AMERICAN PHAROAH WILL PARADE AFTER FOURTH RACE SUNDAY
Triple Crown champion American Pharoah returned to his Del Mar home Monday, two days after the three-quarter-length loss to Keen Ice in the Travers Stakes and will be paraded for the fans after Sunday’s fourth race.
Since his return, American Pharoah has taken his morning exercise by being walked in the area of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s barn. “He walked this morning and he’ll walk again tomorrow (Thursday),” Baffert said Wednesday morning.
American Pharoah travelled down the freeways from Santa Anita to Del Mar on July 14 and trained here for a winning trip to New Jersey for the Haskell Invitational on August 2 and the runner-up effort in the Travers last Saturday at Saratoga.
The routine has been to take American Pharoah to the track between 7:45-8 a.m. for jogs or gallops and he has had five works at Del Mar, all of them relatively fast, three of them the best of the day at the distance.
The morning appearances have, as would be expected, been attention grabbers for backstretch workers, horsemen and general fans on site at the early hour.
On Sunday, the Ahmed Zayat homebred and son of Pioneerof the Nile, will be paraded in the afternoon after the fourth race which has an approximate post time of 3:40, as part of a day of multiple events at the track. The next-to-last day of the 40-day summer racing season will include three stakes races – the $200,000 Grade II Yellow Ribbon Handicap, $250,000 Del Mar Derby and $80,000 C.E.R.F Stakes – a TVG-sponsored giveaway of 10,000 American Pharoah posters and a post-race concert by the popular band Weezer.
American Pharoah made his racing debut at Del Mar on August 9, 2014 with a fifth-place finish in a maiden event and came back on September 3 to win the Grade I Del Mar Futurity, the start of an eight-race winning streak that ended in the Travers. The colt’s career earnings have reached $5,900,300.
“It all started at Del Mar. It’s very fitting that we celebrate his Triple Crown victory with his fans at this great racing place,” Zayat said via text Wednesday. “Time to salute the legend.”
Del Mar President and CEO Joe Harper said: “So many fans have enjoyed seeing him in the mornings, we’re delighted to have a chance for them to see him in the afternoon.”
Though long-term arrangements have been made for American Pharoah to begin his stallion career in 2016 at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, the colt’s immediate future is being discussed.
His connections are weighing the possibility of retiring him now against the thought of running him once more in the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic on October 31 at Keeneland Race Course in Kentucky. Should his retirement be the decision, his Del Mar appearance might serve as a farewell for the 2014 Male Juvenile Eclipse Award winner and current favorite for additional championship honors this season.
Del Mar’s 10-race Sunday program will have a first post of 2 p.m.
GAS TOTAL GOES FOR SECOND STAKES WIN IN TRANQUILITY LAKE
Haras Philllipson Inc.’s Gas Total, winner of the Osunitas Stakes here on July 18, is the 5-2 favorite on oddsmaker Russ Hudak’s morning line in a field of 10 for today’s featured $80,000 Tranquility Lake Stakes for fillies and mares at one mile on the main track.
The Osunitas was moved to the main track from the turf due to rains and Gas Total, a 6-year-old Argentinian-bred mare trained by Richard Mandella and ridden by Flavien Prat, rallied from fourth to defeat My Monet by a neck. My Monet is also entered in the Tranquility Lake.
“Maybe it was (move to dirt) a blessing in disguise, because she’s been good on dirt before,” Mandella said. “I guess that mile and half race (Possibly Perfect, June 7 at Santa Anita) got her fit. At the half-mile pole I didn’t know if she was going to make it, but she did.”
WHAT’S IN A NAME – TRANQUILITY LAKE STAKES
The Tranquility Lake Stakes honors the multi stakes-winning mare owned by Mr. and Mrs. Martin Wygod and trained by Julio Canani. Tranquility Lake won three stakes at Del Mar – the Palomar Handicap twice and the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes.
ADVANTAGE BEJARANO, HOLLENDORFER ENTERING FINAL SIX DAYS
Jockey Rafael Bejarano and Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer have comfortable, but not secure, leads entering the final six days of the meeting.
With 33 wins, Bejarano has a seven-victory edge over Joe Talamo and, in light of a legal ruling, will have the full number of days to protect the lead. Stewards assessed Bejarano a three-day suspension which the three-time defending Del Mar champion has appealed and received a temporary restraining order.
Without the ruling, Bejarano would have been able to ride stakes races only on the meet-closing weekend. Bejarano has three mounts on today’s program to five for Talamo.
Hollendorfer takes a five-win lead, 20-15, over Peter Miller into today. In 2014 Hollendorfer and Miller tied for the summer title with 20 wins each.
SMOKEY IMAGE CLEAR FAVORITE IN I’M SMOKIN
Betty and Robert G. Irvin’s Smokey Image is the 8-5 favorite in a field of six for Friday’s $150,000 I’m Smokin Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for 2-year-old California-breds.
A son of Southern Image trained by Greg C. James, Southern Image has three wins in as many career starts, the first two at Turf Paradise in Arizona and comes in off a two-length score in the Cavonnier Juvenile at Santa Rosa on August 16.
