Del Mar Report #4

3 Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Executiveprivilege (KY) – It’s easy to get carried away with two-year olds, but this one is now three for three and has looked flawless.  Her win in the Sorrento Stakes was just another exhibition of her class.  Trainer Bob Baffet has called her the female version of Lookin At Lucky, and so far it’s hard to argue with him.  There is no question that she is the best 2-year-old filly on the west coast, and you can bet she’s on the course to the Breeders Cup Fillies Juvenile Stakes. She’ll match up with the top fillies from the east coast in that one, but judging from what we’ve seen so far you have to rank her as the favorite for that race.

– 2nd Star: City to City (KY) – City to City has been through the wars in her long career, but it had been six months since she’d won a race.  That all changed Sunday as she rallied to take the John C. Mabee Stakes even though rider Corey Nakatani lost the whip during the stretch drive.  Without the whip, City to City was still able to rally from fifth to win by a nose on the wire.  Her win was very similar to that of Old Time Hockey’s, who also rallied furiously at the end to win by a nose.  The win was her fourth graded stakes victory, and eighth overall.

– 3rd Star: Old Time Hockey (FL) – The field for this years La Jolla Handicap was short, but it was a competitive field and Old Time Hockey was just classy enough to get the job on Saturday.  Sitting just off the pace throughout the race, Old Time Hockey flew home late just nosing out the heavy favorite in My Best Brother.  The win his third in nine races, and his first win in a Graded Stakes.  I’m not sure how strong or productive this race will be, but anytime you are winning a graded stakes at Del Mar you are doing something right.

Flop of the Week

– Nereid (KY) – It wasn’t a great weekend to be John Shirreffs.  Nereid was the heavy 3/2 favorite in the John C. Mabee Stakes, but dueled early and faded to dead last.  The loss was her sixth in a row, and the fourth time in a row she’s failed to hit the board.  It looks like she is well off her best form right now.  To make matters worse another John Shirreffs horse, Blingo, was dead last in the La Jolla Handicap on Saturday.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Doug F. O’Neill	64	14	9	10	$644,116		22%	33	52%
2	Peter Miller	46	13	8	8	$598,440		28%	29	63%
3	Bob Baffert	42	10	7	4	$803,812		24%	21	50%
4	John W. Sadler	61	9	7	8	$563,794		15%	24	39%
5	Thomas F. Proctor	14	6	1	3	$363,388		43%	10	71%
5	Jeff Mullins	23	6	3	4	$317,030		26%	13	57%
5	Barry Abrams	37	6	4	0	$315,040		16%	10	27%
8	Ronald W. Ellis	14	4	2	1	$431,870		29%	7	50%
8	Donald Warren	11	4	0	1	$306,580		36%	5	45%
8	Mike Puype	29	4	7	0	$237,194		14%	11	38%
8	Mike R. Mitchell	32	4	5	3	$197,520		13%	12	38%
8	Richard E. Mandella	12	4	0	2	$193,120		33%	6	50%
8	Vladimir Cerin	13	4	1	2	$136,243		31%	7	54%
8	Vann Belvoir	23	4	4	4	$111,820		17%	12	52%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Rafael Bejarano	123	30	22	20	$1,891,638		24%	72	59%
2	Garrett K. Gomez	115	26	12	25	$1,473,414		23%	63	55%
3	Joseph Talamo	122	21	17	11	$1,317,582		17%	49	40%
4	Martin Garcia	96	12	12	10	$651,100		13%	34	35%
5	Edwin A. Maldonado	92	11	16	10	$628,984		12%	37	40%
6	Victor Espinoza	87	8	20	11	$671,620		9%	39	45%
6	Corey S. Nakatani	64	8	7	9	$599,066		13%	24	38%
8	Martin A. Pedroza	74	6	6	7	$314,310		8%	19	26%
8	Juan J. Hernandez	63	6	8	5	$268,670		10%	19	30%
10	David Romero Flores	69	5	6	10	$409,807		7%	21	30%
10	Kevin Krigger	57	5	5	9	$339,918		9%	19	33%
10	Eswan Flores	80	5	9	12	$294,900		6%	26	33%
10	Chantal Sutherland	29	5	2	3	$188,468		17%	10	34%
10	Agapito Delgadillo	43	5	5	5	$177,860		12%	15	35%

Preview to Next Week

– The Green Flash Handicap – Wednesday – 3 year olds and upward – five furlongs (Turf) – $85,000

– The Sandy Blue Handicap – Friday – 3-year-old fillies – one mile (Turf) – $85,000

– The Del Mar Oaks (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3-year-old fillies – 1 and 1/8th miles (Turf) – $300,000

– The Rancho Bernardo Handicap (Grade 3) – Sunday – fillies and mares, 3 year olds and upward – 6 and 1/2 furlongs – $150,000

– The Solana Beach Handicap – Sunday – CA breds, fillies and mares, 3 year olds and upward – one mile (Turf) – $100,000