Del Mar Picks | Del Mar Debutante 2024

Aaron previews the 2024 Del Mar Debutante (G1) at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club & gives his top win pick from this race for 2-year-old fillies.

Will the Bob Baffert-trained Nooni continue her dominance & win her 3rd straight start?

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The press release:

Part of the allure of horse racing is spotting a superstar in the early stages of their career, following that horse as he or she develops and one day watching them score in one of the big races like the Kentucky Derby or the Pacific Classic or a Breeders’ Cup. It’s sort of like watching Tony Gwynn or Ladanian Tomlinson in their rookie years. You know they’re going to be good and when they start putting up the big numbers and winning the big games, or races, you can say you ‘knew them when.’

Nooni is one of those fillies that has landed on the radar with a lot of people and could one day be a star in the sport. But for now she has to pay her dues and gain some respect. That quest continues Saturday with the G1 FanDuel Racing Debutante at Del Mar. Seven 2-year-old fillies are set to line-up in the race that crowns the Del Mar summer meet’s Juvenile Filly champion.

The daughter of Win Win Win was a $1.8 million purchase at the March Ocala Breeders’ 2-Year-Olds in Training Sales in Florida. If that didn’t grab your attention, then her first two races surely would. Nooni broke her maiden at Santa Anita in June, winning by 9 ½ lengths. She came back last month and won again, wiring the field in the G3 Sorrento at Del Mar. 

“She’s fast,” Baffert states. “She makes the lead easily. She’s been doing well. You never want to see them regress and it doesn’t look like she has.”

Nooni is one of two fillies Baffert brings to the Debutante. Tenma is the ‘other’ Baffert horse. She was a first-time winner, breaking her maiden at Del Mar last month.

“She’s more for distance,” Baffert claims. “I was surprised she won first out but she came off the pace and won. She came back and worked well. She looks good.”

The other five fillies and their connections are not about to hand the race to Nooni and Baffert on a silver platter. There are some serious runners entered, all hoping to spoil Nooni’s party.

Proud Starlet broke her maiden at first asking by four lengths at Del Mar in July.

“She had trained well,” trainer Tim Yakteen remembers, “and I was disappointed we had drawn the rail. Unfortunately, we’ve drawn the rail again (in the Debutante). That sort of forces your hand. You’re going to have to go so it looks like it will be a similar scenario. There’s not going to be any secrets on how we’re going to run our race.”

Which means Proud Starlet will be keeping Nooni company right from the start.

“I’d rather not run against Bob, if I had my druthers,” Yakteen says. “You don’t want to take on Goliath. But that’s sort of the way the cards fall. My horse is ready to run and I’m hoping for a big effort from her.”

Lost in the impressive wire-to-wire effort by Nooni in the Sorrento was Vodka With a Twist’s strong closing kick to grab second late and pull to within a length and a half of the winner in the end.

“That was very encouraging,” trainer Phil D’Amato notes. “She finished very well and acts like the added distance shouldn’t be an issue. I think the great thing about her is her versatility. Depending on where she draws and who her competition is I think Mike (Smith) will figure out the right spot.”

The 74th running of the FanDuel Racing Debutante will go off as the fourth race on the 11-race Saturday card. Past winners include Songbird, Bellafina, Chilukki, Landaluce, and Beholder’s young daughter, Tamara, last year. Probable post time is 3 p.m.

Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and the morning line odds:

1. Proud Starlet (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1)
2. Nooni (Juan Hernandez, 4/5)
3. So There She Was (Antonio Fresu, 15-1)
4. Vodka With a Twist (7/2)
5. Night Beacon (Kyle Frey, 20-1)
6. Tenma (Kazushi Kimura, 4-1)
7. Jack’s Magic Girl (Hector I. Berrios, 8-1)