Arles (right) nosed out at the wire © Zoe Metz for Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
MOTION HAS THREE TO MAKE IMPACT IN TWO STAKES SATURDAY
Arles nearly got the stable of H. Graham Motion off to a grand start for Thanksgiving holiday week of the Bing Crosby meeting, but was nosed out at the wire by Nuovo Record in Thursday’s Red Carpet Stakes.
That narrow miss in a stakes that Motion won in 2015 with Rusty Skipper aside, the Maryland-based trainer, best known for saddling Animal Kingdom to victory in the 2011 Kentucky Derby, has three horses for Saturday’s stakes double header with potential to make amends.
Motion will be represented by Journey Home and Happy Mesa in the Grade III $100,000 Jimmy Durante Stakes for two-year-old fillies, which goes as the sixth on the nine-race program. Two races later Ring Weekend goes in the Grade II $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap.
Happy Mesa, a daughter of Sky Mesa who was a $20,000 purchase at the Keeneland September sale a year ago, finished 12th of 14 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on November 4 at Santa Anita. Journey Home, a daughter of War Front who was a $200,000 purchase at the same Keeneland sale, won her racing debut on the grass at Laurel on the same day as the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
“Happy Mesa stayed here after she ran in the Breeders’ Cup and she’s been training well at Santa Anita,” Alice Clapham, assistant to Motion, said Friday at Del Mar. “Journey Home just got here on Tuesday, but she’s settled in well and seems happy here.
“I think Happy Mesa’s race was better than the result shows. She handled all the activity and the crowds well and I think that experience will help her as she goes along.”
At one-mile on turf, the Durante is at the same distance and surface as the last races for both. It attracted a field of 13.
Ring Weekend stayed at Santa Anita after a seventh-place result in a field of 14 for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
“He’s trained well since the Breeders’ Cup and this seemed like a nice logical spot to run him,” Clapham said. “He ran a good race in the Breeders’ Cup, we weren’t unhappy with it and we think he should do well Saturday.”
Through Friday, Motion ranks 13th among North American trainers in 2016 for money earnings with $6,635,606 according to Equibase statistics. He has 89 winners from 540 starters and 47 percent of his charges have finished in-the-money. Among Motion’s 11 graded stakes wins this year are the Grade II Bernard Baruch in September at Saratoga by Ring Weekend and the Shadwell Turf Mile and Maker’s 46 Mile, both at Keeneland, by Miss Temple City.
Miss Temple City is part of a stellar field shaping up for the Grade I $300,000 Matriarch on closing day, Sunday, December 4.
The field from the rail for the Jimmy Durante: Defiant Honor (Mike Smith, 9-2), Bella Luma (Gary Stevens, 20-1), Mo’Vette (Santiago Gonzalez, 5-1), Journey Home (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1), Tiburtina (Victor Espinoza, 20-1), Partyinthepaddock (Kent Desormeaux, 15-1), How About Zero (Mario Gutierrez, 20-1), With Honors (Flavien Prat, 7-2), Noble Dancer (Fernando Perez, 20-1), Simmy’s Temple (Norberto Arroyo, Jr., 15-1), Miss Sugars (Tyler Baze, 10-1), Happy Mesa (Martin Pedroza, 10-1) and La Force (Brice Blanc, 8-1).
The field, from the rail for the Seabiscuit: A Red Tie Day (Norberto Arroyo, Jr., 10-1), Stylistics United (Tiago Pereira, 30-1), Om (Gary Stevens, 5-2), Vyjack (Flavien Prat, 3-1), What a View (Tyler Baze, 7-2), Hunt (Mike Smith, 10-1), Ring Weekend (Drayden Van Dyke, 4-1) and Hi Happy (Altair Domingos, 10-1).
SURFACE-SWITCHING MIDNIGHT STORM IS NATIVE DIVER FAVORITE
Midnight Storm, whose more than $1.28 million in career earnings have been achieved mostly in grass races, will be switched back to dirt for Sunday’s $100,000 Native Diver Stakes.
The 5-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile has made 10 of his last 11 starts on turf, the lone exception being a last-of-10 result behind Beholder in the 2015 Pacific Classic. Trained by Phil D’Amato for an owning partnership of Vanneri Racing Inc. and Little Red Feather Stable, Midnight Storm has made his last eight starts on grass while notching four wins, among them the 2015 Seabiscuit at the Bing Crosby meeting and, last summer, the Grade II Eddie Read and Grade II Del Mar Mile.
In his last start, Midnight Storm was a creditable third, at 13-1, in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
The field from the rail: Hard Aces (Santiago Gonzalez, 3-1), Ebadan (Joe Talamo, 20-1), Pretentious (Jamie Theriot, 20-1), Imperative (Kent Desormeaux, 5-2), Blue Tone (Gary Stevens, 4-1), Point Piper (Mario Gutierrez, 8-1) and Midnight Storm (Flavien Prat, 2-1).
SWORD FIGHTER FAVORED FOR SUNDAY’S CECIL B. DeMILLE
Sword Fighter, a New York-bred son of Wildcat Heir trained by Peter Miller, was established as the 5-2 favorite in a field of nine for Sunday’s Grade III $100,000 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes for two-year-olds at one mile on the turf.
