By Jim Charvat

 

Tamara © Benoit Photo

TAMARA LEADS TALENTED GROUP OF FILLIES IN G1 DEL MAR DEBUTANTE

Every year barns come to Del Mar loaded with fresh 2-year-olds. Some make their debut at the seaside oval and reveal that they need more work or more seasoning. Others shine in their maiden races, prompting a change in plans or to simply stay the course mapped out before they came here. Those plans usually involve running on closing weekend of the Del Mar summer meet in one of the two big juvenile races, either the G1 Debutante or the G1 Futurity.

Saturday we’ll see the crop of 2-year old fillies who have weathered the scrutiny and passed the tests of the earlier weeks, earning a spot in the 73^rd running of the G1 FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante. Fourteen will go postward led by the daughter of a Hall of Famer.

Tamara burst on the scene last month with a maiden win at Del Mar. It was an eye-catching performance, not only for the impressive way in which she came from off the pace to win the race but also her strikingly resemblance to her mother. The daughter of Beholder has done nothing but impress her trainer.

“She trains very forward, very smart,” Richard Mandella points out. “She’s gifted, she can run. So far just nothing but good things from her.”

She’ll have to bring her ‘A’ game to beat this group, which consists of the top two finishers in the G3 Sorrento earlier in the meet.

Dreamfyre took the lead that day and never looked back, winning by 3 ½ lengths over race favorite Benedetta. It was her second victory in as many career starts and her second stakes win. She took down the Everitt Nevin at Pleasanton in her debut in July.

“She’s talented,” trainer O. J. Jauregui says. “Whenever I ask her to do something, she does it really nice. The two races she ran, she ran really well. She’s been great.”

Jauregui doesn’t believe they have to send her right out of the gate for her to run her best race.

“She’s definitely got speed,” Jauregui says, “and she’s very wicked on the lead but I also believe she can rate. I will leave it up to the jock.”

She’ll have to contend with Benedetta again. The daughter of City of Light was 7 ½ lengths better than the rest of the field of seven that ran in the Sorrento.

A horse that might keep Dreamfyre company on the front end is the winner of the $125,000 CTBA Stakes at Del Mar last month. Pushiness beat a good group of Cal-breds that day, her second wire-to-wire score in as many career starts. The daughter of Kantharos hails from the Michael McCarthy barn. She broke her maiden by six lengths at Santa Anita in June.

“Obviously it’s a big step up in class but she’s been very good right from the start,” McCarthy notes. “She’s stretching out in trip from 5 ½ to seven eighths. We’ll see how she bounces out of there and see where she puts herself.”

The G1 Debutante is a 7-furlong test. It’s the 10th race on the Saturday card. Approximate post time is 6 p.m.

Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning odds: Julias Dream (Ricky Gonzalez, 5-1); Next Right Thing (Emily Ellingwood, 30-1); Pretty Layla (Drayden Van Dyke, 30-1); Benedetta (Victor Espinoza, 10-1); Hope Road (Tiago Pereira, 12-1); Chatalas (Juan Hernandez, 5-1); Dreamfyre (Hector Berrios, 4-1); Pushiness (Umberto Rispoli, 8-1); Tamara (Mike Smith, 7/2); Where’s My Ring (Joe Bravo, 15-1); Motet (Abdul Alsagoor, 50-1); Gate to Paradise (Kent Desormeaux, 20-1); Laurent (Edwin Maldonado, 6-1), and Cheeky Gal (Antonio Fresu, 30-1).

CLOSING REMARKS EYES BACK-TO-BACK GRADE II WINS AT DEL MAR

The last of the stakes races for older horses, in this case fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up, will be run Saturday afternoon. It’s the 66^th edition of the John C. Mabee, a mile and an eighth affair on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

Harris Farms’ Closing Remarks will be the horse to beat off of her last out victory in the G2 Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar last month. It was the second Grade II win of the year for the daughter of Vronsky.

“The first race off of her freshening has really got her on the muscle,” trainer Carla Gaines says. “She actually laid close the other day going a mile and a sixteenth, so a mile and an eighth she’ll be right up there with hopefully a couple of horses in front of her to take a run at.”

Co-champion trainer last year and co-leading trainer going into the final week of this year’s Del Mar summer meet, Phil D’Amato, brings two contenders to the six-horse field.

Oakhurst is coming into the race off of a victory in a second-level allowance race on opening weekend at Del Mar. The daughter of Mr. Speaker had not won since April of 2022. But in her third start for D’Amato she held off Eddie’s New Dream, who went on to win the $150,000 Solana Beach one month later.

“I think she’s a filly on the improve,” D’Amato says. “She likes it down here. She trained really well and I like the spacing. She’ll come running late.”

Oakhurst put in a bullet work on the Del Mar turf course Sunday, covering the five furlongs in 1:01.60, best of six at that distance that day.

“I like the way she did it,” D’Amato adds. “I like the gallop out so I think she’s set and ready to go.”

D’Amato’s second entry is Turnerloose, a horse who finished fifth behind Closing Remarks in the Yellow Ribbon in her first start in over a year. It was her first race for D’Amato after coming over from the Brad Cox barn.

“I think she was a filly that just needed the race last time,” D’Amato says. “So I think second off the long layoff she should be much better and hopefully ready to win.”

Neige Blanc returns for her second race at the meet. She ran third as the race favorite behind Sister Otoole and Eylara in the CTT & TOC last month.

