Jerkens was pleased with the response from major East Coast-based trainers with horses they deem in need of some sunshine and a graded stakes mark on their resume.

“It’s pretty much on a par with the response we’ve gotten the past couple years,” Jerkens said. “I’m definitely satisfied with the response from trainers, both out of state and locally.”

A nomination is not a commitment to run, only a statement of interest backed by a nominal fee. But successful shipping ventures like those made by trainers Chad Brown, James Toner, George Weaver and Anthony Dutrow last year give encouragement to try again.

Chad Brown, the nation’s leading trainer for earnings in 2018, took the Grade III Cecil B. DeMille with Analyze It and the Matriarch with Off Limits last year and has five nominated to the graded stakes. The Hollywood Derby and the Matriarch, both Grade I for $300,000 on the closing weekend, December 1-2, are the premier events of the meeting and Brown has nominated two for the Derby and three for Matriarch.

Brown’s Derby duo is Instilled Regard and Raging Bull. Instilled Regard would be trying the turf for the first time to end a 2018 campaign that included fourth-place finishes to Triple Crown champion Justify in both the Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby. Raging Bull has made six starts, all on turf, with four wins and a second and earnings of $404,500.

In the Matriarch, Brown’s trio consists of foreign-breds Quidura (England), Rymska (France) and Uni (England).  All three have graded stakes wins since August and, combined, Rymska and Uni have seven wins in their last eight starts.

In addition to the Brown bunch in the Derby there are five notable potential shippers in the Derby for trainers Christophe Clemente (2), Thomas Morley, Graham Motion and Weaver, who won the Jimmy Durante last year with Daddy Is a Legend. Brown’s group in the Matriarch has potential out-of-state company from six fellow invaders, most notably Bellavais from Todd Pletcher, the aforementioned Daddy Is a Legend from Weaver and Starship Jubilee, a stakes winner in Canada for trainer Kevin Attard.

EXTRA HOPE ON THE RISE FOR BOB HOPE STAKES DEBUT

It took three tries, two here and one at Santa Anita, for Extra Hope to notch his first victory.

But when he did, the 2-year-old son of Shanghai Bobby did it well, winning a 1 1/16-mile race at Santa Anita by 8 ¾ lengths on October 21. Now the colt, owned by Samantha Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Stable and trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, is back where he finished second and third in his first two career starts in August and September, for Saturday’s Grade III $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for two-year-olds.

“We put blinkers on him at the suggestion of (jockey) Drayden Van Dyke and he won very nicely,” Mandella said. “We didn’t have an option for him anywhere else, even though I didn’t really want to back up with him to seven eighths, so we’re here.”

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).

MILLER ON THE VERGE OF A MILESTONE; DESORMEAUX NINE AWAY

After saddling Mo See Cal ($3.60) to win Thursday’s third race, trainer Miller is one win away from 1,000 for his career.

Miller takes shots at the milestone with Haydens Havoc (3^rd, 5-2), Kelly’s Humor (4^th, 2-1) and Dominating Woman (4^th, 7-2) on today’s card.

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, meanwhile, is on approach to  6,000 career wins. Desormeaux could add to the 5,991 he already has aboard Baby Frankie (7-2 in today’s first race.

IF IT’S THE CARY GRANT, SOLID WAGER IS IN IT TO WIN IT

Solid Wager missed the Cary Grant (formerly On Trust) Stakes in the initial fall racing season at Del Mar in 2014. But the seven-year-old gelded son of Birdonthewire has been a party to the last three, posting two wins and a second.

The victories in the seven-furlong sprint for older horses, were by a half-length from off the pace in 2015 and 2016. The runner-up result was by a half length to Edwards Going Left while displaying a strong closing kick last year.

Solid Wager will be back, as will Edwards Going Left, for Sunday’s running of the $100,000 event. It will be the 47^th start for the Peter Miller trainee in a career which has produced nine victories and earnings of more than $680,000 for owners Gary and Cecil Barber.

“He’s doing well and he loves the seven-eighths distance and he’s good here at Del Mar,” Miller said Friday morning. “He fires every time, tries hard and even though he doesn’t win that often he’s been a great horse for us.”

The field from the rail: Tough But Nice (Geovanni Franco, 12-1), Touching Rainbows (Flavien Prat, 5-2), Edwards Going Left (Tyler Baze, 2-1), Solid Wager (Drayden Van Dyke, 4-1), Brandothebartender (Joe Talamo, 20-1), Minoso (Gary Stevens, 30-1), Shades of Victory (Martin Pedroza, 12-1), Ann Arbor Eddie (Mario Gutierrez, 5-1) and Grecian Fire (Rafael Bejarano, 10-1).

SECOND ANNUAL TOYS FOR TOTS DAY SET SUNDAY

For the second year in a row, Del Mar will host a “Toys for Tots” motorcycle ride and gift-gathering program as part of a highly successful U.S. Marine Corps-backed charity event that has been ongoing for more than 70 years.

The hometown Marines – many of whom will be onsite in their sharp dress blues -- again will be backed in their “Toys for Tots” event by the El Cajon Harley Owners Group (HOG), which is sponsored by El Cajon Harley-Davidson. The HOG crew believes they will have as many as 600-plus riders on board – twice the number that came last year -- for their approximately 28-mile bike run from El Cajon to Del Mar.

Previously, the “Toys for Tots” program in San Diego had its major local event with the San Diego Chargers football team. But when the team chose to move to Los Angeles last year, Del Mar stepped in and took on the role of host destination. The track’s fans, horsemen and staff personnel proved to be exceptionally generous and the Marines outdid the previous Charger events with over 2,500 toys collected and more than $8,600 in donations to the “Toys” program.

Racing fans who bring a new unwrapped toy to the track this Sunday earmarked for the event will receive free admission. Cash or check donations also will be accepted by uniformed Marines and sailors on hand manning the “Toy” collection boxes.

CLOSERS -- Tyler Baze’s meeting turned strongly for the better when he took both halves of Thursday’s late double with King Abner ($8.20) in the seventh and Epical ($10.60) in the eighth. To that point, Baze had been winless, with three seconds and six thirds from 22 mounts. He’ll try to keep the momentum going with mounts in seven of the eight races on the Friday program … Jockey Martin Garcia will be out for 1-2 months due to a separated right shoulder, his agent, Thom Mitchell confirmed Thursday. Garcia was injured in a training accident at Santa Anita in late September but the immediate concern at that time was possible head trauma. There was no new recent incident, Mitchell said, but shoulder pain sent Garcia to his doctor where the separation was confirmed and he was advised to take a break from riding … Selected workouts from 59 officially timed at Santa Anita Friday morning: Dabster (3f, :48.20), Giant Expectations (4f, :49.20), Rayana (4f, :47.60) … Selected workout from 26 at Del Mar: Zippy Groom (3f, :34.80).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Thursday, November 15, 2018 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Thursday, November 15, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Thursday, November 15, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 13 out of 42 -- 30.95%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 6 out of 23 -- 26.09%

Winning favorites on turf -- 7 out of 19 -- 36.84%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 3 out of 8 -- 37.50%

In-the-Money favorites -- 29 out of 42 -- 69.05%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 5 out of 8 -- 62.50%