Sword Fighter won at first asking at Santa Anita in October and was fourth in the $100,000 Juvenile Turf Sprint there on November 5.
The field from the rail: Popular Kid (Modesto Linares, 30-1), Curly’s Waterfront (Tyler Baze, 10-1), Offshore (Kent Desormeaux, 9-2), Hootie (Victor Espinoza, 7-2), Conscripted (Alex Solis, 6-1), Sword Fighter (Santiago Gonzalez, 5-2), Term of Art (Joe Talamo, 10-1), Vending Machine (Norberto Arroyo, Jr., 10-1) and Kentucky Colonel (Mike Smith, 6-1).
JOCKEY RACE VERY CLOSE; MILLER SEPARATES FROM OTHER TRAINERS
With three wins on Thanksgiving Day, Norberto Arroyo, Jr. moved into a tie with Flavien Prat for the lead in the jockey standings. Arroyo and Prat have eight wins each, Santiago Gonzalez has seven and Victor Espinoza six.
Arroyo’s wins on Thursday came aboard Poshsky (3rd, $5.40), Bad Ju Ju (6th, $6.60) and Big Champion (8th, $2.60).
The victories on Poshsky and Bad Ju Ju came for trainer Peter Miller, who also saddled Drover Crazy (4th, $7.00) in a three-win day that moved him four ahead of a trio of pursuers atop the trainer standings.
Miller has nine wins. Doug O’Neill, Mike Puype and Richard Baltas are next with five.
RAIN THREAT PROMPTS TURF TRAINING CHANGE
With rain prominent in weekend forecasts, turf workouts, normally conducted on Sundays, will be held Saturday instead, the racing office has advised.
Isotherm and Miss Temple City, nominated to the Grade I Hollywood Derby and Grade I Matriarch, respectively, on the December 3-4 closing weekend, are among the expected turf workers.
FERRALL, DOCHE TO GUEST ON WEEKEND HANDICAPPING SEMINARS
Longtime Northern California racing publicist Tom Ferrall will be the guest on Saturday and Marc Doche will join host Scott Shapiro on Sunday for the weekend handicapping seminars.
The seminars are conducted from 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. each day at the Seaside Terrace near the top of the stretch.
CLOSERS – The victory in Thursday’s Red Carpet Stakes by Nuovo Record, the first horse from Japan to race at Del Mar, was big news in the 5-year-old mare’s native land, meriting newspaper stories and several pictures on the Japanese Racing Association website. Nuovo Record will ship from Del Mar on Monday to Hong Kong and a next start in the Hong Kong Cup in December … Ralis, the only 3-year-old entered, was scratched Friday morning from the day’s featured Hollywood Turf Cup, reducing the field to six.
DEL MAR STATISTICS
Jockey Standings
(Current Through Thursday, November 24, 2016 Inclusive)
|
Jockey |
Mts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
In-money% |
Money Won |
|
Norberto Arroyo, Jr. |
45 |
8 |
9 |
5 |
18% |
49% |
$318,470 |
|
Flavien Prat |
41 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
20% |
56% |
$303,612 |
|
Santiago Gonzalez |
37 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
19% |
46% |
$261,780 |
|
Victor Espinoza |
15 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
40% |
47% |
$226,805 |
|
Tyler Baze |
43 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
12% |
40% |
$270,214 |
|
Mike Smith |
19 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
21% |
42% |
$188,162 |
|
Drayden Van Dyke |
21 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
19% |
29% |
$150,958 |
|
Stewart Elliott |
28 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
11% |
43% |
$124,955 |
|
Joseph Talamo |
24 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
13% |
42% |
$104,710 |
|
Kent Desormeaux |
25 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
12% |
24% |
$171,039 |
Trainer Standings
(Current Through Thursday, November 24, 2016 Inclusive)
|
Trainer |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
In-money% |
Money Won |
|
Peter Miller |
26 |
9 |
5 |
0 |
35% |
54% |
$331,314 |
|
Doug F. O'Neill |
28 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
18% |
46% |
$237,650 |
|
Mike Puype |
17 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
29% |
59% |
$130,825 |
|
Richard Baltas |
22 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
23% |
45% |
$202,600 |
|
Mark Glatt |
17 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
24% |
47% |
$108,855 |
|
Steven Miyadi |
10 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
30% |
50% |
$65,366 |
|
Jerry Hollendorfer |
16 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
19% |
31% |
$105,728 |
|
Bob Baffert |
7 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
29% |
57% |
$116,785 |
|
Robertino Diodoro |
9 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
22% |
44% |
$40,975 |
|
John W. Sadler |
7 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
29% |
43% |
$80,279 |
Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Thursday, November 24, 2016 Inclusive)
Winning favorites -- 22 out of 69 -- 31.88%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 15 out of 42 -- 35.71%
Winning favorites on turf -- 7 out of 27 -- 25.93%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 5 out of 9 -- 55.56
In-the-Money favorites -- 46 out of 69 -- 66.67%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 8 out of 9 -- 88.89%
Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793