FOCUS ON YOUTH, TITLES ON LINE DURING FINAL WEEKEND
The focus will be on youth this weekend as Del Mar closes its 83rd summer season.
Featured will be the bookend $300,000, seven-furlong Grade I stakes for 2year-old fillies and colts — today’s Debutante for females and Sunday’s Futurity for males.
Today’s 11-race program will include two more stakes — the Grade II John C. Mabee for older fillies and mares and the $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf. Sunday’s 11-race, closingday card includes the Grade III $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Turf.
Tamara, the Richard Mandella-trained daughter of Beholder, is the morningline, 7-2 morning line favorite in the Debutante. She will have veteran Hall of Famer Mike Smith aboard.
Flavien Prat again flies in from New York to ride 2-5 pick Prince of Monaco in Sunday’s Futurity. Bob Baffert trains the son of Speightstown, who drew an auction price of $950,000 as a yearling.
Thirteen fillies will challenge Tamara in the Debutante. Seven are going in the Futurity.
Tamara’s main challengers appear to be Dreamfyre at 4-1 and Julias Dream and Chatalas at 5-1.
Tamara, by Bolt d’Oro out of Beholder, impressively won her debut at Del Mar on Aug. 19 by 2¼ lengths over another Debutante entry, Hope Road.
Dreamfyre (Hector Berrios) won the Grade III Sorrento Stakes on Aug. 12 at Del Mar by 3½ lengths over Benedetta, another Debutante entry. Julias Dream (Aug. 6) and Chatalas (July 30) also won their debuts at Del Mar this summer.
The Mabee Stakes has drawn a field of six to the 11⁄8-mile turf test. Closing
Remarks is a 9-5 favorite over Turnerloose and Neige Blanche, who are each 5-2 on the morning line.
Closing Remarks (Umberto Rispoli) won the Grade II Yellow Ribbon Handicap at Del Mar on Aug. 12 after finishing sixth in the Grade I Gamely at
Santa Anita on May 29. Trained by Carla Gaines, Closing Remarks is a 5-yearold daughter of Vronsky. Neige Blanche finished third in a $100,000 Cal-bred stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 18. Turnerloose (Antonio Fresu) ran fifth in the Yellow Ribbon Handicap.
Friday's feature
The $125,000 I’m Smokin Stakes for 2-year-old Calbreds was won by Dr. No No
by a nose over Mici’s Express. Last Call London was a half-length back in third in the six-furlong sprint on the dirt. Favored Lord Prancealot finished fifth in the field of six.
Lord Prancealot, Last Call London and Mici’s Express had run 1-2-3, respectively, in the Graduation Stakes on Aug. 11 at Del Mar.
Lord Prancealot (Kent Desormeaux) led for the first half mile but faded in the stretch. Ramon Vazquez
took the lead on Dr. No No from Last Call London (Juan Hernandez) in the stretch then held off Mici’s Express (Tiago Pereira),
who was last in the tightlypacked field at the half-mile.
“I found a spot behind the speed and waited,” said Vazquez. “When it came time, my horse went.”
“I was worried about the horse that ran second because he nabbed us two races back at the wire the same way,” said trainer Brian Korniner.
Notable
Rispoli, who missed the Pacific Classic weekend after being thrown and stepped on during the second race on Aug. 31, returned to action Friday and won two of the three turf races — the second aboard
Soho ($10) and the seventh aboard Zona Verde ($9.40).
Zona Verde’s victory also boosted Phil D’Amato back into sole possession of first in the trainer standings with 20 wins to 19 for Baffert.
Jockey leader Hernandez won one race Friday
(Stamp My Passport, fourth, $7.40) for his 35th win. That is four more than
Antonio Fresu, whose 14day suspension will limit him to just the stakes races over the final two days of the summer meeting.