Bob Baffert

DAY 31

ONE TOUGH DEBUTANTE? BAFFERT SAYS SO AND HE OUGHT TO KNOW

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has had representatives in the Del Mar Debutante, and race winners, for more than 20 years.

Batroyale in 1995 was the first of seven winners in the championship event for 2-year-old fillies of the summer meeting that Baffert has saddled.

But when he considered the talent assembling for the 68^th running of the Debutante on Saturday afternoon, Baffert came to a strong conclusion.

“Gonna be a tough race,” Baffert said. “Gonna be one of the toughest Debutantes I’ve ever been in. You’ve got three outstanding fillies and it’s going to be a tough deal.”

Two of the three that Baffert referred to are Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Brill, a $1 million sale purchase a year ago who looked worth the price in a debut win here on July 18, and Simon Callaghan-trained Bellafina, who took the Grade II Sorrento Stakes on August 5 by 4 ¼ lengths.

The third would be Baffert’s own Mother Mother, his choice from four fillies who showed Debutante potential in works or races this summer from the 22 he nominated (of a total 162) for the race.

Baffert, who has had multiple entries in the Debutante several times in the past, opted for Mother Mother, a daughter of Pioneerof the Nile who debuted with a 6 ½-length victory at six furlongs here on July 22,  after she worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 on Monday morning. Chasing Yesterday, a half-sister to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, has been sent to Saratoga. Der Lu and The Aurelia Factor, debut winners at the meet, await later assignments.

The Debutante is a seven-furlong main track test with the winner securing  Grade I victory status and a $180,000 share of the $300,000 purse.

“I was happy with her, she’s doing everything right,” Baffert said.

The field for the Debutante was to be drawn later Wednesday. The entries in alphabetical order are: Bellafina (Flavien Prat), Boujie Girl (Geovanni Franco), Brill (Drayden Van Dyke), Mother Mother (Joe Talamo) and Watch Me Burn (Alonso Quinonez).

CAMBODIA GOES FOR A DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN SATURDAY’S JOHN C. MABEE

A year ago, Cambodia won the Yellow Ribbon and John C. Mabee Stakes, the Grade II turf events for older fillies and mares. With the 1 1/16-mile Yellow Ribbon already secured on August 4, Cambodia will try to complete another double-stakes summer in Saturday’s $200,000 John C. Mabee at 1 1/8 miles.

“I don’t see any reason why she can’t” said jockey Drayden Van Dyke, aboard for six of the last seven starts for the six-year-old daughter of War Front trained by Tom Proctor for Winter Quarter Farm. “She felt strong at the end of the Yellow Ribbon and we know she loves it here.”

Cambodia has three wins in five starts at Del Mar. The losses came in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (third) and the Matriarch (fourth) at the 2017 Bing Crosby Fall Meeting.

Thirteen were entered Wednesday. The field in post position order: Meal Ticket (Joe Talamo), Sophie P (Kent Desormeaux), Midnight Crossing (Brice Blanc), Storm the Hill (Rafael Bejarano), Fahan Mura (Edwin Maldonado), Cordiality (Tyler Baze), Cambodia (Drayden Van Dyke), Achira (Gary Stevens), Vasilika (Flavien Prat), The Tulip (Rider TBD), Madame Stripes (Geovanni Franco) and Cheekaboo (Rider TBD). Also eligible: Vagabond Princess (Martin Garcia).

VAN DYKE HAS LEAD, MOMENTUM ENTERING FINAL WEEK OF RACING

The final six days of the Del Mar summer meeting hold a lot of potential for 23-year-old jockey Drayden Van Dyke.

There’s the potential to notch his first riding title at a major Southern California circuit meeting – to go with two championships achieved at Los Alamitos four years ago during an Eclipse Award-winning apprentice campaign.

The potential to add to his nine stakes victories and threaten/tie/break the Del Mar single-meeting record of 13 set by Rafael Bejarano in 2012.

No surprise then, Wednesday morning, when Van Dyke’s eyes lit up at the mention of those possibilities.