The field from the rail: Carlos Dangerous (Rafael Bejarano, 5-1), Viviendo El Sueno (Martin Garcia, 5-1), Xingontothebone (Felipe Valdez, 10-1), Smokey Image (Juan Hernandez, 8-5), Found Money (Mario Gutierrez, 2-1) and Quorum of Joy (Corey Nakatani, 8-1).
DEBUTANTE, JUVENILE TURF ATTRACT BIG NUMBERS
The Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Debutante and $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Turf, the two stakes on Saturday’s card, proved popular at the entry box.
With the close of entries and post position draw scheduled later Wednesday afternoon, the names of 11 two-year-old fillies had been submitted for the Debutante, with two of them supplementals at a cost of $10,000 each. Thirteen were entered for a possible 11 spots in the Juvenile Turf with the racing office not ruling out the possibility of more.
Supplementally entered to the Debutante were Big Chief Racing LLC’s Right There, trained by J. Keith Desormeaux, and Come To Mischief, owned by Loooch Racing Stables and trained by Peter Walder.
Other Debutante runners are: Pretty N Cool, Surfside Tiara, Stays In Vegas, Songbird, Gomo, One True Kiss, Mitzi Winks, Land Over Sea and My Dynamo.
Juvenile Turf entrants in alphabetical order are: Annie’s Candy, Dressed In Hermes, Dubdubwatson, Get Off My Back, Go Long, Hollywood Don, Hot Ore, I’malreadythere, Mr Notorious, Rare Candy, Recalibrating, Swiss Minister and Tiz A Billy.
CLOSERS – Twelve might considered to be a lucky number for trainer Bob Baffert,, as he pointed out Wednesday morning. He’s won the upcoming Del Mar Futurity 12 times, conditioned American Pharoah to be the 12th Triple Crown Champion and has been married to his wife, Jill, for 12 years … Jockey Edwin Maldonado enters the final week of the meeting with 997 career wins. He has two mounts today … Selected works from 271 officially timed over the last three days, all on the main track: Monday – Pretty N Cool (5f, 1:00.40), Papacoolpapacool (5f, 1:00.00), Elektrum (5f, 1:00.60), Prince of Prague (4f, :46.80), Dortmund (4f, :50.00); Tuesday – Yahilwa (4f, :47.20), Unforgettable U (4f, :46.20); Wednesday – Warren’s Veneda (5f, :59.80), Distinctiv Passion (4f, :46.80), Bayern (4f, :47.60) … Trainer Richard Mandella said Beholder, nicely recovered from her Pacific Classic victory, will run next in the Zenyatta at Santa Anita.
| Jockey Standings | ||||||
| (Current Through Sunday, August 30, 2015 Inclusive) | ||||||
| Jockey | Mts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Win% | Money Won |
| Rafael Bejarano | 185 | 33 | 38 | 24 | 18% | $2,195,084 |
| Joseph Talamo | 162 | 26 | 13 | 14 | 16% | $1,481,818 |
| Tyler Baze | 185 | 23 | 25 | 29 | 12% | $1,441,770 |
| Santiago Gonzalez | 147 | 21 | 13 | 19 | 14% | $1,175,356 |
| Mario Gutierrez | 114 | 21 | 12 | 10 | 18% | $1,124,876 |
| Flavien Prat | 156 | 20 | 26 | 24 | 13% | $1,746,294 |
| Martin Garcia | 122 | 18 | 12 | 14 | 15% | $1,161,950 |
| Corey Nakatani | 77 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 21% | $729,476 |
| Kent Desormeaux | 81 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 17% | $733,874 |
| Fernando Perez | 132 | 11 | 17 | 21 | 8% | $655,488 |
| Trainer Standings | ||||||
| (Current Through Sunday, August 30, 2015 Inclusive) | ||||||
| Trainer | Sts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Win% | Money Won |
| Jerry Hollendorfer | 80 | 20 | 9 | 10 | 25% | $1,209,372 |
| Peter Miller | 114 | 15 | 19 | 15 | 13% | $1,127,020 |
| Doug F. O'Neill | 91 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 15% | $1,080,290 |
| Philip D'Amato | 76 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 16% | $914,612 |
| Richard Baltas | 61 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 20% | $611,708 |
| Bob Baffert | 56 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 20% | $884,820 |
| John W. Sadler | 46 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 24% | $581,884 |
| Mike Puype | 66 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 15% | $568,410 |
| Robert B. Hess, Jr. | 49 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 20% | $305,932 |
| Mark Glatt | 56 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 14% | $410,890 |
| Winning Favorites Report | |||
| (Current Through Sunday, August 30, 2015 Inclusive) | |||
| Winning favorites | 90 | 299 | 30.10% |
| Winning favorites on dirt | 66 | 205 | 32.20% |
| Winning favorites on turf | 24 | 94 | 25.53% |
| Winning odds-on favorites | 18 | 36 | 50.00% |
| In-the-Money favorites | 175 | 299 | 58.53% |
| In-the-Money odds-on favorites | 32 | 36 | 88.89% |
Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793