Seismic Beauty © Benoit Photo
ALL RETURN IN GOOD ORDER AFTER G1 CLEMENT HIRSCH
Another star was born Saturday as Seismic Beauty sent shock waves through the racing community with a wire-to-wire victory in the G1 Clement Hirsch at Del Mar. The 4-year old filly by Uncle Mo only won by a length and a half but it’s what she did between the start and finish that raised eyebrows.
She set fractions of :22.85, :46.63, 1:10.32 and still had enough left to repel early competition from Royal Spa and stablemate Richi. Then she held off a late bid by the very talented filly Kopion.
“She looks like she’s going easy but they were going fast,” noted trainer Bob Baffert of Seismic Beauty. “She’s a big filly. She’s just getting better and better. She’s still maturing but I think she’ll improve off of that.”
All three of Baffert’s horses returned in good order (Richi finished 3rd; Nothing Like You 5th). The Clement Hirsch is a ‘Win and You’re In’ for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff three months from now.
“We just want to keep her healthy,” Baffert said when asked about the plans for Seismic Beauty leading up to the Breeders’ Cup. “Today I learned more about her. These Grade I’s are tough to get.”
Kopion got floated three-wide in the first turn and sat last entering the far turn. She put in a ferocious closing drive down the lane to claim second, but was well short of catching the winner.
“She ran a good race,” trainer Richard Mandella pointed out. “She didn’t have any trouble with the mile and a sixteenth.”
Prior to the race Mandella was quoted as saying the Clement Hirsch would be a deciding factor as to whether or not Kopion would continue going long or would go back to one turn races.
“Now I’m confused,” Mandella says with a smile. “We’ll just give it a lot of thought and won’t jump to conclusions.”
Mandella had no plans for where he might go next with the Omaha Beach filly. She came out of the race fine, as did Royal Spa who contested the early lead with Seismic Beauty and then faded to fourth.
“We knew we were going to have to run a better number than we have done,” trainer Rodolphe Brissett noted. “She tried hard. Too bad she finished fourth.”
Royal Spa will ship back to Kentucky next week.
Little Hidden Port finished last of the six. Mahina was a pre-race scratch.
JUVENILES GRAB THE SPOTLIGHT IN NEXT WEEK’S STAKES AT DEL MAR
Summer at Del Mar is a time for new beginnings. Every year, hundreds of 2-years olds make their racing debuts. Those with promise and talent go on to nice careers on the track. Next weekend, three of the four stakes races are for 2-year-olds, some with visions of Breeders’ Cups dancing in their heads.
The stakes action begins Friday with the 75th running of the $100,000 Graduation Stakes, a five-furlong dash on the dirt for Cal-bred 2-year-olds. Past winners include California Chrome, I’m Smokin and Real Good Deal. Fourteen juveniles have been nominated to the race. Entries will be drawn Sunday afternoon.
Two more stakes are set for Saturday. The 73rd running of the G2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap features some of the best filly and mare turf runners on the grounds. The racing office received 16 nominations for the mile and a sixteenth test, including several graded stakes winners this year.
The Yellow Ribbon is part of a stakes twin bill on Saturday that also includes the 55th running of the G3 Best Pal. It’s the local prep for the G1 Del Mar Futurity set to be run next month (September 7). Eight juveniles were nominated to the Best Pal, six by trainer Doug O’Neill.
Entries for the Saturday races will be drawn Wednesday.
Sunday puts a wrap on the race week and is highlighted by the 57th running of the G3 Sorrento Stakes, the local prep for the G1 Del Mar Debutante which will be run September 6 on closing weekend. Twelve 2-year-old fillies have been nominated, three by trainer George Papaprodromou and two each from the Bob Baffert and Peter Miller barns. It’s a 6-furlong sprint that in the past has been won by such greats as Bellafina, Chilukki, Silverbulletday, Phone Chatter and Lite Light.
Entries will be drawn Thursday.
OM N JOY BRINGS SWEET SUCCESS FOR VETERAN TRAINER
One of the most impressive performances of the Del Mar summer meet has been Om N Joy’s win in the $150,000 Fleet Treat Stakes July 25. The 3-year-old daughter of Om sat on the rail behind the pace until the top of the lane, then tipped out and went right by the front runners to win by 4 ¼ lengths.
Since then she’s been a handful in the barn.
“It’s been hard to hold her on the ground,” trainer Aggie Ordonez says, “even though she’s a laid back filly. She’s playing. She’s squealing. It’s hard to believe she even ran a week ago. I had to take her back to the track quicker than I normally do to keep her safe and let her release some of that energy.”
Om N Joy has been on quite a hot streak and she’s taken Ordonez into uncharted waters this year. The filly has won four straight races since breaking her maiden in March at Santa Anita. Her win in the Evening Jewel was Ordonez’ first ever stakes win and her Fleet Treat victory was Ordonez’ first stakes win at Del Mar.
After the race Ordonez said she wanted to find easy spots for Om N Joy.
“I want to keep doing what we’re doing,” Ordonez said, “but I’m dreaming and my dreams are getting bigger.”
