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Del Mar Report #4

Del Mar Report #4

Tiz Flirtatious Wins the John C. Mabee Stakes
Tiz Flirtatious Wins the John C. Mabee Stakes

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

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