Mixto © Benoit Photo
PACIFIC CLASSIC WINNER MIXTO RETURNS IN G3 NATIVE DIVER
The last of the dirt stakes races on the Bing Crosby Season stakes schedule has attracted a six pack of talented runners Saturday at Del Mar. The G3 Native Diver is a 1 1/8 mile event for 3-year-olds and up and features this summer’s G1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic winner Mixto.
The 4-year-old colt by Good Magic pulled off a 22-1 upset when he came from behind to run down Full Serrano and win the Pacific Classic by half a length. Full Serrano came back and won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Mixto came back and ran 11th in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“It was just a tough spot,” trainer Doug O’Neill says. “It was the best of the best and it just wasn’t his day. Fortunately, he came out of it in good shape.”
Antonio Fresu, who has become O’Neill’s go-to rider at Del Mar, is back on Mixto. Kyle Frey rode him in the Pacific and Breeders’ Cup Classics.
Skinner is back in stakes company for Saturday’s test. Highly touted as a 3-year old, the son of Curlin was off for 11 months prior to returning earlier this month.
“His knee was bothering him so we gave him some time off,” trainer John Shirreffs says. “He has always showed a lot of talent and in that last race (a closing second in an allowance sprint at Del Mar November 1) he showed that kick we want to see. He runs the turns really well. When he hits the turns he really closes well.”
Shirreffs says Skinner has worked sensationally since his runner-up finish in his return Breeders’ Cup weekend.
“He was in beast mode this morning,” Shirreffs notes. “He was so strong.”
Despite Skinner’s impressive resume that includes runner-up finishes in the Los Alamitos Derby and last year’s Native Diver, plus a close third in the 2023 Santa Anita Derby, he’s still 1-for-11 lifetime, the lone victory coming when he broke his maiden in February 2023.
Tarantino puts his two-race win streak on the line in the Native Diver. The son of Pioneerof the Nile hasn’t lost since coming over to the Peter Eurton barn in August.
“He came to us pretty healthy,” Eurton says. “Sometimes a change of barns can do that for a horse. I really can’t put my finger on anything particular. Our luck.”
Tarantino won on the front end in both of his recent victories and Eurton sees no reason to change tactics now.
“I think the fact he doesn’t get a lot of dirt in his face helps,” Eurton claims. “We’re definitely not going to change things. We are going and if the one or the two of Bob’s want to go then that’s their prerogative. That’s where we’re going to be.”
The ‘one or two of Bob’s’ are Mirahmadi and Ultra Power. Tarantino beat Ultra Power in a blanket finish last out at Santa Anita. Ultra Power comes back as the morning line favorite in the Native Diver.
The grey/roan colt by Curlin, out of the popular mare Unique Bella, won his 2024 debut in August at Del Mar by seven lengths. The 3-year old had been off for 10 months prior to returning this summer.
Mirahmadi broke his maiden last out in his ninth try. He’s only finished out of the money once and was runner-up to Prince of Monaco in last year’s G1 Del Mar Futurity. He captured his maiden victory by 10 lengths in his return to routing. The son of Into Mischief had been sprinting in his prior five races.
The 47th running of the G3 Native Diver, named after the Hall of Famer who raced in the 1960s, is Race 8 on the Saturday card. Probable post is 4 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning line odds: Mirahmadi (Martin Garcia, 6-1); Ultra Power (Juan Hernandez, 2-1); Skinner (Hector I. Berrios, 5-1); Salesman (Kazushi Kimura, 10-1); Tarantino (Edwin Maldonado, 3-1), and Mixto (Antonio Fresu, 5/2).
TIAGO PEREIRA: MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF AT DEL MAR
A first glance at jockey Tiago Pereira’s resume and you find a victory in the Dubai World Cup and another win in the 2021 Pacific Classic. But for the most part the 47-year-old rider from Brazil has been flying under the radar since arriving in Southern California 10 years ago.
But that is all changing thanks in part to his agent Craig Stephen and a new attitude.
“I have more confidence now,” Pereira says. “I’m in the top three (of the jockey standings) and I’m so happy. The horses are running much better.”
He believes his confidence is transferring to the horses who are responding in a positive way. Through Sunday Pereira has seven wins, only one behind defending champ Juan Hernandez and two behind the current leader, Umberto Rispoli. At the recently concluded Santa Anita Autumn Meet, Pereira notched 10 victories, good enough to tie for fourth in the standings with Hector I. Berrios.
But before all this newfound success, Pereira averaged about a handful of wins a meet at Del Mar over the past five years with the exception of the summer of 2020 when he posted 21 victories and the summer of 2023 when he had 15.
He came to Southern California in 2014 after a successful career riding in Brazil. Combine his number of victories in Brazil with the races he’s won in Singapore, Macau and Dubai and Pereira has more than 2,000 wins internationally.
Most new jockeys find it difficult breaking into the Southern California circuit but Pereira was no ordinary journeyman. Packing the experience he had in Brazil he did well, winning 49 races his first year and 68 the next riding at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos and Del Mar.
“It was hard,” Pereira remembers about his first year at Del Mar. “There was more competition because there were many good jockeys.”
Back in 2014 the leading rider was Rafael Bejarano followed by the likes of Kent Desormeaux, Victor Espinoza and Cory Nakatani, all Hall of Famers.
Pereira’s best year was 2018 when he won 86 races. He came close to surpassing that mark last year with 82 while racking-up his best year in the U.S. in terms of earnings with $4.7 million. Overall, Pereira has 719 wins and over $34.1 million in earnings in North America.
The highlight of Pereira’s career came before he ever stepped foot on the grounds at Del Mar. It was his victory in the 2010 Dubai World Cup on Gloria de Campeao.
“I won the first Dubai World Cup run at Meydan,” Pereira notes. “Before it was run at Nad Al Sheba. The horse was from Brazil though I never rode him in Brazil. The first time I rode him was in China (in the Singapore Airlines International Cup) and I won. I then rode him in the Arlington Million and I finished seventh. After 30-days of working him in France we went to Dubai.”
Eleven years later, Pereira climbed aboard Tripoli for the first time and won. That was an allowance race at Santa Anita. He would win another allowance test and then run second to Express Train in the G2 San Diego Handicap before guiding the son of Kitten’s Joy to victory in the 2021 Pacific Classic.
“I rode for John Sadler,” Pereira recalls. “The horse rode good for me in the San Diego, I finished a good second. Then in the Pacific Classic I won. I liked the horse.”
Pereira is hoping this latest success on the track is a sign of good things to come in 2025.
“Hopefully the trend is one that will give me more shots, more opportunities to ride good horses,” Pereira says.
RISPOLI VAULTS TO THE TOP OF THE DEL MAR JOCKEY STANDINGS
Over the past several years at Del Mar, the jockey standings have been dominated by two riders, Flavien Prat and Juan Hernandez. The two have shared the riding titles in the last three fall meets and in the last six summer meets. Always lurking in the standings has been Umberto Rispoli. While Prat and Hernandez were swapping riders’ titles since 2020, Rispoli has been finishing in the Top 5 at all those meets. He’s hoping that all ends this fall.
Rispoli rang-up five victories last week, including a victory in the G3 Bob Hope, to climb into the lead in the Del Mar jockey standings after three weeks. Rispoli has nine wins, one better than last week’s leader, Antonio Fresu and Hernandez and two better than Tiago Pereira.
Kazushi Kimura and Hector I. Berrios are next with six wins followed by Flavien Prat, apprentice Serafin Carmona, Kyle Frey and Diego Herrera with three each. Prat, who generally rides full-time in New York, rode in the Breeders’ Cup here at Del Mar at the beginning of the Bing Crosby meet and is expected back at Del Mar closing week for the Fall Turf Festival.
Mark Glatt remains the leader in the trainers standings with seven wins, two better than Doug O’Neill. Five are tied for third with four wins. They are defending champ Philip D’Amato, George Papaprodromou, Peter Miller, Steve Miyadi and Michael McCarthy, who trained Bullard, the winner of the Bob Hope, one of the two stakes last weekend.
Completing the Top 10 are Steve Knapp, Tim Yakteen, and Bob Baffert with three wins apiece. Baffert continues to lead all trainers in earnings with over $2.1 million.
Nick Alexander and Seahawk Racing lead the owners with three wins each.
Del Mar continues to boast some of the best field sizes in the U.S. There have been 70 races run through Sunday, excluding the Breeders’ Cup races. The average field size is 7.50. It’s 8.42 for the 35 turf races.
HANDICAPPING SEMINARS ON TAP SATURDAY, SUNDAY AT DEL MAR
Del Mar will once again present free handicapping seminars for its fans for the upcoming Saturday and Sunday race cards.
The seminars are held on the patio of the Hacienda Room adjacent to the large fountain in the Plaza de Mexico. They begin at 11:30 a.m. and run for approximately 30 minutes ahead of the first post at 12:30 p.m.
Saturday’s seminar, which is hosted by Frank Scatoni, will feature horseplayer Ryan Anderson. The Sunday session, led by Dan Smith, will have Equibase chart maker and the ‘King of Ferndale,’ Ellis Davis.
COOLING OUT: Notable works this week, all on the dirt: Monday – Mixto (4f, :47.80); Raging Torrent (4f, :47.60); Tequilaandtherapy (4f, :48.60); Mouffy (5f, 1:02.40) and Skinner (5f, 1:01.40). Tuesday – Masteroffoxhounds (3f, :37.60) and Salesman (4f, :48.00). Thursday – Sumter (6f, 1:12.40). Friday – Express Train (5f, :59.60).