The next day she announced they would point to the G3 Torrey Pines on Pacific Classic Day (8-30).
“The timing is perfect,” Ordonez states. “I like the idea of keeping her on the dirt and keeping her against straight 3-year-olds. But, of course, the obvious big issue is it’s against open (company) and I know Mr. Baffert has a couple of very nice fillies. That’s daunting for sure.
“But this seems like as good a time as any to take a try and take it to the next level,” Ordonez continues. “She’s doing so well and I feel that she’s earned the opportunity. She’s still eligible for the open one X but I’ve seen those one X’s and Bob’s got a few in there, too.”
Om N Joy has lifted Ordonez into the big time. She’s been training horses for 30 years, winning her very first race at Woodlands Park in Kansas City in 1995. Soon she was taking her small string of horses to Oklahoma and later to Turf Paradise in Phoenix. In 1997, Ordonez moved to Golden Gate Fields where she became an assistant to trainer Brent Sumja, a job she held for seven years before venturing out on her own.
Ordonez spent 20-plus years on the Northern California circuit before picking up and coming south in May of 2023.
This year Ordonez is back at Del Mar with her string of a dozen or more horses, including one very special filly. One worth keeping an eye on over the next few months.
REMEMBERING JOHN HARRIS: A CALIFORNIA RACING ICON
For many folks there’s bit of a void at Del Mar this year. Missing is one of the giants of the industry, a man many credit with making California racing a major player on the national scene. He bred Thoroughbreds, raced them and provided opportunities to countless numbers of individuals.
John Harris passed away last month just days shy of his 82nd birthday. He left behind a legacy that may never be matched. Harris was a leader and an integral part of California racing. He sits atop the list of California’s racing leaders that includes John Mabee, Allen Paulson, Marty Wygod, Jerry Moss and Clement Hirsch. Together they put California breeding on the map.
His father Jack started the Harris empire in Coalinga, California in the late 30’s, building around a small breeding facility. They would expand with a hotel and a restaurant, raising beef for sale and hay for their horses.
Jack died in 1981 and John took over, continuing to build on what his father started and expanding the Thoroughbred operation. Before long the Harris name began appearing with stakes winners. Harris bred them, sold them and raced them, either in his name or for clients. California Chrome and Tiznow both spent time at the Harris Farm.
But John was more than just a breeder. He was also influential in helping California racing navigate the choppy waters of the ‘80s through the dawning of off-track wagering and simulcasting. Without Harris’ support, measures didn’t pass.
He was a man of many hats. He was one-time president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, a member of the California Horse Racing Board and Director of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. He was also a member of The Jockey Club.
He additionally gave people a leg up in the business. Carla Gaines was a young, aspiring trainer when she first met Harris. She was freelance galloping and had a few horses in training. She vividly remembers the first horse she won with Harris.
“Vallejo County Fair,” Gaines notes. “I won a $4,000 claimer with a horse named Glory Quest. That was my first horse for him. You would have thought I won a Grade I. I groomed him. I galloped him. He was a $4,000 horse but he was my baby. From that day on we had great fun. We won lots of stakes races and went to the Breeders’ Cup a time or two with horses. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know how I would have succeeded.”
Last week, Santa Anita changed the name of their Unzip Me Stakes to the John C. Harris. It will be run September 27.
He never lost his love for the sport, even up to his last days.
“In his room they had a white board,” Gaines recalls. “It had every horse that he was part owner, every horse he bred and every horse he sold. They put the races (with those horses) up on the board and he would watch those races all day long, in bed. Racing was his passion and his love.”
Gaines still has about 10 horses from the Harris farm in her stable at Del Mar.
“It’s sad being here without John,” Gaines says. “California’s going to miss him.”
COOLING OUT: Kings River Knight returned to the John Sadler barn in good order after winning the $150,000 California Dreamin’ at Del Mar Saturday. “I thought it was one of his better races,” Sadler said Sunday. He added that the award winning Cal-bred could return at the end of the meet…Jockey Juan Hernandez swept the stakes twin bill Saturday winning both the California Dreamin’ and the Clement Hirsch. That gives him 14 wins on the meet and a two-race lead on Antonio Fresu in the jockey standings. Mark Glatt had two victories Saturday to grab the lead in the trainer standings…Citizen Bull fired a bullet work Sunday at Del Mar. The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner went five-furlongs in :59 (1/66). Thought Process returned to the worktab with a four-furlong work on the turf in :51.20 (14/17). It’s her first work since winning the G2 San Clemente on July 19. She’s being pointed to the G1 Del Mar Oaks August 16…Notable works on Sunday: Dirt – Grand Slam Smile (4f, :47.40); Jungle Peace (4f, :51.60); Full Serrano (5f, 1:01.00); Stronghold (5f, 1:01.80), and Speed Boat Beach (6f, 1:11.80). Turf – Almendares (4f, :50.40); Iron Man Cal (4f, :50.40); King of Gosford (4f, :50.40); Motorious (4f, :49.00); Ag Bullet (5f, 1:00.20), and Gold Phoenix (5f, 1:00.80). A total of 248 horses put in official works on Sunday. 221 on the main track, 27 on the turf.