San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
HERNANDEZ MAKES IT COUNT
Juan Hernandez had one shot at victory Saturday at Del Mar.
And he scored, driving 3-5 favorite Adare Manor past Elm Drive in the stretch to win the Grade I Clement L. Hirsch Stakes and claim an automatic starting berth in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita.
Hernandez was serving the first of a three-day suspension Saturday. But under the rules, a suspended jockey is allowed to ride in designated stakes races — of which the Clement L. Hirsch was one.
Hernandez had the Bob Baffert-trained, 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo stalking leader Elm Drive into the stretch when both Adare Manor and Desert Dawn ran past Elm Drive.
Adare Manor ($3.20) won by a length over Desert Dawn with Elm Drive another 1½ lengths back. Both Desert Dawn and Elm Drive are trained by Phil D’amato.
The win was Adare Manor’s fourth straight under Hernandez — including two straight Grade IIS at Santa Anita.
“She’s been improving a lot,” Hernandez said of Adare Manor. “I just had to help her out of the gate. But by the first turn, she found a nice rhythm. I let her be quiet and saved her energy. At the quarter pole, I asked her to pick it up and she exploded again to the wire. She is the best.”
“I was hoping to be on an easy lead,” said Baffert. “I knew Elm Drive is a really fast filly. You want to stay close to her. Elm Drive sort of took Adare Manor out of her game a little bit.
“Juan had to keep riding
the whole way, but at the end, she’s a long-jumping filly. We’re happy with the win. We got a Grade I.”
Meanwhile, Carmelita’s Man ($13.60) won a second straight $150,000 California Dreamin’ Stakes for Calbred older horses, passing odds-on favorite Kings River Knight late in the stretch under a strong ride by Tiago Pereira.
Hernandez was aboard Carmelita’s Man in the 6year-old gelding’s victory in the California Dreamin’.
“This is the first time I’ve raced this horse,” said Pereira. “I worked him last week and got off and said ‘I love this horse.’ We got a good spot today and he was running well. We were winners all the way.”
Hernandez rode Carmelita’s Man to victory in the 2022 California
Dreamin’, but due to the suspension was not eligible to ride him Saturday.
“I was a little worried around the turn,” trainer Doug Pederson said of Carmelita’s Man victory. “He was in between horses and it looked like he was backing up a little bit. But once Tiago got him outside and in the clear, it was good. He’s still got it, I guess.”
Pederson was talking about his horse.
“We were winners all the way,” said Pereira.
Notable
Some horses are sprinters. Others are milers. And there are those who prefer marathons. But Henry Q, the fourth choice in today’s Grade III La Jolla Handicap, is a frequent flyer.
Del Mar is the fourth track visited by Henry Q since March and the fifth different track visited by the 3-year-old son of Blame in 5½ months.
The road trip started with a victory at Santa Anita on Feb. 4. The next stop was Sunland Park, where Henry Q won the Grade III Sunland Derby on March 26 a month after his debut at the New Mexico track. Onto Belmont Park, where Henry Q ran third in the Grade II Peter Pan Stakes on May 13. Then it was Thistledown in Ohio, where he finished fifth in the June 24 Grade III Ohio Derby.
Today, the Henry Q tour reaches Del Mar, where Antonio Fresu will be the colt’s fifth jockey in eight career starts while carrying the high weight of 122 pounds in the 11⁄16-mile, $150,000 turf test for 3-year-olds.
The morning-line, 2-1 favorite in the eight-horse field will be the John Sadlertrained Panic Alarm with
Umberto Rispoli aboard. The Irish-bred Panic Alarm will be making his American debut for Hronis Racing. The Irish-bred Maltese Falcon (Hernandez) is the second choice at 5-2.
• Today’s second feature is the $125,000 California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association stakes at 5½ furlongs for 2-year-old California-bred fillies — the first of the summer meeting’s stakes races for 2-year-olds. Each of the eight entries has won a race.
Grand Slam Smile, the only winner of two races in the field (including the $100,000 Tipton Debutante at Santa Anita on June 17) is the second favorite at 5-2 to Pushiness, the Michael Mccarthy-trained daughter of
Kantharos. Rispoli will be aboard Pushiness.