Del Mar Daily Notebook

Closing Day and Meet Recap

by Brian P. Turner

As summer draws to a close, so does the 2006 meet at Del Mar. Over the
course of the last seven weeks, we have been treated to some tremendous
Thoroughbred racing and witnessed performances by some of the top horses in the
country who will soon be leaving Southern California in search of further glory
in Kentucky and the Breeders’ Cup on November 4 at Churchill Downs.

Lava Man (Slew City Slew) is a perfect six for six on the year after posting
a 2 1/2-length victory in the featured event of the meet, the $1 million Pacific
Classic (G1). After this impressive score, his connections indicated that they
would most likely ante up the cash needed to supplement the dark bay to the
Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), and if the races were being run in Southern
California this year, he would look pretty close to invincible. Unfortunately,
anytime he has headed East in the past, he has disappointed. The five-year-old
made a trip to Belmont last year to participate in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1)
and finished seventh, beaten by 45 1/2 lengths. He also ran seventh, beaten by
14 1/2 lengths, in the Sunshine Million Classic S. at Gulfstream at the
beginning of 2005. Lava Man even made a trip to Japan to take a shot at The
Japan Cup (Jpn-G1), where he finished a well beaten 11th. Perhaps given the roll
he has been on thus far this year, the gelding will have no trouble back East,
but it would be nice to have seen at least one nice performance by him outside
of California.

Though he finished fifth in the Pacific Classic, it wouldn’t be a surprise if
Giacomo (Holy Bull) took a shot at the Breeders’ Cup Classic as well. The gray
put in a tremendous performance here in the San Diego H. (G2), where he rallied
from off the pace to win by a head, and Churchill Downs was the site of the
greatest triumph of his career when he picked up the victory in the 2005 running
of the Kentucky Derby (G1).

Healthy Addiction (Boston Harbor) didn’t fare too well when she left
California last year to take a shot in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at
Belmont, finishing well up the track. The dark bay is coming off a nice 1
3/4-length victory here in the Clement L. Hirsch H. (G2) and it may be worth
giving her another shot. It is also entirely possible that Clement second-place
finisher Happy Ticket (Anet) may show up in the Distaff as she captured the
Fleur de Lis H. (G2) at Churchill back in June.

The connections of T. H. Approval (With Approval) have to be giving the
Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) serious consideration after his impressive off-the-pace
victory in the Del Mar H. (G2). The gray has looked good in all but one start
this year and could prove to be a legitimate threat if they are able to pair him
up with regular rider Alex Solis. As for the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), Aragorn
(Ire) (Giant’s Causeway) would definitely have to be the North American favorite
right now after solidifying his hold on the division by winning both the Eddie
Read H. (G1) and the Del Mar Breeders’ Cup H. (G2). The chestnut easily took the
victories in both of these events and appeared to have something left in the
tank each time. Get Funky (Straight Man) performed well in all three starts this
meet, including a victory in the Del Mar Derby (G2), but the dark bay may
not be ready to tackle the level of competition he would face in the Breeders’
Cup. A. P. Warrior (A. P. Indy), who might take a shot at the Mile after winning his
turf debut in the La Jolla H. (G2), appears to have found his calling on the grass
after putting in some solid efforts over the main track throughout his career.

Mea Domina (Dance Brightly) and Dancing Edie (Moscow Ballet) are both coming
off solid gate-to-wire stakes efforts during the meet that would make them
possibilities for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1). Mea Domina brought
home the victory in the Palomar Breeders’ Cup H. (G2), and Dancing Edie took the
John C. Mabee H. (G1). Arravale (Arch) is also a possibility for that event
after capturing the Del Mar Oaks (G1), but the three-year-old filly is probably better suited for the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. (G1) at Keeneland,
where she could face fellow sophomores. Attima (GB) (Zafonic) pulled off the
gate-to-wire victory in the San Clemente H. (G2) before coming back to finish a
disappointing fifth as the favorite in the Del Mar Oaks. The QEII might be a
better spot for her as well.

Pure as Gold (Stolen Gold) and Bordonaro (Memo [Chi]) could cross paths again
in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) after their controversial finish in the Bing
Crosby H. (G1) where Pure as Gold pulled out the narrow half-length victory
after jockey Jon Court inadvertently smacked Bordonaro across the face with his
whip in the stretch drive. Though the order of finish remained unchanged, many
felt that Bordonaro was gaining ground on the winner at the time and could have
pulled off the victory. Pure as Gold followed that effort up with a second-place
finish to Siren Lure (Joyeux Danseur) in the Pat O’Brien Breeders’ Cup H. (G2).
Siren Lure, who will be a definite threat next out in the Sprint, has now reeled
off three graded victories in a row and posted an ultra-impressive 109 BRIS Speed rating in the Pat O’Brien.

Point Ashley (Point Given) and Untouched Talent (Storm Cat) will both
probably continue on to take a shot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Point Ashley started her Del Mar run with an eye-popping 4 1/4-length victory
against maiden special weight company before coming back to take the victory in
the Del Mar Debutante (G1) by 2 1/2 lengths. Untouched Talent finished second in
the Debutante, but she was closing with a tremendous turn of foot and it looks
like she will appreciate added ground.

As for the colts, Principle Secret (Sea of Secrets) is a perfect two-for-two
for the meet and his career, breaking his maiden here in his career debut before
returning for a nice three-length score in the Best Pal S. (G2), which may have
been enough to earn him a spot in the starting gate for the Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile (G1).

HORSE GREELEY (Mr. Greeley), who finished second to Principle Secret in his
debut, took home the victory in today’s Del Mar Futurity (G2) and we will
probably see him at Churchill Downs as well. Though he has yet to face
stakes-company, Black Seventeen (Is It True) put in a dazzling performance in
his career debut, crossing the finish line 8 1/4 lengths clear of the field. Two
other members of that field have since come back to easily break their maiden,
which only flattered the performance of Black Seventeen in his debut.

In a bit of other Breeders’ Cup news, Trevor Denman has been tabbed to take
the place of Tom Durkin as the voice of the Breeders’ Cup for the national
television broadcast this year. For followers of Del Mar, and southern
California racing in general, this is undoubtedly a great piece of news as many
racing fans feel that he is the elite race caller in the country today. It is
high time that Denman receives his just due.

Del Mar concluded the fall meet with a total of three stakes offerings on
Wednesday, featuring the aforementioned Del Mar Futurity for two-year-olds
going seven furlongs. Horse Greeley had a troubled start, hitting the side of
the gate, and was then mugged by Caped for Flight (Cape Town), who broke in
sharply at the start. The chestnut recovered well to stalk the pace behind Stormello (Stormy Atlantic) through opening fractions of :22 1/5 and :44 4/5
before moving up to take the lead coming off the turn. Horse Greeley continued
on gamely from there to hit the finish line 1 3/4 lengths in front.

Great Hunter (Aptitude), who was coming off a second-place effort to
Principle Secret in the Best Pal, finished well late to pick up the place, 1 1/4
lengths in front of Stormello in third.

Also on Wednesday, a field of seven three-year-olds and upward contested the
six-furlong Pirate’s Bounty H. Captain Squire (Flying Chevron) was sent off as
the heavy favorite as he looked to tack on another stakes win to his already
impressive career. The bay was coming off of a solid 1 1/2-length score against
allowance/optional claiming company earlier in the meet and appeared ready for a return to stakes competition.

The bay broke well to take the lead and guided the field through opening
fractions of :21 3/5 and :44 2/5 while being pressured every step of the way by
Bushwacker (Outflanker). Once they hit the stretch, Captain Squire continued on
gamely but was eventually chased down by AREYOUTALKINTOME (Smokester), who went
on to cross the finish line a half-length in front. Captain Squire was second, 1
1/2 lengths in front of Jet West (Western Fame) in third.

