Rancho Bernardo Preview: Unique Factor Set for California Debut

DEL MAR, CA – Trainer Peter Miller’s Unique Factor is set to make her California racing debut for the meet’s leading barn in Friday’s $100,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3) at Del Mar.

The Rancho Bernardo is a 6 1/2-furlong dirt sprint restricted to fillies and mares ages 3 and up. This year’s edition is the penultimate event on a 10-race card with a local post time of 6:00 PM.

Here is a look at the full field for the Rancho Bernardo:

1. Gingham 6/1 – She was the rare Bob Baffert trainee who needed 4 starts to break her maiden, and even after that, she struggled to come within a furlong of winning her first 3 stakes attempts. She cut back to sprinting for the first time in the 6 1/2-furlong Angel Flight Stakes and won while earning a career-best 85 Beyer speed figure that fits well here.

2. Into Chocolate 8/1 – She returns to original trainer Clifford Sise, Jr., after earning a win and a runner-up finish in 2 east coast starts for Bill Mott’s Hall of Fame barn. She’s improved her Beyer speed figure in each of her past 4 starts across the country and reunites with Abel Cedillo, whose lone prior start aboard her resulted in an optional claiming victory.

3. Mother of Dragons 12/1 – She heads south once more while riding a 2-race win streak that she put together on the Northern California circuit. Her past 2 efforts on this more competitive circuit didn’t prove successful, but she looks like a better horse now and the runner-up in her most recent effort, Biddy Duke, won the local nightcap this past Sunday.

4. Artistic Diva 8/1 – She’ll race sans blinkers for the first time in her career while returning back to dirt after a failed turf effort in the Daisycutter Handicap. Trainer John Sadler wins at 30% with runners making similar surface changes and she reunites with jockey Ruben Fuentes, who piloted her to win an optional claiming sprint at Los Alamitos last September.

Check our Handicapping Products page to find out who and how we are playing this and every race on the card!

5. Sneaking Out 8/5 – A career-best effort earned her a 7/1 upset victory in the Great Lady M Stakes (G2) last time out over two familiar rivals whom she faces here. The runner-up, Bellafina, was next seen finishing second in the Ballerina Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, so an effort similar to her last should give this Jerry Hollendorfer trainee a fighting chance here.

6. Amuse 5/1 – She was third in the Great Lady M before finishing a distant seventh against optional claimers over the local turf last time out. She was second in her lone prior start over this dirt course, a race that produced four next-out winners, and should fire after a sharp 3-furlong work just four days ago that was likely meant to tighten the screws.

7. Mucho Amor 15/1 – She also exits the Daisycutter Handicap, where she fiished fourth in her second straight turf sprint attempt. She won the 6-furlong Seattle Stakes at Emerald Downs last year and has a 4-2-1-0 dirt sprint record, but she’ll likely need a career-best Beyer speed figure if she hopes to win here.

8. Unique Factor 4/1 – She took an aggressive stab at the Madison Stakes (G1) last time out and finished sixth, well behind the winner. She’s landed in a much softer spot while making her California debut and keeps last year’s meet-leading jockey Flavien Prat aboard for the second straight time.