Avenge © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

AVENGE TOPS EIGHT ENTERED IN SATURDAY’S YELLOW RIBBON

Avenge returns to the track where she recorded two wins last year as the likely favorite in a field of eight for Saturday’s Grade II $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap.

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella conditions and Flavien Prat rides the 5-year-old daughter of War Front for owner Ramona S. Bass in the 1 1/16^th mile test for older fillies and mares that will be run for the 65^th time.

A year ago Avenge came in off three undistinguished efforts and produced an allowance win and a victory in the John C. Mabee Stakes. She stretched the streak to three in the Grade I Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita and then was a creditable third in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, beaten one length by Queen’s Trust after leading most of the way, to end her 2016 campaign.

Avenge was third, beaten 3 ¾ lengths by powerful Lady Eli, in the Grade I Gamely Handicap at Santa Anita on May 27 in her 2017 debut.

The field from the rail: Amboseli (Victor Espinoza), Kiss Me Now (Tiago Pereira), Frenzified (Santiago Gonzalez), Juno (Gary Stevens), Hillhouse High (Corey Nakatani), Pretty Girl (Mike Smith), Cambodia (Drayden Van Dyke) and Avenge (Flavien Prat).

DIAMONDSANDPEARLS TO FACE SIX RIVALS IN SATURDAY’S SORRENTO

Bob Baffert-trained Diamondsandpearls, a daughter of Congrats who broke her maiden by an impressive 6 ¼ lengths in her racing debut last month at Santa Anita, steps up to the stakes level for her second start in Saturday’s Grade II $200,000 Sorrento Stakes.

The 6 ½-furlong main track event for 2-year-old fillies will be run for the 49^th time and Baffert will be seeking an eighth victory in the race that is often a stepping stone for the Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Debutante, which this year will be run on September 2.

A $1.7 million yearling purchase by Phoenix Thoroughbreds III Ltd., Diamondsandpearls went quickly to the front and gradually extended her lead in her debut at five furlongs. Among the six fillies entered, only Peter Miller-trained Surrender Now has a stakes victory. That was an eight-length rout in the Landaluce on July 2 in the undefeated daughter of Morning Line’s second, and most recent, start.

The field from the rail: Surrender Now (Flavien Prat), Spectator (Jamie Theriot), Dancing Belle (Kent Desormeaux), Terra’s Angel (Sasha Risenhoover), Spirit of Shanghai (Joe Talamo), Diamondsandpearls (Mike Smith) and Midnight Summer (Edwin Maldonado).

ARROGATE, ACCELERATE UPDATE

Arrogate and Accelerate both worked a half-mile on Tuesday. It was the first significant exercise for each since Accelerate’s stunning upset of World No. 1 Arrogate in the $300,000 Grade II TVG San Diego Handicap on July 22, a race in which Arrogate finished fourth in a field of five.

The works figure to be the first for each in a series leading up to starts in the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic on August 19.

Arrogate, with Martin Garcia up, worked four furlongs in a bullet :47.20, the best of 21 at the distance for the day. Arrogate and Garcia broke alone from the half-mile pole, posting a first quarter in :24 flat and galloping out to five furlongs in 1:00.20. Trainer Bob Baffert said he was pleased with the effort and reiterated that the Pacific Classic is the next race target.

Accelerate, with exercise rider Jose Contreras up, went a half-mile in :48.60 by the track’s official clockers. Trainer John Sadler had split times of :12.20, :24.20 and :36.40 leading up to the final time. “Nice and smooth, just a maintenance work,” Sadler said. “He’ll have two more before the Pacific Classic and then we’ll see how he is.”

On Tuesday, Baffert also worked Diamondsandpearls (4f, :48.0) for Saturday’s Sorrento Stakes and Collected (6f, 1:11.40) for a start to be determined, possibly in the Pacific Classic.

SONGBIRD TO PACIFIC CLASSIC? “SHE’S NOMINATED”

“She’s nominated, that’s all I can tell you.”

That was Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer’s response when asked for comment on the rumblings that super mare Songbird might take on males for the first time in the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic on August 19.

The presence of Songbird, along with Arrogate, Accelerate and others would make the 27^th running of the Pacific Classic an event possibly to surpass last year’s California Chrome-Beholder-Dortmund match-up that veteran track observers thought improbable to ever be topped.

The decision, make no mistake, will be one for Hollendorfer and the Fox Hill Farm owners.

“I don’t go by what anybody else says,” Hollendorfer said. “Everybody wants to give you advice when they’ve got nothing to lose from it. They’ve been yelling for me to run this filly against the boys since she started (racing) and I don’t know why people would even think like that.

“It’s not their horse, it’s our horse. We’re perfectly capable of making decisions and so far we’ve made a bunch of good ones.”

O’NEILL HAS A BUSS --- LAKERS’ OWNER JANIE -- FOR NEW CLIENT

Trainer Doug O’Neill and his team have a new client in Los Angeles Lakers team owner Janie Buss*, who will go under the nom de course Purple Rein Stable.

“She’s a new client but we’ve known her for years,” O’Neill assistant Steve Rothblum said Wednesday morning. “She’s had some horses with Mark Verge of Westside Stables, she wants some of her own and she’s committed a pretty good chunk (of money) for purchasing.”

On Sunday, O’Neill claimed the 3-year-old colt True Valor for $50,000 from Keith Desormeaux for Purple Rein/Westside. The son of Yes It’s True has two wins from nine starts with lifetime earnings of $51,259 and finished third in the event from which he was claimed.

On Friday, Mis Viola, a 2-year-old daughter of Violence trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, was claimed by Purple Rein/Westside for $32,000 from her second career start, a 5 ¼-length victory here under Evin Roman.

CLOSERS -- Faron McCubbins of Mt. Washington, KY, turned a $5,000 starting bankroll into $64,535 to coast home in the $300,000 Del Mar Challenge which ended Sunday. First Place was worth more than $120,000 in prizes including a $10,000 entry in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) at Del Mar in November. Along with the winner’s $64,535 bankroll winnings, total prizes for the event amounted to over $185,000. In addition, a win for McCubbins in the BCBC will be worth a $1 million bonus. Garett Skiba from Hinsdale, IL, was the 2^nd place finisher with a final bankroll of $40,593. He received more than $60,000 in prizes for earnings of more than $100,000. The top six finishers received BCBC entries and the top eight finishers receive entries in the National Horseplayers Championship in February with an expected $2.5 million in total prize money … Selected works from 110 officially timed Wednesday morning: American Anthem (4f, :47.20), Vyjack (4f, :49.20), West Coast (:47.40), Midnight Storm (6f, 1:13.00).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Sunday, July 30, 2017 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Sunday, July 30, 2017 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Sunday, July 30, 2017 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 21 out of 88 -- 23.86%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 14 out of 54 -- 25.93%

Winning favorites on turf -- 7 out of 34 -- 20.59%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 3 out of 12 -- 25.00%

In-the-Money favorites -- 59 out of 88 -- 67.05%

*A previous version of this story incorrectly named Jeanie Buss, Janie's sister.