“I thought she would run a little better,” trainer Leonard Powell says. “It was her second start off of the layoff. Maybe that had a little bit of an effect on her.

“It’s a small field,” Powell continues. “That’s why we entered her. A mile and an eighth is shorter than her liking but it’s her last year of racing so we’re looking at all of the opportunities.”

Paris Peacock and Free and Humble round out the field. Paris Peacock ran fourth in her last race, a half length behind Neige Blanche in the CTT & TOC. Free and Humble won an entry-level allowance for trainer Peter Miller last month.

The G2 John C. Mabee, named after the owner of the once popular Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona and breeder of champion Best Pal, is the seventh race on the Saturday card. Approximate post time is 4:30 p.m.

Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning odds: Paris Peacock (Drayden Van Dyke, 8-1); Free and Humble (Hector Berrios, 15-1); Oakhurst (Juan Hernandez, 4-1); Closing Remarks (Umberto Rispoli, 9/5); Neige Blanche (Diego Herrera, 5/2), and Turnerloose (Antonio Fresu, 5/2).

TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLIES FIND GRASS IS GREENER IN JUVENILE FILLIES TURF

The stakes tripleheader at Del Mar on Saturday kicks off with the Juvenile Fillies Turf, a one mile race that fills the bill for many 2-year-old grass runners.

A common theme among trainers this time of year is they have nowhere to run their young grass horses once they’ve broken their maiden. Enter the $100,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf which attracted 10 runners, three of which just broke their maiden, two at the one mile distance. The others are still maidens hoping to get a little bonus for their first win.

Angiolleta and Flattery both broke their maidens last out at Del Mar. Angiolleta ran the one mile on the turf in 1:37.59, Flattery in 1:37.95. For Angiolleta it was also her U.S debut after running the first two races of her career in France. Trainer Doug O’Neill sends out the Irish-bred who came to the states in June.

“She came over from Europe and she’s settled in,” O’Neill says. “It seems like with each day she’s getting a little more adjusted to the American style of racing and the tighter turns. She put in probably her best work to date this last work so we’re excited. I think she has a real good chance.”

That last work was four furlongs in :48.40, (26/92) last Sunday.

Flattery is a daughter of Flatter, who came from the back of the pack with a strong closing kick to win.

“I don’t think you’ll find her quite as far back,” trainer Peter Eurton says. “Just the fact that second-time starters seem to always be a little more precocious and her works are showing that, too. He’ll (jockey Juan Hernandez) just do what he’s going to do and put her where he feels comfortable and hopefully she’s got that big run again.”

The other Eurton horse is Tambo, who broke her maiden in an $80,000 maiden-claimer at Del Mar in July. That race was 5 ½ furlongs on the dirt, her second career start.

The other eight are still maidens. Loterie, an Irish-bred from the Phil D’Amato barn, was runner-up to Angiolleta last time out, coming from the back of the pack to miss by just a length. It was her first race stateside and second overall.

“She had a little traffic trouble around the quarter pole,” D’Amato says. “But she still came with a nice run. I think she’s improved since that race and merits a shot in the stake. “

Cailin Dana was second at first asking in a 5-furlong maiden special weight at Del Mar last month. Sean McCarthy trains the daughter of Oscar Performance.

The $100,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf is the fifth race on the 11-race Saturday card. Approximate post time is 3:30 p.m.

Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and the morning odds: Flattery (4-1); Arctic Breeze (Scratched); Poppy’s Joy (Ricky Gonzalez, 15-1); Double Bay (Geovanni Franco, 8-1); Tambo (Tiago Pereira, 6-1); Angiolleta (Hector Berrios, 5/2); Bossy Bruin Gal (Edwin Maldonado, 20-1); Auratium (Joe Bravo, 15-1); Loterie (Umberto Rispoli, 7/2); Into Yellowstone (Diego Herrera, 30-1), and Cailin Dana (Ramon Vasquez, 6-1).

COOLING OUT:  Two veteran trainers notched their first victories of the Del Mar summer meet on Monday. Robertino Diodoro’s City Legend won the third race on the holiday card and paid $24.20 to win. Four races later, Patrick Biancone broke the ice with Ipanema Princess who paid $32 on a $2 win ticket…Micro Share came out of her win in the Tranquility Lake Monday in good shape. Trainer Richard Mandella says they will look at the G2 Zenyatta at Santa Anita on October 1 for her next race…Crazy Hot also came out of her Monday stakes win in the Generous Portion in good order…Jockey Tyler Baze is named to ride Stan From Malibu in the eighth race Saturday. It would be his first mount of the summer meet…Notable works from this week, all on the dirt: Tuesday – Practical Move (5f, :59.60), and Arabian Lion (6f, 1:12.4). Thursday – Eddies New Dream (3f, 38.80); Friday – Hit the Road (5f, 1:01.6), and Dua (6f, 1:11.8).

Del Mar Statistics

 Jockey Standings
(Current through September 4, 2023 Inclusive) 

Trainer Standings
(Current through September 4, 2023 Inclusive)  

Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through September 4, 2023 Inclusive) 

 Winning favorites -- 96 out of 256 -- 37.50%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 57 out of 143 -- 39.86%
Winning favorites on turf -- 39 out of 113 -- 34.51%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 21 out of 38 -- 55.26%
In-the-Money favorites -- 169 out of 256 -- 66.02%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 30 out of 38 -- 78.95%