There is sufficient time between a maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies on Saturday at Del Mar and a return engagement in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 6. A few of the nine fillies entered Saturday may have the talent to run in both races, even without a win on Saturday.
“I think there will be a lot of maidens in the Debutante,” trainer Bob Baffert said Thursday.
Authentic, the narrow winner of the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 18 at Monmouth Park, had his third workout of August at Del Mar on Thursday in preparation for the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs.
Authentic worked six furlongs in 1:12.60. Earlier this month, Authentic worked a half-mile in 50.20 seconds on Aug. 1 and five furlongs in 1:03 on Aug. 8.
“I gave him a little company and gave him a little target,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “It was a good move. He went very well.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. wanted to make sure he found someone competitive enough in his barn to work with his Kentucky Derby-bound Ny Traffic after the renovation break here Thursday. And he found the perfect mate in the older Grade 1 winner Math Wizard.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – A big weekend is ahead at Woodbine on the road to the $1 million Queen’s Plate, as seven of the top 10 contenders in Daily Racing Form’s Queen’s Plate Watch top 10 will be in action in two stakes preps Saturday afternoon.
The 161st edition of the Queen’s Plate will be run over 1 1/4 miles on Woodbine’s Tapeta on Sept. 12.
The $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes, the eighth race on Saturday’s card, features three horses in the top 10, including the No. 1-ranked horse, Clayton.
To hear him tell it, Peter Callahan gets to own a good horse every 10 years or so.
In 1999, he campaigned the Grade 1-winning 2-year-old Bevo. In 2009, there was the Grade 1 stakes-placed Beautician, who a year later would run a creditable fourth in the Kentucky Oaks. In 2011, Scotus won the Grade 3 Matt Winn for Callahan.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Beautiful Memories had her second work since being eased as the odds-on favorite on opening day in the Grade 3 Schuylerville here Wednesday morning, going five furlongs in 1:00.26 in company with older stablemate Fetching.
Beautiful Memories posted splits of 23.77 seconds and 35.67 before finishing in hand outside her partner, galloping out six furlongs in 1:14.93. Trainer Mark Casse said he is pointing Beautiful Memories to the Grade 1 Spinaway on Sept. 6.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A field of eight 3-year-olds, topped by the Christophe Clement pair of Decorated Invader and Gufo, was drawn Wednesday for Saturday’s $500,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational at 1 3/16 miles on the turf.
Field Pass might give Clement’s duo their stiffest challenge in the Saratoga Derby. Field Pass is trained by Mike Maker, who won three turf stakes, two of them graded, during the opening half of the meet.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Brad Cox said he always felt “the longer the better” for his lightly raced 3-year-old filly Bonny South. And he’ll get his wish here Saturday, when the Grade 2 winner stretches out to 1 1/4 miles for the first time to take on Swiss Skydiver and five others in the Grade 1 Alabama.
Sharp Samurai is a five-time stakes winner on turf at distances ranging from a mile to 1 1/8 miles. At the age of 6, he could start in a stakes at a different distance, or even surface.
Trainer Mark Glatt said on Wednesday that the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf on Aug. 23 is under consideration for Sharp Samurai, along with two races on Aug. 22 – the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf and the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles on dirt.
Travel plans on Labor Day weekend could disrupt jockey Flavien Prat’s hopes to be leading rider or to break the record for most stakes wins at the Del Mar summer meeting.
Through Sunday, Prat was second in the jockeys’ standings with 21 wins, three fewer than leader Umberto Rispoli. They were followed in the first five by Juan Hernandez (15), Abel Cedillo (14), and Tiago Pereira (12).
Prat has won eight stakes at the meeting, which began on July 10 and concludes Sept. 7. The record of 13 stakes wins at a summer meeting was set in 2012 by Rafael Bejarano.
