Del Mar Report #4

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Tiz Flirtatious (CA) – This may have been the performance of the meet so far!  Tiz Flirtatious was absolutely dominate in winning the John C. Mabee Stakes on Sunday, using a devastating closing kick to blow away a nice horse in Lady of Shamrock by almost three lengths.  Even more impressive may have been the fact that she was in hand for the entire race, as jockey Julien Leparoux never asked her to move a muscle.  Tiz Flirtatious has become one of the best female turf runners in the country, and this win will probably spring-board her into the mix for the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf in November.  She’ll most likely run in a prep race at Santa Anita next, and then the Breeders Cup.

– 2nd Star: Dice Flavor (KY) – After three fairly disappointing races, Dice Flavor returned to form on Saturday as he just got up in time to nip Den’s Legacy at the wire and win the La Jolla Stakes.  It was Dice Flavor’s first win on turf since breaking his maiden at Hollywood Park in December, after he had probably been too aggressively campaigned when trying a few tough synthetic races.  You would think that turf would be the plan from now on, and the Del Mar Derby has already been mentioned, which runs on September 1st.  He will most likely go off as a short price in that race.

– 3rd Star: Den’s Legacy (FL) – Although he finished second to Dice Flavor in the La Jolla, he still ran a very solid race.  It was nice to see him bounce back from a disappointing race in the Oceanside Stakes, as he showed us all once again what he’s all about…a hard trying horse that just lacks the talent to actually win one of these big races.  However, he is a respectable and versatile horse, as he has hit the board in major stakes races on turf, dirt, and synthetic.  With that kind of track record his options are endless, so it’s really anyone’s guess where he might end up next.  The horse has now hit the board in 11 of 15 starts, but has only won twice.

Flop of the Week

– Freakin Rocket (KY) – For the second straight time he went off at a low price in a Del Mar turf stakes, and for the second straight time he was disappointing.  Going off as the 5/2 favorite this time, Freakin Rocket showed nice early speed, but faded badly finishing 7th in the La Jolla Stakes on Saturday.  After two dominating wins on the synthetic surface at Hollywood, he’s followed it up with two bad races on the turf.  Perhaps a return to synthetics is what this horse needs.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	John W. Sadler	81	14	16	12	$1,127,604		17%	42	52%
2	Bob Baffert	52	12	11	5	$860,290		23%	28	54%
3	Jerry Hollendorfer	45	11	4	6	$729,170		24%	21	47%
4	Doug F. O’Neill	71	10	13	11	$781,650		14%	34	48%
5	Peter Miller	50	8	9	5	$467,632		16%	22	44%
5	Mike R. Mitchell	37	8	5	4	$333,862		22%	17	46%
7	Victor L. Garcia	13	5	4	0	$212,238		38%	9	69%
8	Tim Yakteen	12	4	1	1	$246,396		33%	6	50%
8	Leonard Powell	6	4	0	0	$163,760		67%	4	67%
8	Dan L. Hendricks	15	4	0	2	$143,536		27%	6	40%
8	Vann Belvoir	20	4	1	3	$95,980		20%	8	40%
12	Michael Pender	10	3	0	3	$334,490		30%	6	60%
12	Mike Puype	30	3	5	3	$283,000		10%	11	37%
12	Thomas F. Proctor	17	3	3	3	$280,410		18%	9	53%
12	Jeff Mullins	26	3	7	1	$262,924		12%	11	42%
12	Mark Glatt	19	3	2	3	$205,440		16%	8	42%
12	Simon Callaghan	12	3	0	1	$195,820		25%	4	33%
12	J. Eric Kruljac	27	3	2	4	$170,680		11%	9	33%
12	Richard E. Mandella	11	3	0	1	$159,930		27%	4	36%
12	Cody Autrey	23	3	5	3	$156,940		13%	11	48%
12	Art Sherman	14	3	1	4	$134,322		21%	8	57

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Rafael Bejarano	139	29	26	16	$1,783,870		21%	71	51%
2	Julien R. Leparoux	76	16	7	12	$1,107,068		21%	35	46%
2	Martin Garcia	81	16	10	7	$886,692		20%	33	41%
4	Edwin A. Maldonado	115	15	14	12	$824,636		13%	41	36%
5	Mario Gutierrez	71	13	9	7	$686,512		18%	29	41%
6	Victor Espinoza	86	11	18	10	$918,444		13%	39	45%
6	Gary L. Stevens	35	11	4	3	$720,994		31%	18	51%
8	Corey S. Nakatani	73	9	8	14	$870,632		12%	31	42%
8	Joseph Talamo	134	9	21	19	$864,870		7%	49	37%
10	Agapito Delgadillo	59	6	5	10	$312,676		10%	21	36%
10	Martin A. Pedroza	74	6	2	9	$263,402		8%	17	23%
12	Irving Orozco	71	5	6	13	$335,292		7%	24	34%
13	Joel Rosario	9	4	1	0	$160,674		44%	5	56%
14	Mike E. Smith	43	3	5	3	$475,780		7%	11	26%
14	Alex Bisono	23	3	1	2	$137,540		13%	6	26%
14	Alberto Delgado	21	3	2	4	$134,010		14%	9	43%
14	Chantal Sutherland-Kruse	15	3	1	1	$92,250		20%	5	33%

Preview to Next Week

– Wednesday: The Green Flash Handicap – 3 Year Olds and Upward – Five Furlongs (Turf) – Purse: $90,000

– Friday: The Sandy Blue Handicap – 3 Year Old Fillies – One Mile (Turf) – Purse: $90,000

– Saturday: The Del Mar Oaks (Grade 1) – 3 Year Old Fillies – 1 1/8 Miles (Turf) – Purse: $300,000

– Sunday: The Rancho Bernardo Handicap (Grade 3) – Fillies and Mares 3 Year Olds and Upward – 6 1/2 Furlongs – Purse: $150,000

– Sunday: The Solana Beach Handicap – Fillies and Mares 3 Year Olds and Upward (Cal Breds) – 1 Mile (Turf) – Purse: $150,000