Three Stars of the Week
– 1st Star: MASOCHISTIC – Make no mistake about it…Masochistic turned the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien into the easiest of paid workouts as he only had to take on two rivals. Those two rivals couldn’t match up with Masochistic at all, and the star sprinter just cruised home. This race and perhaps one more will just serve as preps for the Breeders Cup which is obviously the main goal for him to end the year. He’s now won both of his races in 2016 in dominating fashion, but is probably ready for a step up in competition now.
– 2nd Star: BELVOIR BAY – With the scratch of Enola Gray the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes took a big hit in quality, but Belvoir Bay didn’t let that bother her. She basically went straight to the lead right from the start and never looked back as she scored a wire to wire win by over a length. This was her first race on the dirt which now looks like a surface she might prefer. This could re-launch her career in a lot of ways sas she hadn’t been running all that well on the turf as of late.
– 3rd Star: ACCELERATE – It was a special day at Del Mar on Friday evening as they honored the late great Shared Belief with a ceremony and stakes named in his honor. As the heavily favored Who’s Out failed to show up with his best in the Shared Belief the second choice Accelerate showed up with a big effort and won the stakes by about a half of a length. His win made it two in a row after romping last time out in a maiden special weight. This horse could be one to look out for as he is a horse on the rise.
Flop of the Week
– ENOLA GRAY SCRATCHING – She was finally going to face open company on Sunday afternoon in the Torrey Pines Stakes, but instead had to scratch due to a cough. Hopefully it’s a quick recovery and we see her back soon.
Trainer Standings | Jockey Standings |
1. Phillip D’Amato – 19 | 1. Flavien Prat – 35 |
2. Richard Baltas – 16 | 2. Rafael Bejarano – 28 |
3. Bob Baffert – 15 | 3. Santiago Gonzalez – 27 |
3. Peter Miller – 15 | 4. Tyler Baze – 20 |
5. John Sadler – 11 | 5. Kent Desormeaux – 19 |
6. Mark Glatt – 10 | 6. Norberto Arroyo – 16 |
7. Michael Machowsky – 9 | 7. Stewart Elliott – 14 |
7. James Cassidy – 9 | 7. Victor Espinoza – 14 |
9. Doug O’Neill – 9 | 9. Tiago Pereira – 11 |
Preview to Next Week
Wed. Aug. 31st | Tranquility Lake Stakes Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up, N/W S/S $50,000 at 1 M o/o since February 1 |
$75,000 Added 1 Mile |
Fri. Sep. 2nd | I’M SMOKIN STAKES Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred |
$150,000 Guaranteed 6 Furlongs |
Sat. Sep. 3rd | DEL MAR DEBUTANTE (Gr. I) Fillies, Two-year-olds |
$300,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs |
Sat. Sep. 3rd | DEL MAR JUVENILE TURF Two-year-olds |
$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf) |
Sun. Sep. 4th | JOHN C. MABEE STAKES (Gr. II) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up |
$200,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles (Turf) |
Sun. Sep. 4th | DEL MAR DERBY (Gr. II) Three-year-olds |
$250,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles (Turf) |
Mon. Sep. 5th | Pirate’s Bounty Stakes Three-year-olds & up, N/W S/S $50,000 since March 1 |
$75,000 Added 5 1/2 Furlongs |
Mon. Sep. 5th | DEL MAR JUVENILE FILLIES TURF Fillies, Two-year-olds |
$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf) |
Mon. Sep. 5th | DEL MAR FUTURITY (Gr. I) Two-year-olds |
$300,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs |