Danzing Candy © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
Classy Danzing Candy will be seeking his fourth consecutive victory Saturday when he heads a deep line-up of eleven runners in the Grade II $200,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs.
Danzing Candy, a four-year-old son of Twirling Candy owned by Halo Farms, Bashor and Bashor and trained by Bob Baffert, figures to go postward a solid favorite under jockey Joe Talamo. Most recently, the colt won the San Carlos at Santa Anita from wire-to-wire going seven furlongs.
Opposing Danzing Candy will be Moe Candy, Victor Espinoza; Solid Wager, Martin Pedroza; Mr. Hinx, Drayden Van Dyke; Silent Bird, Kent Desormeaux; Blameitonthelaw, Evin Roman; Kobe’s Back, Flavien Prat; Calculator, Rafael Bejarano; Home Run Kitten, Brice Blanc; Giant Expectations, Gary Stevens, and Denman’s Call, Tyler Baze.
The Pat O’Brien Stakes is a “Win and You’re In” qualifying race for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Saturday, Nov. 4, at Del Mar with the winner earning an automatic spot in that contest.
Supporting feature Saturday will be the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes at one-mile for three-year-olds. The race attracted a field of seven, including Gormley, the 2017 Santa Anita Derby winner; Battle of Midway, third to Always Dreaming in the Kentucky Derby this spring, and Klimt, hero of the Del Mar Futurity last summer. Completing the line-up are Cistron, True Valor, Gato del Oro and Stone Hands.
Post time for the first of ten races will be 2 p.m.