Del Mar Report #4

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: PROSPECT PARK – It looks like Prospect Park has found a home on the turf!  After running on dirt throughout the entire year he switched to turf on Sunday in the La Jolla Handicap and romped by nearly four and a half lengths in wire to wire fashion.  It was impressive considering he beat experienced turf runners in the race as well as a talented individual in Om.  In the past he had made his own trouble a few times, but was on his best behavior this time out.

– 2nd Star: NYQUIST – His performance in the Best Pal Stakes on Saturday was simply a dominating performance, and also one that you can get very excited about.  He had the race in his back pocket pretty much the entire way, and pulled away with easy under wraps the last 100 yards of the race.  You would think the Del Mar Futurity would be the next logical goal for a horse that could be a 2 year old freak for Doug O’Neill.  California may once again have a strong up and coming crop.

– 3rd Star: ELEKTRUM – This years running of the John C. Mabee Stakes certainly was an entertaining one as four horses blanketed the wire in the tightest finish of the weekend.  In the end it was Elektrum that got the victory giving the filly her first Graded Stakes victory.  The former European runner has always ran well here in the states, but this time out was easily her best race.  This race was definitely one of the best of the meet so far.

Flop of the Week

– PAYNES PRAIRIE – Even though his odds were higher than most of the others in Best Pal Stakes we still never could have predicted that poor of a race.  Hopefully he can break better next time and get involved in the race early like some of his previous races.

Trainer Standings

1. Doug O’Neill – 12

2. Jerry Hollendorfer – 9

3. Peter Miller – 8

4. Richard Baltas – 8

5. Phillip D’Amato – 7

6. John Sadler – 7

7. Mike Puype – 6

8. Jeff Mullins – 5

9. Adam Kitchingham – 5

10. Richard Mandella – 4

Jockey Standings

1. Rafael Bejarano – 20

2. Tyler Baze – 17

3. Joe Talamo – 15

4. Flavien Prat – 14

5. Mario Gutierrez – 12

6. Santiago Gonzalez – 11

7. Kent Desormeaux – 8

8. Corey Nakatani – 8

9. Mike Smith – 7

10. Martin Pedroza – 7

Preview of Next Week