Gary Stevens © Benoit Photo

A TRIFECTA OF HALL OF FAMERS ON THE RETIREMENT OF GARY STEVENS

A few minutes before the fourth race on today’s program, Del Mar will honor Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens.

On Tuesday, Stevens, 55, announced the end of a nearly 40-year career after an MRI exam on Monday showed a vertebra pressing upon his spinal cord, making continued riding too much of a risk regarding debilitating or catastrophic injury.

Here are the thoughts of three fellow Hall of Famers – jockeys Chris McCarron and Mike Smith and trainer Richard Mandella – on Stevens.  McCarron was at Del Mar Friday to pay his respects, but had to return to Kentucky. He did so with a souvenir, one of Stevens’ whips that, McCarron said, is destined for a trophy case with one of his own.

Smith and Mandella spoke during breaks in training here this morning.

McCARRON – “We were friendly rivals. Obviously, tempers can flair a little bit and they probably did a few times over the years. But that’s not unfriendliness, that’s just being competitive.

“I’ll never forget, Gary had been in Southern California only a short while and we were in the last race of a day together. We went head-to-head from the eighth pole to the wire, and I beat him a nose. He looked over to me as we stood up and said ‘I just found out why you’re the leading rider’

“Gary was an outstanding race rider and could ride any kind of horse under any conditions. But I think his forte was nursing one on the lead, stealing away, and having everybody come back with egg on their face because we allowed him to open up an insurmountable lead and then just hang on. He did that so many times.

Stevens came back from injuries that forced long layoffs twice and quickly notched major wins that reestablished his status among the most elite riders.

“I wasn’t surprised,” McCarron said. “Not knowing Gary. He’s incredibly competitive and I’m sure sitting on the sideline and watching other riders win big races, that he knew he could be out there winning, was the motivation that drove him back. Winning a big race is what we jockeys live for, and that’s what he came back for. I knew he’d pull it off. He’s too competitive not to.

“His retirement is not bittersweet for me. I’m glad he’s retired. It’s time to hang it up and do something else. He’ll be good at whatever it might be. He’s good at everything he does.”

MANDELLA – “I had a great relationship with him through the years. We had an understanding of what we were both looking for and he’s obviously one of the great riders of all time.”

An example was how Mandella and Stevens worked together with the multiple Eclipse-winning mare Beholder. The late Garrett Gomez was aboard for her first nine starts before Stevens took over for Del Mar’s Torrey Pines Stakes on September 1, 2013 and stayed there through the completion of her career. That encompassed 13 graded stakes victories, the finale being a nose win over Songbird in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita.

“(Gomez) wanted to always take her to the front, and I never trained her that way,” Mandella said. “I don’t tell guys exactly what to do, but I kept hinting that he shouldn’t be afraid to take her back off the pace, but he didn’t.

“Gary got on her and there was a real comfort level with him. That turned her into a giant. She’d been pretty good up to that point, but he was a big part of turning her into the champion she became.”

SMITH – “Being selfish,  I hate to see him retire and I know I’m going to miss being around him on and off the track. On the track, he always helped me up my game. Off it, he’s not only an idol but like an older brother, almost a father figure to me. I’m happy, for his sake, that he’s retiring. I’m going to miss him, but I know he ain’t going anywhere.

“There are so many memories, but certainly a big one is Songbird-Beholder (2016 Distaff). That was a great battle and he beat me a nose. We were both out of air and couldn’t say anything galloping out past the wire. But like I said then, if I had to get beat by somebody, I’m glad it was him.

“It was a race where even though you get beat, you go away feeling happy because the way those horses ran their hearts out, there really was two winners.”

LILAC FIRE HERO MARTINE BELLOCQ RETURNS TO THE RACETRACK

Eleven months after she was severely burned attempting to save horses from the fire that devastated San Luis Rey Downs, trainer Martine Bellocq was in the Del Mar paddock Friday overseeing the saddling of two of her horses in the eight-race program.

In a wheelchair that was navigated by her son-in-law Colin Hinck and with her training partner and husband Pierre doing the hands-on work with the horses, Martine sent out Grey Tsunami in the first race and Brite Rivers in the third. That neither hit the board was far less consequential than the fact that Martine was able to be present, for the first time since the fire and go through the raceday routine.

Draped in a blanket with a hat, sunglasses and a cloth hospital mask protecting her from the sun, Bellocq spoke with Tod Leonard from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“I see the horse. I take him to the track. You know, it’s all of my life,” Bellocq said. “It’s hard to live without horses. My family said I should retire, but maybe we have the next stakes horse. You never know. I want to win races for my owners, to show them we are still in the game.”

While glad to be back at the track, Bellocq said she is not, as yet, able to go to the stable area very often.

“ I got operations on my lips and eyes (10 days ago). I don’t want to go through the dust and get tired and everything. The doctors say to take care of myself. I don’t want to do too much because I get tired fast. It’s not like other people get tired. It’s burning, numbness, a lot of scratching.”

PRAT’S ABOUT TO MAKE 2018 HIS BEST YEAR EVER

According to Equibase statistics, jockey Flavien Prat is one win away from matching his career-best 2017 total and on pace to exceed the $12.6 million in purse earnings that was also the high for the now nearly five years as a full-time rider on the Southern California circuit.

Prat has 163 wins from 753 mounts in 2018. He won 164 from 835 mounts last year. He entered Saturday’s program with earnings of $11,668,190 and with the rest of November and all of December to accumulate enough to better 2017’s $12,608,813.

He’s booked to ride the morning line favorites in both of the stakes here Sunday – Battle of Midway in the Grade III $100,000 Native Diver and Flying Scotsman in the Grade III $100,000 Cecil B. DeMille.

“Battle of Midway is back on his home track where he won the Breeders’ Cup (Dirt Mile) and it’s interesting how he’s come back after being retired to stud,” said Prat’s agent, Derek Lawson. “I was very impressed with Flying Scotsman when he beat Omaha Beach (September 29 at Santa Anita) and he could turn out to be a very nice horse.”

Prat, who ranks eleventh nationally for money earnings in 2018, is the defending champion for the fall racing at Del Mar meeting. Through the first 10 of the 16-day meeting, he has nine wins, two behind Drayden Van Dyke and Geovanni Franco, who are tied atop the standings.

CLOSERS --  Anyone who brings one or more cans of food Sunday for donation to the San Diego food bank will receive free admission to the racetrack … Before Robert McNair owned the NFL’s Houston Texans, he owned Thoroughbreds under the Stonerside Stable nom de course. The biggest success at Del Mar for McNair, who died Friday at age 81, was Midshipman, trained by Bob Baffert, taking the 2008 Del Mar Futurity and going on to an Eclipse Award as the 2-year-old champion.

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Friday, November 23, 2018 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Friday, November 23, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Friday, November 23, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 32 out of 84 -- 38.10%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 20 out of 50 -- 40.00%

Winning favorites on turf -- 12 out of 34 -- 35.29%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 9 out of 19 -- 47.37%

In-the-Money favorites -- 61 out of 84 -- 72.62%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 16 out of 19 -- 84.21%