Del Mar Report #2

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Wild Dude (FL) – Just when you completely write this horse off is when he jumps up and bites you!  I can’t count how many times I’ve picked him and he’s done nothing, but I’ve always been one to say that when he run his best race he can beat almost anyone.  The problem with him is you never know when it’s going to happen, but on Sunday it certainly did as he rallied furiously in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby to defeat the heavy favorite Masochistic.  The Bing Crosby victory was his first ever Grade 1 win, and obviously if they can somehow get him to repeat his “A game effort” he can win several more.

– 2nd Star: Catch a Flight (ARG) – Since coming to American to run Catch a Flight is yet to race off the board in seven starts, and has won four races with three of the victories coming against Graded stakes company.  In the San Diego Handicap he was able to get up just in time to defeat a solid group featuring Bayern and Hoppertunity.  The mile and one sixteenth distance might be perfect for him as he did look tired towards the end of the Santa Anita Gold Cup the race before at a mile and a quarter.  Even with that being said, the Pacific Classic is most likely the goal for this one down the road.

– 3rd Star: Big John B (FL) – This horse loves Del Mar!  Friday night in the Cougar II Handicap he was able to keep his perfect record at the track, with a nice win over a small but tough field going the specialized distance of a mile and one half.  He’s now 3 for 3 where the turf meets the surf, and could probably point for a bigger race next time out at the meet.  Even the Pacific Classic could be in play at this point.

Flop of the Week

– The Starting Gate Crew – In what can only be described as a bizarre incident on Sunday in the third race, the starting gates were opened before #9 Admiral Jaxson has been loaded into the gate.  The horse had just begun to stick his head into the starting gates when they opened, and got off to a slow start spotting the field 10 lengths.  This kind of thing is something I’ve never seen before, and just can’t happen…especially at a track like Del Mar.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Per Start $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Jerry Hollendorfer	23	6	3	1	$462,492	$NaN	26%	10	43%
1	Peter Miller	39	6	3	5	$376,526	$NaN	15%	14	36%
3	Jeff Mullins	11	4	1	1	$395,642	$NaN	36%	6	55%
3	John W. Sadler	13	4	1	2	$83,530	$NaN	31%	7	54%
5	Richard E. Mandella	13	3	3	3	$371,680	$NaN	23%	9	69%
5	James M. Cassidy	18	3	2	1	$245,790	$NaN	17%	6	33%
5	Philip D’Amato	13	3	2	1	$214,540	$NaN	23%	6	46%
5	Doug F. O’Neill	26	3	6	3	$211,390	$NaN	12%	12	46%
5	Richard Baltas	11	3	3	3	$182,300	$NaN	27%	9	82%
5	Mike Puype	19	3	1	4	$165,830	$NaN	16%	8	42%
5	Vann Belvoir	13	3	1	1	$95,320	$NaN	23%	5	38%
5	Robert B. Hess, Jr.	14	3	0	5	$84,640	$NaN	21%	8	57%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Per Start $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Flavien Prat	50	9	5	10	$746,740	$NaN	18%	24	48%
1	Joseph Talamo	47	9	2	2	$482,730	$NaN	19%	13	28%
3	Rafael Bejarano	44	8	7	4	$501,112	$NaN	18%	19	43%
3	Santiago Gonzalez	34	8	2	4	$424,104	$NaN	24%	14	41%
5	Mario Gutierrez	26	6	4	0	$257,636	$NaN	23%	10	38%
6	Mike E. Smith	27	5	6	4	$586,780	$NaN	19%	15	56%
6	Tyler Baze	52	5	9	9	$424,658	$NaN	10%	23	44%
6	Kent J. Desormeaux	30	4	4	6	$223,090	$NaN	13%	14	47%
6	Drayden Van Dyke	24	4	1	4	$174,734	$NaN	17%	9	38%
10	Victor Espinoza	26	3	2	4	$201,540	$NaN	12%	9	35%
10	Fernando Hernandez Perez	33	3	7	3	$150,806	$NaN	9%	13	39%

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