The gearing up for Thursday’s opening of the second Bing Crosby season at Del Mar began Sunday with the taking of entries for the initial program of the 20-day season.

 

And on Monday morning, Racing Secretary David Jerkens was pleased overall, and especially thankful to the horsemen, for what was put together.

 

“We do our best to offer high quality and the better races for opening day filled very well,” Jerkens said. “Especially the stakes race, which drew 14.”

 

The $200,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies, which goes as the sixth on an eight-race program starting at 12:30 p.m., is a seven-furlong race for 2-year-old California-bred fillies.

 

“That division (Cal-bred juvenile fillies) was strong last summer and it’s strong now,” Jerkens said. “So it’s not too surprising we got 14. Seven-eighths is a distance you don’t get that often for that kind of purse. So there’s a real incentive for owners and trainers.”

 

The likely favorites are Patriotic Diamond and Just Google Me, the 1-2 finishers in the Generous Portion Stakes here on August 28.

 

Patriotic Diamond, owned by Diamond 100 Racing Club LLC and trained by Patrick Biancone, has been given a break since the 1 ¼-length victory in the six-furlong Generous Portion. Just Google Me, owned by C T R Stables LLC and trained by Scott Rollins, followed up the Generous Portion effort three weeks later with a romping 9 ½-length victory as the odds-on favorite in the $100,000 Barretts Debutante over 6 ½ furlongs at Los Alamitos.

 

The field, from the rail: Sharp Holiday (Felipe Valdez), Run For Retts (Martin Garcia), Yodelsong (Alex Solis), Obey (Tiago Pereira), Dragon Flower (Santiago Gonzalez), Red Stitch (Fernando Perez), Pacific Heat (Joe Talamo), Khalaya (Ry Eikleberry), Octofy (Corey Nakatani), Patriotic Diamond (Rafael Bejarano), Sambamzajammin (Miguel Perez), Halo Darlin (Alonso Quinonez), Forthenineteen (James Graham) and Just Google Me (Edwin Maldonado).

 

 

 

Doug O’Neill had three wins from four starters on Sunday’s final day of the Santa Anita fall meeting to edge Jerry Hollendorfer for the meet training title. O’Neill had 12 wins to 11 for Hall of Famer Hollendorfer, who was seeking a second straight major Southern California circuit title after winning the Del Mar summer crown with 22 wins.

 

The vanguard of O’Neill’s contingent of horses to be stabled at Del Mar left Santa Anita at 2 a.m. Monday and were ensconced at his usual Barn Y a few hours later.

 

“We’re going to have 25 here,” said Carlos Pena, foreman for the crew that travelled with the horses. “Last year we had around 12.”

 

Rafael Bejarano won the Santa Anita riding title with 25 wins to 15 for Mario Gutierrez. It was the 23^rd Southern California circuit title for Bejarano, who secured his fourth straight Del Mar riding championship, and fifth overall, at the summer meeting.

 

Victor Espinoza and Peter Miller are the defending Bing Crosby Season champions. Espinoza edged Elvis Trujillo 12-11 while Miller saddled 15 winners to Mike Puype’s 10 at the inaugural fall meeting in 2014.

 

 

There were 38 horses that were stakes starters and/or winners at Del Mar during the last two summer seasons that were pre-entered in the 13 Breeders’ Cup Championship races upcoming Friday and Saturday at Keeneland.

 

Topping the list are Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (2014 Del Mar Futurity) and Beholder (2015 Clement L. Hirsch and TVG Pacific Classic). The top male and female runners of the year are only days away from a head-to-head meeting in Saturday’s $5 million Classic that has been the talk of racing since Beholder dominated males in the Pacific Classic on August 22.

 

The Del Mar-connected pre-entered horses by race:

$5 million Classic – American Pharoah, Beholder, Hard Aces

$2 million Distaff – Beholder, Stellar Wind, Warren’s Veneda, Yahilwa.

$2 million Mile – Midnight Storm, Obviously.

$1 million Dirt Mile – Appealing Tale.*

$2 million Juvenile – Nyquist, Hollywood Don, Ralis, Swipe.

$2 million Juvenile Fillies – Songbird, Land Over Sea, Right There.

$1.5 million Sprint – Wild Dude, Appealing Tale*, Big Macher, Kobe’s Back, Masochistic.

$1 million Filly & Mare Sprint – Judy the Beauty, Taris, Super Majesty.

$3 million Turf – Big John B.

$2 million Filly & Mare Turf – Elektrum, Personal Diary, Sharla Rae, Stormy Lucy.

$1 million Turf Sprint – Holy Lute, Jimmy Bouncer, No Silent, Obviously, Marchman.

$1 million Juvenile Turf – Hollywood Don, Ralis.

$1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf – Land Over Sea.

*Appealing Tale, winner of the 2015 Pat O’Brien Stakes, was declared from Breeders’ Cup competition on Monday due to an ankle injury.

 

CLOSERS – The Barretts Fall Sale of Yearlings and Horses of All Ages will be held Tuesday starting at 11 a.m. at the Horse Show Arena adjacent to the track. Nearly 300 horses are listed in the catalog. It is the last Barretts sale of the year here, but five such events are scheduled for Del Mar in 2016 … Del Mar Monday workouts: Moonlight Meeting (4f, :47.60), Artisticdifference (5f, 1:04.00), Cleanup Hitter (6f, 1:15.20), Weirdhaircut Seth (6f, 1:15.40). All workers were for trainer Bob Hess, Jr.

 

 

Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793