David Jerkens

HAVING GONE 36-FOR-36, JERKENS HAPPY TO SHARE THE CREDIT

As the 80^th Del Mar summer season approached, there was concern for, and by, Racing Secretary David Jerkens regarding producing 36 cards and keeping the track running on a five-day-a-week basis from mid-July to Labor Day.

Santa Anita lost 24 racing days in the name of safety or not having enough horses to race four days a week. Los Alamitos cancelled three racing days of its three-week meet due to a lack of entries.

As the 80^th Del Mar summer season nears its end on Monday, and with the last of 36 programs in the books on Friday, Jerkens can relax a little and look back on what some thought it would take a miracle to accomplish.

“I don’t know about that (miracle),” Jerkens said Saturday morning. “I think that a lot of people were eager to support Del Mar this summer. And I definitely appreciate all the participation and cooperation.

“Obviously, you’d like to offer a better product to horse players. That’s the most important thing. What we accomplished last year would be hard to match. We knew that going in. But we did everything we could to put out the best product we could this summer.”

The numbers won’t be finalized until after the last race ends on Monday. But Jerkens, in his sixth year as racing secretary, estimates that the average field size will be around eight per race, a decrease from the 8.8 of 2018 but creditable.

“It’s not up to Del Mar’s standards of the past five years,” Jerkens conceded. “But it’s still a healthy number at the end of the day.”

There will be 21 fewer races overall than last year, Jerkens said. Initially, the projection was for 30 fewer. That was dropped to 26 partway through the meet.

“I thought from Pacific Classic Day on through the last couple weeks of the meet it felt like the Del Mar of old,” Jerkens said. “In terms of the field sizes and quality. The comparisons of week six weren’t much different from a year ago and I think week seven will be the same.

“I think people are adapting to the new climate, the changes that have been made. Sometimes it takes a while for everybody to understand the new realities of what we’re facing.”

Jerkens had praise for Director of Track Maintenance Dennis Moore and Turf Course/Grounds Superintendent Leif Dickinson for their upkeep of the main track and the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. And praise for the work of Executive Vice President, Racing Tom Robbins and the racing office staff.

“But it all comes down to the owners and trainers supporting you at the entry box,” Jerkens said. “I think the number of shippers we had for the stakes races was encouraging. The ‘Ship And Win’ numbers will be up from a year ago and that’s a vital component in the success of our meet.”

MULLINS LOOKS FOR FINAL DAYS ADD-ON TO A SOLID MEETING

A stakes win is the only thing currently missing from an otherwise very good summer meeting for trainer Jeff Mullins.

But he’ll be out to correct the oversight when he sends out strong contenders Originaire (4-1) and Moody Jim (5-1) in Sunday’s $250,000 Grade II Del Mar Derby and unveils newly acquired 2-year-old filly Croughavouke, whom he has entered against males in Sunday’s $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Turf and against her own gender in Monday’s $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies.

“I’ve got two nice horses in there and I think they’ve got as good a chance as anybody,” Mullins said.

Originaire notched his first win on U.S. soil, in his fourth North American start, in a 1 1/16-mile allowance here on July 18. The Irish-bred colt rallied from seventh in a field of 11 in the stretch under Mike Smith to win by a length. Smith rides back in the Derby.

Moody Jim is another Irish-bred who came to Mullins after one start in his native country and, after a fourth in June at Churchill Downs, scored his first U.S. win in a maiden special turf race at 1 1/16 miles here on July 27, rallying from fourth to win by a half length.

The victories by Originaire and Moody Jim are two of seven for Mullins from 33 starters, good for ninth in the trainer standings. He also has 10 seconds and two third-place finishes.

Mullins pronounces the filly’s name CROW-rock-a-voke. She’s been in his stable about two weeks and was acquired by Red Barons Barn/Rancho Temescal after two starts in her native Ireland.

The first, on a course rated “yielding” at Navan, resulted in a third-place finish beaten 3 ¾ lengths. The second, six furlongs at Limerick on “good” ground, produced a stalking trip that turned into a three-quarter length victory.

Two works at Del Mar persuaded Mullins to enter Croughavouke against boys and girls, but he said the decision has already been made.

“Sometimes the boys are a little easier because of the shorter fields, but she’s going to run against the fillies,” Mullins said.

Oddsmaker Russ Hudak listed Croughavouke as 5-1 in a field of seven for Sunday’s Juvenile Turf and, in a morning line released Saturday morning, 4-1 in field of 13 in Monday’s Juvenile Fillies Turf.

