Flavien Prat

PRAT, VELAZQUEZ FLY IN FOR PACIFIC CLASSIC DAY

The quality of the jockey colony at Del Mar will tick-up a notch this weekend with the arrival of two riders flying in to ride on Pacific Classic Day.

Flavien Prat and John Velazquez are no strangers to Del Mar. Prat was a leading rider here for several years before picking up stakes and moving east this spring. Velazquez is a Hall of Fame rider who is an established rider in New York and has ridden in big races on the west coast for years.

They’re presence will be felt today. Prat will ride Flightline in the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic. He’s been aboard all four of the Tapit colt’s career starts, including the last one at Belmont Park when they crushed a talented group of runners in the G1 Met Mile.

Prat also will ride Hong Kong Harry for trainer Phil D’Amato in the G2 Del Mar Mile; Dandy Warhol for trainer Mark Glatt in the G2 Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby, and Gold Phoenix for D’Amato again, this time in the Del Mar Handicap. He also has rides in the second, third, sixth and eighth races.

Prat shook up the Del Mar jockey colony prior to this year’s summer meet when he left for the east coast, luring several jockeys to Del Mar in hopes of filling the void left behind by the 2021 summer meet riding champion. Prat had won three straight summer meet riding titles and five of the last six while he rode fulltime on the west coast.

On the other hand, Velazquez has not ridden as extensively at Del Mar as Prat. He tends to do what he’s doing today. Fly in for the big races and then return to his base in New York. There were rumors that Velazquez was ready to move his tack to the west coast prior to the Del Mar summer meet, but those plans fell through. He went on to win his 1,000^th victory at Saratoga this summer.

Velazquez will ride Country Grammer for trainer Bob Baffert in the TVG Pacific Classic. He rode the Dubai World Cup winner in the G2 San Diego earlier in the meet and finished second to Royal Ship.

“He liked the horse and wanted to ride him back,” Baffert says. “Frankie Dettori is going to ride him (Country Grammer) in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and he (Velazquez) didn’t have a problem with that.”

Velazquez also will be aboard Armagnac for Baffert in the Shared Belief; Air Force Red in the G2 Del Mar Mile and Dicey Mo Chara in the Del Mar Handicap, both for trainer Leonard Powell. Velazquez has rides in every race but the first and ninth on Pacific Classic Day.

DEL MAR TVG PACIFIC CLASSIC MEDIA SURVEY

The experts have spoken. Here’s our annual random survey of media members and their choices for this year’s TVG Pacific Classic:

Art Wilson, So. Cal. News Group: Flightline – “Might be a once-in-a-generation horse.”

Jay Privman, Daily Racing Form: Flightline – “I hear the barn likes him.”

Dan Smith, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club – Flightline

Frank Scatoni, DMTC Media: Country Grammer – “$10 million earner is a proven 10-furlong horse and will be good value if he can beat Flightline.”

Jon Lindo, Thoroughbred L.A. Radio Show: Flightline – “This may be a horse we talk about 25 years from now. Let’s see how good he is at the classic distance.”

John Malone, DMTC Clocker: Royal Ship

Brad Free, Daily Racing Form: Flightline – “Freak”

Delaina Stenchever, DMTC Press Box Steward: Royal Ship – “Will need an extra kick at the end, but should close in the stretch.”

Bill Center, Union-Tribune: Flightline

Eddie Wilson, So. Cal News Group: Country Grammer – “Proven at the distance and Dubai World Cup win was spectacular.”

Toby Turrell, DMTC Clocker: Flightline – “Highest cruising speed of any Thoroughbred in the world!”

DESERT DAWN LANDS IN PRIME SPOT IN SUNDAY’S G3 TORREY PINES

The stakes action continues Sunday at Del Mar with the G3 Torrey Pines, a one mile race on the main track for 3-year old fillies. It’s attracted Santa Anita Oaks winner Desert Dawn, fresh off her runner-up finish to Blue Stripe in the G1 Clement Hirsch last month.

“She ran a great race here against older last time in the Grade 1,” notes trainer Phil D’Amato. “This time we’re going to run against fellow 3-year-old fillies and it should be a good spot for her.”

The daughter of the Tapit sire Cupid was third behind Secret Oath and Nest in the Kentucky Oaks and then ran third to Under the Stars in the G2 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita in June.

Under the Stars is back for this one for trainer Bob Baffert.

“She got a little sick on me and I missed a couple of weeks with her,” Baffert says. “She’s one more work away but she has the class.”

The daughter of Pioneerof the Nile won the G2 Santa Ynez in her 3-year-old debut at Santa Anita in January, ran second to Eda in the G3 Santa Ysabel in March in her first race around two turns, then stumbled badly at the start and finished fourth, 11-lengths behind Desert Dawn in the Santa Anita Oaks.

The other Baffert horse in the Torrey Pines is Grace Adler, last year’s top 2-year-old filly at the Del Mar summer meet. The daughter of Curlin is coming off of a runner-up finish to the fast 4-year-old Slammed in her 2022 debut, an allowance sprint at Del Mar on opening day. Slammed returned last Sunday and got into a stretch-long duel with Edgeway in the G3 Rancho Bernardo, losing by a half a length in the end.

