Del Mar Report #3

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Beholder (KY) – The Champion is back in FULL force.  Saturday’s dominating win in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes may have been her best race yet.  After stalking the pace for much of the race she smoothly made a devastating move at the top of the stretch and put away her competition easily without being asked at all.  This horse is easily the best in the division, and we all need to just hope she stays healthy long enough to prove it the Breeders Cup Distaff.

– 2nd Star: Gimme Da Lute (CA) – While the “big horse” was up to his usual ways at Monmouth Park, Bob Baffert’s other nice developing three year old was dominating the Real Good Deal Stakes at Del Mar.  This horse simply was too much for this field, and has now won three races in a row.  He’s the type you’d love to own as he’s a California Bred, and he can run at almost any distance you throw at him.  I would expect to see him back against open company next time out considering the fact he’s already a Grade 2 winner.

– 3rd Star: Blameitonthelaw (KY) – Del Mar and Saratoga is all about the 2 year olds, and this Blame colt looks to be a future star!  After stalking the leaders in third, Blameitonthelaw made a nice move at the top of the stretch inside horses on the rail and galloped to an easy four length win.  The rail move was impressive for a first time starter as there wasn’t a ton of room, and jockey Tyler Baze didn’t have to ride him much once he got clear.  Looks to be a clear candidate for stakes company next time out.

Flop of the Week

– Warren’s Veneda (CA) – It’s not that she ran badly, but she just hasn’t lived up to the hope/hype that she received earlier in the year.  The champion Beholder has returned and put this one in her place which is understandable, however she didn’t even finish second last Saturday, and lost last time when Beholder wasn’t in the race.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Doug F. O’Neill	39	9	8	4	$460,010	23%	21	54%
2	Jerry Hollendorfer	35	7	5	2	$524,492	20%	14	40%
3	Peter Miller	56	6	7	6	$465,896	11%	19	34%
3	Richard Baltas	29	6	3	7	$294,700	21%	16	55%
5	Philip D’Amato	24	5	4	2	$337,970	21%	11	46%
5	Mike Puype	33	5	2	7	$273,930	15%	14	42%
5	John W. Sadler	22	5	2	4	$151,620	23%	11	50%
8	Richard E. Mandella	16	4	3	4	$556,610	25%	11	69%
8	Jeff Mullins	14	4	2	2	$420,842	29%	8	57%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Tyler Baze	86	14	15	12	$847,048	16%	41	48%
1	Rafael Bejarano	72	14	10	11	$837,132	19%	35	49%
3	Joseph Talamo	76	13	8	5	$725,200	17%	26	34%
4	Flavien Prat	80	12	7	13	$893,882	15%	32	40%
5	Santiago Gonzalez	58	11	4	6	$575,894	19%	21	36%
6	Mario Gutierrez	41	10	6	1	$465,126	24%	17	41%
7	Mike E. Smith	31	5	6	4	$590,280	16%	15	48%
7	Tiago Josue Pereira	39	5	2	1	$196,670	13%	8	21%

Preview to Next Week