The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Prince of Monaco takes Del Mar Futurity in finale
Del Mar’s 84th summer season is in the past, but racing fans got a good look at the future this past weekend as the track showcased two of the top 2-year-olds in the nation as the meet came to a close.
The Bob Baffert-trained Prince of Monaco won his third consecutive race Sunday, holding off a resilient Mirahmadi to win the $300,000 Grade I Del Mar Futurity by three-quarters of a length after winning the Best Pal Stakes on Aug. 13 by 4 1/4 lengths.
On Saturday, trainer Richard Mandella sent out Tamara, a daughter of the great Beholder, to win the $300,000 Grade I Del Mar Debutante by 6 3/4 lengths, running the 7 furlongs in 1:22.41 — the fastest since Halfbridled’s 1:22.20 in 2003.
Prince of Monaco, the 1-9 favorite, gave Baffert his record 17th victory in the Futurity, stopping the clock in 1:22.65 for the 7 furlongs under Flavien Prat. It wasn’t as fast as Cave Rock’s record 1:20.99 in last summer’s Futurity, but it was quite impressive nonetheless. He’s the first horse to win both the Best Pal and Futurity since Klimt in 2016.
Horsemen were still raving about Tamara the morning after she stamped herself as a filly who appears to have a big future.
“I’ve been here in California for four years,” jockey
Umberto Rispoli told Del Mar publicity. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Said trainer Leonard Powell: “She’s different. She’s special.”
Prince of Monaco might not have won as visually impressive as Tamara, but the Speightstown colt figures to be a handful in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita on Nov. 3 if he can stay sound. Beyond that, who knows?
Baffert also trains the Futurity’s runner-up, Mirahmadi, who had disappointed in the first three starts of his career but turned in an effort that might have been a winning one if not for his talented stablemate.
“He broke well and I thought I was going to go to the lead,” said Prat, who also flew in to ride Prince of Monaco in the Best Pal. “But other horses went for it, so we waited. On the turn he made his move and we made the lead. His teammate (Mirahmadi) was trying hard. But I think my horse was just waiting for something to come up to him. That didn’t happen. Can he run on? We won’t know until it happens, but he’s done everything right so far.”
Baffert’s longtime assistant, Jimmy Barnes, said the barn didn’t know how Mirahmadi would run Sunday. He ended up on the lead, running splits of 22.18 and 44.75 before Prince of Monaco took the lead at the head of the stretch.
“He (Mirahmadi) left there running,” Barnes said. “Prat just got comfortable on the inside and when he needed to get to the outside he did and he accelerated. He’s pretty push-button, pretty straight forward. I’m very proud of both of them.”
For Prat, it was his second victory in the Futurity after riding Dr. Schivel to a win in 2020. The Frenchman has won 90 stakes at Del Mar, ninth all time among jockeys.
Baffert is furlong poles ahead of the next pursuer in all-time stakes victories for trainers. The Futurity was the 70-year-old Hall of Famer’s 165th at Del Mar. AWARD WINNERS >> Pacific Classic winner Arabian Knight was named Horse of the Meet by a vote of the media. Gold Phoenix, who won the Eddie Read Stakes and Del Mar Handicap, was second, followed by San Clemente Stakes and Del Mar Oaks winner Anisette.