“It’s been a dream meet,” Van Dyke said. “I expected to have a good one. But it surpasses anything I could have expected so far. To win (a riding title) would mean a lot to me and to my agent (Brad Pegram). It’s been a goal and it would put a check mark in that box.”

It was only 10 days ago that Van Dyke’s already good meeting went straight to great with a record-tying seven wins that moved him to the top of the standings where he has remained since. Van Dyke enters the closing week with 33 wins, four ahead of defending champion Flavien Prat.

“When I won four in a row, people started rooting me on and, of course, my confidence level just went through the roof,” Van Dyke said of the seven-win day. “I won the stakes (Del Mar Mile on Catapult) and I was so focused for the next two. It was an incredible feeling.”

The Del Mar Mile was the seventh stakes victory of the meeting for Van Dyke. He added two last weekend, both for trainer John Sadler, on Catalina Cruiser in the Pat O’Brien and True Royalty in the Torrey Pines.

There are nine stakes on the remaining cards and Van Dyke figures to ride in most, if not all of them.

“That (stakes record) would be cool,” Van Dyke said.

Indeed.

SILKEN PRINCE FAVORED IN FRIDAY’S I’M SMOKIN STAKES

Tommy Town Thoroughbred’s Silken Prince will break from post position No. 6 in a field of eight and was established as the 5-2 favorite on Russ Hudak’s morning line for Friday’s $100,000 I’m Smokin Stakes at six furlongs for California-bred two-year-olds.

A homebred son of Kafwain trained by William Morey, Silken Prince overcame a hesitant start to rally from ninth of 10, four lengths behind the leaders, at the half-mile mark of his six-furlong racing debut on August  3 to win by a length under apprentice Assael Espinoza.

He’ll have the services of defending meeting riding champion Flavien Prat over the same course in the I’m Smokin.

The field from the rail: Listing (Mario Gutierrez, 10-1), Bea’s Boy (Heriberto Figueroa, 15-1), Oliver (Joe Talamo, 4-1), Hey Sal (Geovanni Franco, 10-1), Irish Heatwave (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1), Silken Prince (Flavien Prat, 5-2), Eighty Proof (Martin Garcia, 5-1), and Policy (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1).

ARTIST PETER WILLIAMS TO BE HONORED IN KENTUCKY

Equine artist Peter Williams, who found inspiration for paintings at Del Mar and tracks around the country and world, will be honored with displays at the Headley-Whitney Museum of Art in Lexington, Ky., next month and again in October.

Williams died on August 13 at his home in Goshen, Ky. He was 84.

Peter Williams “Painted From Life,” a retrospective of his life and work, is scheduled for September 7 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. An Evening Tribute event on October 4 from 6:30-8:30 will begin more than a month of opportunities to purchase Williams’ works before the closing on November 11.

For further information: www.headley-whitney.org.

CLOSERS – Trainer John Sadler said Wednesday morning that he’s feeling “much better” after a couple of afternoons of rest to shake off the effects of an illness that prevented him from saddling True Royalty to victory in Sunday’s Torrey Pines Stakes. True Royalty came out of the race in good shape. “The mare ran super,” Sadler said. “We know she likes it down here, so we’ll be sure to find something for her at the fall meeting.” … Selected works from 253 officially timed over the last three days: Monday – Masochistic (3f, :36.80), Bombard (4f, :47.00), Enamored (5f, :59.80), Hoppertunity (5f, 1:00.80), Rayya (5f, :59.80), American Anthem (6f, 1:12.60), Dream Tree (6f, 1:12.20), Sigalert (6f, 1:14.60); Tuesday – West Coast (4f, :48.80), Miss Sunset (5f, 1:01.20); Wednesday – Comical Ghost (5f, :59.60), Game Winner (5f, :59.60), Roadster (5f, 1:00.20).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Sunday, August 26, 2018 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Sunday, August 26, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Sunday, August 26, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 91 out of 263 -- 34.60%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 64 out of 163 -- 39.26%

Winning favorites on turf -- 27 out of 100 -- 27.00%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 25 out of 40 -- 62.50%

In-the-Money favorites -- 186 out of 263 -- 70.72%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 38 out of 40 -- 95.00%