G1 RUNHAPPY FUTURITY, G1 TVG DEBUTANTE BEGIN TO TAKE SHAPE

The Del Mar racing office has released a list of probables for next weekend’s Grade 1 stakes races to decide the champion 2-year-olds of the soon-to-conclude summer meet and set the stage for the run to the Breeders’ Cup in November at Keeneland.

Six fillies are probable for Saturday’s TVG Debutante, run at six-furlongs on the main track:

Vegas Magic – Doug O’Neill – Won the G2 Sorrento at Del Mar on August 13.

Home Cooking – Bob Baffert – Broke her maiden by 9 ¼ lengths at Del Mar on August 21.

Fast and Shiny – Bob Baffert – Broke her maiden first time out at Del Mar on August 7.

And Tell Me Nolies – Peter Miller – Broke her maiden at Del Mar on August 14.

Satin Doll – Doug O’Neill – Broke her maiden first out at Del Mar on July 23, returned to run fourth in the G2 Sorrento.

Arella Star – Rodrick Rodriguez – Broke her maiden at Gulfstream Park on July 29.

Seven colts and one gelding are on the list of possibles for the G1 Runhappy Futurity run at six furlongs on the main track on Sunday.

The Big Wam – Luis Mendez – broke his maiden at Del Mar on July 23 and followed that with a win in the $125,000 Graduation on August 12. Started his career in Kentucky where he finished second in the Kentucky Juvenile at Churchill Downs on May 5.

Newgate – Bob Baffert – Broke his maiden by 3 ½ lengths at Del Mar on July 30.

Havnameltdown – Bob Baffert – Broke his maiden first out at Del Mar on July 24, then won the G3 Best Pal on August 14.

Cave Rock – Bob Baffert – Broke his maiden first out by six lengths on August 22.

Mister Iceman – Peter Miller – Broke his maiden at second asking on August 6.

Agency – Mark Glatt – Broke his maiden first out at Santa Anita on June 12 then followed it with a runner up finish in the G3 Best Pal at Del Mar on August 14.

Arrowthegreat – Dan Blacker – Ran second to Newgate in a maiden special weight at Del Mar in his first and only career start on July 30.

Classical Cat – Philip D’Amato – Broke his maiden at first asking on August 20.

Entries for the TVG Debutante will be drawn on Wednesday and for the Runhappy Futurity on Thursday.

FLAVIEN PRAT TO RIDE CLOSING WEEKEND AT DEL MAR

He had such a good day last Saturday on Pacific Classic Day, jockey Flavien Prat has decided to make an encore appearance on closing weekend at Del Mar. The popular rider will ride all three days.

Prat is available because of a break in racing in New York. Saratoga closes today and the Belmont Park at Aqueduct meet doesn’t open until September 15. That leaves Prat with a little time on his hands and after the success he enjoyed Saturday with four wins, three of them graded stakes, the five-time leading rider at Del Mar decided this would be a good spot to pick up some work. He has mounts in six of the eight races on Friday.

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.

On Saturday, Prat returned to his old stomping grounds and won the G1 Pacific Classic with Flightline, the G2 Del Mar Handicap with Gold Phoenix and the G2 Del Mar Mile with Hong Kong Harry. His total earnings on the day was $1,012,340.

Going into closing day at Saratoga, Prat is fourth in the jockey standings with 36 victories.

JOCKEY EMILY ELLINGWOOD LEAVING A GOOD IMPRESSION AT DEL MAR

Apprentice jockeys use to win riding titles at Del Mar. In fact, an apprentice named William Shoemaker won it in 1949. Apprentice jocks won back-to-back titles in 1972 and ’73. That being said, Steve Valdez with 61 victories in 1973 was the last time an apprentice won the Del Mar riding title. And, it’s not going to happen this year either.

But there’s always that competition between the apprentices to see who can win the most races and this year 28-year-old Emily Ellingwood appears well on her way to being Del Mar’s top apprentice at the summer meet. She has six wins. Abdul Alsagoor is next with two.

Ellingwood actually lost her ‘bug’ with that sixth win at Del Mar on August 27^th, a day she notched two winners on the card.

“I’m pretty happy with how it’s been going,” Ellingwood say. “I’m going to try my best to keep kicking butt as a journeyman, or better yet, journeywoman.”

Ellingwood appears undaunted by the new journeywoman designation. Apprentice jockeys often find that business drops off significantly when they lose their status because they no longer have the weight allowance afforded apprentices, which trainers covet. Ellingwood had 46 mounts in the first six weeks of the summer meet. Since losing her bug a week ago last Saturday, she’s had six.

“I’ve heard that many times from trainers,” Ellingwood says, “but a few trainers that you would think would have that same opinion actually are very supportive of me. I’m just going to keep working hard, showing up at 4:30 in the morning and show everybody that I want this and belong here and this is what I’m meant to do in life.”

Ellingwood’s been around horses all her life, growing up in Agora Hills, northwest of downtown Los Angeles in the Santa Monica Mountains.

“I rode horses in my backyard,” Ellingwood says. “I was part of a 4-H and pony club. I did horse shows with hunters and jumpers and went to work with a few professional hunter-jumper trainers and prepped the horses for their clients to show in the afternoon. I got a little bored with it and realized racing was more so my niche.