Areyoutalkintome entered this one off a very respectable third in the
aforementioned Pat O’Brien and put in a very nice effort here to pick up the
stakes victory.

Finally, a field of eight fillies and mares, three-years-old and up,
contested the six-furlong C.E.R.F. H. VIKKI’S HONOR (Bartok [Ire]) was content
to lay just off the pacesetters through opening fractions of :21 3/5 and :44
1/5. Once the field hit the stretch, the dark bay closed gamely with a nice turn
of foot to wear down her rivals and cross the finish a length in front. She was
coming off a nice allowance win here earlier in the meet, where she pressed the
pace early and finished determinedly late to hit the wire a neck in front.
Vikki’s Honor has now compiled a record of 5-4-0-1 on the year and is a model of
consistency. It will be interesting to see what the connections have planned for
her next.

Yodeladytoo (Swiss Yodeler) vied for the lead throughout in the C.E.R.F. and
stubbornly attempted not to give in but was forced to settle for second, a head
in front of Hello Lucky (Lucky Lionel) in third.

Speed ruled the meet once more on the main track, but the bias did not seem
quite as noticeable as in past years. This is all subject to change next year,
though, as Del Mar is set to make the change to a synthetic track. Work is set
to begin this fall and be completed before next year’s meet. While no definite
decision has been reached yet on the brand, it is rumored that Polytrack, the
same surface currently in use at Woodbine and Turfway Park and about to make its
debut at Keeneland, is the front runner. With the new surface in place, it will
likely be an entirely new ballgame over the new track.

As for the turf, speed more than held its own in the sprints. In the route
races, horses coming from off the pace held the advantage, except at nine
furlongs where horses on or near the lead had the edge.

Espinoza added two to his total and absolutely dominated the meet, easily
capturing the riding title with 64 winners. Espinoza also added a couple of Del
Mar records to his resume, as he now is tied with the late Bill Shoemaker for
the most consecutive victories in a row with seven and is in sole possession of
the record for the most wins in one day with seven. Martin Garcia spent the last
week of the meet sitting out a suspension but still finished second with 35.
Corey Nakatani added three to his total today and ended the meet with 33.

As for the trainers, Doug O’Neill added one to his total today and claimed
the trainer title with 19 for the meet. Jeff Mullins had one runner on the day
but it did not make it into the winner’s circle and he finishes the meet in
second with 16. Bob Baffert had no runners for the last day but he concluded the
meet with 15. Undoubtedly more important to Baffert is the fact that he now
holds the record for the most stakes wins in Del Mar history.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has followed the
Del Mar Daily Notebook through the meet and wish you nothing but winners until
next year, when it is time to return once more to where “the turf meets the
surf” at Del Mar.

Horses to Watch

1ST – SORCERERS SPELL (Royal Academy) found the “turf to dirt” move and the
drop in class to be exactly what he needed to break his maiden in his
sixth-career start. The bay took the lead out of the gate and guided the field
through early fractions of :22 3/5 and :46 4/5 in this eight-furlong event
before opening up in the stretch drive and cruising to the wire for an easy 9
1/2-length victory.

3RD – BLUE STELLER (Ire) (Barathea [Ire]) reeled off his second win of the
meet in this eight-furlong turf event. The eight-year-old horse stalked the pace
early through opening fractions of :22 3/5 and :46 before gamely digging in
through the stretch drive for a half-length victory. The bay has found a level
where he is a major threat and should remain so provided his connections don’t
become too ambitious with his placement.

6TH – TONJA’S WORLD (Free House) really came to life in her second-career
race. The two-year-old filly stalked the pace through opening fractions of :22
1/5 and :46 in this mile maiden special weight event before opening up in the
stretch drive to leave the field 10 3/4 lengths behind.