Grace Adler hasn’t won since taking the Del Mar Debutante last year. She’ll have a riders switch, from Florent Geroux to Mike Smith.

The Torrey Pines goes off as Race 5 on the 11-race Sunday card.

Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys: Desert Dawn (Umberto Rispoli); Kirstenbosch (Tyler Baze); Midnight Memories (Ramon Vazquez); Malibu Marie (Jose Valdivia); Under the Stars (Juan Hernandez); Cinnamon Cat (Abel Cedillo), and Grace Adler.

LIEUTENANT DAN RETURNS IN G3 GREEN FLASH SUNDAY

It happens quickly. Both the phenomenon involving the setting sun and the ocean and the Grade 3 race that is scheduled for Sunday at Del Mar.

The Green Flash is known to locals as that rare occurrence when the atmospheric conditions are just right. As the sun disappears under the horizon a green flash appears where the sun used to be. It only lasts a second, then it’s gone.

The Green Flash, the horse race, is a 5-furlong turf sprint involving some of the fastest horses on the grounds. It’s a “Win & You’re In” Challenge race for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. This year’s Green Flash will feature the returning champion, Lieutenant Dan, making his 2022 debut.

Last year, the Cal-bred son of Grazen raced four times and won three of them on his way to being named the 2021 Cal-bred Horse of the Year. He won a second level allowance at Del Mar in July, captured the Green Flash a month later and then won the G2 Eddie D down the hill at Santa Anita in October. He went on to run a good second to champion Golden Pal in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, posting a triple digit Beyer speed figure.

Trainer Steve Miyadi has given Lieutenant Dan plenty of time to recover from his 2021 campaign and explains the long layoff and the timing of his return.

“The owner paid $100,000 to nominate him (for the Breeders’ Cup),” Miyadi says. “He paid entry and starting fees, ran second in the Breeders’ Cup, and he made $5,000. Since he made him eligible for it for his career, might as well run him again. But if we had kept going with him what are the odds (he’d still be running by November). Now if we run second, he actually makes money.”

Two imports from South America are expected to give Lieutenant Dan all he can handle. Dubai Key hasn’t lost since arriving in the States last summer. He’s won three straight, two at Gulfstream Park and his last at Del Mar last month. All three were allowance races.

“He’s a very fast horse,” says trainer Amador Sanchez, who brought a string of seven horses with him to Del Mar from his Florida base. “The horse is very good right now; better than his last race.”

Sanchez is also running another speedball from Chile, Super Ocho, who made his U.S. debut in June at Mountaineer Park (in West Virginia) and won by 10-lengths.

“He’s similar, very classy,” Sanchez says. “He’s very strong. He won at Mountaineer but this is the first time he’s in a good group. I feel very good about this race.”

Whatmakessammyrun came late at Dubai Key in the third-level allowance race at Del Mar and with a better trip could turn the tables. He’s now in the Mark Glatt barn. The third-place finisher in that allowance race, Nero, also is entered. 

The G3 Green Flash goes off as the ninth race on the 11-race Sunday card. Here’s the field from the rail with jockeys and odds: Dubai Key (Hector Berrios, 3-1); Yes He Can (Kyle Frey, 15-1); Super Ocho (Armando Ayuso, 6-1); Lane Way (Mike Smith, 15-1); Nero (Ryan Curatolo, 15-1); Chasin Munny (Abel Cedillo, 20-1); Barristan The Bold (Joe Bravo, 15-1); Coulthard (Ramon Vasquez, 15-1); Lieutenant Dan (Juan Hernandez, 5/2); Whatmakessammyrun (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1), and Maven (Edwin Maldonado, 8-1).

COOLING OUT: Jockey Florent Geroux, one of many riders who moved their tacks to Del Mar this summer, has returned back east to ride. Geroux had seven winners from 92 mounts at Del Mar and compiled earnings of $749,760…Connie Swingle, winner of Friday’s feature at Del Mar, came out of the race in good shape according to trainer Phil D’Amato. He says she’ll be pointed to the Unzip Me Stakes down the hill at Santa Anita October 2…Notable works for Saturday: Dirt -- Avenue de France (4f, :50.60); Adare Manor (5f, :58.20); Azul Coast (5f, :58.40); Midcourt (5f, 1:01.20); Taiba (5f, :58.20), and Vegas Magic (5f, 1:00.80). A total of 157 horses put in official works on Saturday.

Del Mar Statistics

Jockey Standings
(Current Through Friday, September 2, 2022 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings
(Current Through Friday, September 2, 2022 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Friday, September 2, 2022 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 83 out of 232 -- 35.78%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 51 out of 130 -- 39.23%
Winning favorites on turf -- 32 out of 102 -- 31.37%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 17 out of 34   -- 50.00%
In-the-Money favorites -- 168 out of 232 -- 72.41%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 30 out of 34 -- 88.24%