The Juvenile Fillies Turf field from the rail:  Convoluted (Martin Pedroza, 8-1), Awesome Drive (Ruben Fuentes, 20-1), Applecross (Florent Geroux, 10-1), A Thousand Dreams (Rafael Bejarano, 15-1), Croughavouke (Drayden Van Dyke, 4-1), Flamigo Bay (Joe Talamo, 30-1), Acai (Mario Gutierrez, 20-1), Warren’s Showtime (Jorge Velez, 8-1), Yesterdayoncemore (Victor Espinoza, 12-1), Shedaresthedevil (Flavien Prat, 9-5), Overjoyed (Mike Smith, 10-1), Mean Sophia (Martin Garcia, 20-1), Text Don’t Call (Abel Cedillo, 20-1).

BAFFERT’S EIGHT RINGS TABBED AS FAVORITE FOR RUNHAPPY FUTURITY

Bob Baffert-trained Eight Rings was established as the 5-2 morning line favorite in a field of eight for Monday’s Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Futurity, the traditional closing day feature, for this the 80^th summer season

A son of Empire Maker purchased for $520,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale of yearlings, Eight Rings followed up a string of sizzling works here with a 6 ¼-length victory under Drayden Van Dyke in his racing debut on August 4 and has continued to shine in the mornings since.

The field from the rail: Storm the Court (Flavien Prat, 5-1), Eight Rings (Drayden Van Dyke, 5-2), Defense Wins (Rafael Bejarano, 12-1), Ginobili (Florent Geroux, 6-1), Garth (Mike Smith, 5-1), Fore Left (Mario Gutierrez, 8-1), Nucky (Norberto Arroyo, Jr., 8-1) and Wrecking Crew (Abel Cedillo, 7-2).

TRACKING THE JOCKEY AND TRAINER TITLE RACES

Drayden Van Dyke won two of the first four races Friday to cut into Flavien Prat’s lead in the rider standings. But Prat got one back with a score in the featured $100,000 I’m Smokin Stakes to restore his lead to nine wins over Van Dyke with three days remaining in the meeting.

Prat has eight stakes wins, far and away the leader in the category.

Prat and Van Dyke are both booked on seven mounts in Saturday’s 10-race card and will go head-to-head in six of the assignments.

In the trainer standings a win by Richard Baltas with Super Patriot ($21.60) in Friday’s fifth race broke a tie with Peter Miller and moved Baltas into solo second behind leader Doug O’Neill. O’Neill has 19 wins to 17 for Baltas and 16 for Miller.

Saturday could prove to be a pivotal one in the race as all three have multiple representatives to send out.

The lineups for Saturday: O’Neill – Mutineer (2^nd, 5-1), Truck Salesman (2^nd, 10-1), Dichotomy (3^rd, 8-1), Cedars of Lebanon (3^rd, 20-1), Ocean Fury (5^th, 6-1), Carnivorous (5^th, 8-1), Suite  Alonso (6^th, 4-1), Three Footer (8^th, 20-1), and Comical (9^th, 12-1); Baltas Shane Zain (1^st, 6-1), Peytons Path (2^nd, 5-1), Da Kine (2^nd, 10-1), One Nation (2^nd, 9-2), Velvet Queen (3^rd, 9-2), Quebec (7^th, 15-1), Elysea’s World 7^th, 12-1), Whirl Candy (8^th, 7-2); Miller – Distinctive B (1^st, 9-5), Stable Genius (2^nd, 8-1), Mo Forza (5^th, 12-1), Leucothea (9^th, 3-1), Jamming Eddy (10^th, 7-2).

CLOSERS – Selected works from 129 officially timed Saturday morning: Great Power (3f, :35.80), American Code (4f, :47.40), Fawree (4f, :48.80), Itsinthepost (4f, :48.80), Roadster (4f, :49.40), Selcourt (4f, :48.40), Anonymity (5f, 1:00.60), Cistron (5f, 1:01.60), Flor de La Mar 5f, :59.60), La Sardane (5f, 1:01.80), Ollie’s Candy (5f, :59.80).

 DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Friday, August 30, 2019 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Friday, August 30, 2019 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Friday, August 30, 2019 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 100 out of 267 -- 37.45%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 63 out of 158 -- 39.87%

Winning favorites on turf -- 37 out of 109 -- 33.94%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 27 out of 54 -- 50.00%

In-the-Money favorites -- 186 out of 267 -- 69.66%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 45 out of 54 -- 83.33%