EMOTIONAL REPEAT WIN FOR MO FORZA IN DEL MAR MILE

Peter Miller is an emotional trainer.

But Saturday was even more emotional than usual when Flavien Prat rallied the Miller-trained Mo Forza from fourth in the stretch to win the Grade II Del Mar Mile by a head over Smooth Like Strait.

Mo Forza was owned by the late Barry Abrams, a former trainer who died Oct. 9 after a 15-year battle with cancer.

“I’ve never had a horse that brought so much emotion to me,” said Miller. “Just seeing him in the barn, I think of Barry.”

Racing for only second time since winning the Del Mar Mile last August for Prat and Miller, Mo Forza stalked Smooth Like Strait before taking the lead in the final strides. It was only Mo Forza’s fourth race since January 2020.

“My worry was that I hadn’t tightened the screws on him like I had in the past,” said Miller. “I was worried if I had him fit enough. But he’s a super horse and a champion. I’m just glad I had him fit enough … just enough.”

“He did it last year and did it again this year, so all the credit goes to the trainer,” said Prat.

Mo Forza paid $4.20 after running the mile in 1:35.03.

Del Mar Oaks

Prat rallied the favorite Going Global ($4.80) between horses in the stretch to win the Oaks — a 11⁄8-mile turf test for 3-year-old fillies — by a length over Closing Remarks.

“I had plenty of horse, I was just waiting for a spot to run,” said Prat.

“We got a dream ride there from Prat and this filly showed that she’s just the class of this field against a bunch of good horses,” said trainer Phil D’amato. “She’s special.”

Torrey Pines Stakes

Even-money favorite Private Mission won the day’s first stakes race, the $100,000, Grade III Torrey Pines for 3year-old fillies at a mile on the dirt. Lady Mystify led early with Prat moving Private Mission up on the backstretch and taking the lead at the top of the turn, finishing 6½ lengths ahead of I’m So Anna under a hand ride to claim a third win in four starts.

“We didn’t know what she was going to do, but we always thought she could run long,” said Private Mission trainer Bob Baffert. “She passed the route test. That’s very important. That’s where the money is.

Del Mar Handicap

The day’s final stakes, the Grade II Del Mar Handicap was won by the John Shirreffs-trained Astronaut, a 24-1 long shot, by a halflength over Master Piece in the 13⁄8-mile turf race for older horses.

“This didn’t surprise me,” said jockey Victor Espinoza, who won with his only mount of the day. “We changed the way he ran a little bit today. I just let him break and find his rhythm. If he was happy, I was happy.”

“This win puts a nice bandage on it,” said Shirreffs, whose Express Train ran sixth in the Pacific Classic. “We wanted to run him long, but we weren’t sure how long.”

“It makes me happy to win this race for John,” said Espinoza. “He’s always been there for me. He’s been there a little bit more for me lately.”