“Horses have always been my passion since I was young,” Ellingwood adds. “They were always my best friends that I could go to when I was down. Growing up, they were my idols. I feel I really had a connection with them and they understood me. I always told myself I wanted to work with horses. I really didn’t know what it was going to be but as the years went by everything fell into place.”

She managed to get her first job at a racetrack at Santa Anita seven years ago.

 “I got introduced to trainer Matt Chew when I was 21,” Ellingwood says. “He gave me a job working as an exercise rider. I also walked horses and did any chores around the barn to help out. He introduced me to trainer Tom Proctor because my ultimate goal was to become a jockey. I worked for Tom for two years galloping and breaking babies at Glen Hill Farms (in Florida).”

Trainer Peter Eurton gave Emily her first ride in 2020 when he gave her a leg up on Dairy Kid in a $16,000 claimer at Los Alamitos. She finished sixth.

Business picked up significantly in 2021. Ellingwood had 222 mounts in her first full year riding. She made it to the winners circle 22 times riding mostly claimers and maidens.

Through it all, she’s had to deal with the stereotyping often directed at female jockeys, let alone apprentice female jocks, though, she says, it’s not as bad as some would have you believe.

“I do have some people say I’m not strong enough or not as strong as the boys,” Ellingwood says, “but I have definitely proven a lot of people wrong when I do go out there and kick butt.

“At this point I’ve told myself I’m just going to be me,” she says. “I’m doing my best, I love riding horses, I don’t want to do anything else. I think people have realized that this is more than just a job to me. This is my life and I don’t want it any other way.”

She acknowledges making a living in the horse racing industry in Southern California can be a tough nut to crack.

“The competition here is definitely a lot higher,” Ellingwood says. “Everybody’s bringing their best horses and you just gotta put your agent in charge of finding the best one out of all of them.”

Her agent is old pro Patty Sterling.

As for losing the ‘bug,’ Ellingwood has a bright outlook.

“It’s like I’m just getting started,” she says.

Fair warning for the rest of the riders out there.

$125,000 I’M SMOKIN CAPS CAL-BRED STAKES AT DEL MAR FRIDAY

The final week of racing at Del Mar this summer kicks-off with an eight-race card Friday, highlighted by the final Cal-bred stakes race of the meet, the $125,000 I’m Smokin Stakes for 2-year-olds.

Eight colts and geldings will line up for the six-furlong test including the intriguing entry of Moon Ice, a stablemate of Flightline in the John Sadler barn. This will be the colt’s first career start following a steady work tab dating back to June 16.

“He’s a 2-year-old that’s shown promise,” Sadler says. “It looks a little ambitious, going in a stake but we think he’s got some ability.”

Flavien Prat will ride Moon Ice.

Trainer Tim Yakteen will send out Kangaroo Court, a 14-length winner in his last start, a 5 ½ furlong maiden special weight at Del Mar last month. He wired that group as the odds on favorite and may be the one to catch Friday.

“No one envisioned their horses winning by that many lengths,” Yakteen says. “We didn’t get in the first maiden race we had originally entered in so we have less time between races comparatively to some of our competitors. We had a good breeze so he’s training great and we’re good to go.”

Kangaroo Court may get company up front from Straighten Up, a colt that won at first asking at Los Alamitos in July then came back and ran second to The Big Wam in the Graduation Stakes at Del Mar last month.

“He breezed today, a little 3/8’s breeze and we’re ready to go off that,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer says. “We don’t think he has to go to the front but we’ll have to look at the form and see how the race is going to set up.”

Trainer Peter Miller has a live one in the I’m Smokin in Giver Not a Taker. The gelded son of Danzig Candy also won at first asking, running off to win by seven lengths at Del Mar last month

Merit Song is another gelding worth a look. He broke his maiden at Del Mar in July and then came back and won an entry level allowance race two weeks ago. He’s trained by veteran conditioner Hector Palma.

The I’m Smokin Stakes goes off as the seventh race of the day.

Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys: Kangaroo Court (Abel Cedillo); Moon Ice; Hacking It Up (Mario Gutierrez); Amigo G A (Ramon Vasquez); Good N Thirsty (Hector Berrios); Straighten Up (Mike Smith); Merit Song (Joe Bravo), and Giver Not a Taker (Jose Valdivia).

COOLING OUT: Trainer Bob Baffert says Midnight Memories came out of her win in the G3 Torrey Pines in good order and may look at the Zenyatta up at Santa Anita for her next race…Lieutenant Dan also came out of his 2022 debut win in the G3 Green Flash in good shape but trainer Steve Miyadi has no plans yet for his Breeder’s Cup eligible turf sprinter…Notable works for Monday: Dirt – Blue Stripe (4f, :51.80); Cairo Memories (4f, :49.00); Neige Blanche (4f, :53.40); Warrens Candy Girl (4f, :52.20); Going Global (5f, 1:01.80); Going to Vegas (5f, 1:01.40); Tripoli (5f, 1:02.40), and Home Cooking (6f, 1:12.20). There was a total of 131 horses who put in official works on Monday.

Del Mar Statistics

Jockey Standings
(Current Through Saturday, September 3, 2022 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings
(Current Through Saturday, September 3, 2022 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Saturday, September 3, 2022 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 88 out of 243 -- 36.21%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 53 out of 136 -- 38.97%
Winning favorites on turf -- 35 out of 107 -- 32.71%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 18 out of 36   -- 50.00%
In-the-Money favorites -- 175 out of 243 -- 72.02%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 32 out of 36 -- 88.89%