By Hank Wesch
McCARTHY RELISHES FIRST DEL MAR AND FIRST GRADED STAKES WIN
“I’ve been around plenty of nice, graded stakes horses, but this is the first winner on my own. I’m very excited.”
Those were the words of trainer Mike McCarthy in the winner’s circle following Saturday’s $100,000 Grade III Bob Hope Stakes victory with No Problem, the first graded stakes of the Bing Crosby season and the first upper echelon victory for a McCarthy representative.
The graded stakes horses McCarthy had been around were those of East Coast trainer Todd Pletcher, for whom McCarthy was an assistant for more than 11 years. Just less than a year ago, McCarthy struck out on his own and returned to his roots on the West Coast to be with his wife and young daughter.
Before joining Pletcher, who is headquartered in New York and Florida, McCarthy, 43, had worked for several trainers on the West Coast.
“John O’Hara, Randy Winick, Doug Peterson, Ben Cecil,” McCarthy said. “I could go on. The list gets pretty long.”
While McCarthy worked for Pletcher in the East, his wife and daughter remained on the West Coast, necessitating several cross-country trips. “My wife has a job here and in today’s economic climate it is better to have two good jobs than no jobs at all,” McCarthy told the Thoroughbred Daily News on the occasion of his first starter, Norastone, in the California Cup Oaks on January 25.
McCarthy’s wife, Erin, works for the Merrill-Lynch investment firm. His daughter, Stella, is celebrating her fourth birthday today.
“It has been a big weekend, we’re getting ready for a big party,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy currently has 13 horses. No Problem is owned by the P&G Stables of Hernando Gutierrez and Nerina Morales of Southwest Ranches, Fl. The Hope win was the second straight in three starts in a career that started on September 27 for the Kentucky-bred son of Munnings.
“I expressed an interest in the horse, Hernan and Dorina were nice enough to send him out to me,” McCarthy said. “I’m very grateful. They’re very good people.”
After three races in seven weeks, No Problem, whom McCarthy describes as a “gutty little horse,” will be given time off before his next start.
HOPE 2-3 FINISHERS EXIT RACE WELL
Alright Alright and St. Joe Bay, the 2-3 finishers in the Bob Hope, came out of the race in good order, their respective trainers reported.
“I thought he ran a game and hard race,” said Darrell Vienna, trainer of Alright Alright. “The track had been playing to the inside and speed. He broke last and was outside most of the way.”
Alright Alright, a son of Munnings who was a $250,000 purchase at the Barretts Sale in March for Jed Cohen’s Red Baron’s Barn LLC, was beaten a half-length as the even-money favorite. Vienna said Alright Alright would not race again at the meeting.
Peter Miller, trainer of third-place St. Joe Bay, noted the Saint Anddan colt’s wide trip after breaking outwardly from the outside post. St. Joe Bay was beaten 1 ½ lengths.
“He ran well, all things considered,” Miller said. “We’ll bring him back in the Cecil B. DeMille.” The Grade III $150,000 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes, one mile on the turf for 2-year-olds is on November 30, closing day of the Bing Crosby Season.
WHAT’S IN A NAME – DESI ARNAZ STAKES
Formerly the Moccasin Stakes on the Hollywood Park schedule, the race for two-year-old fillies has been renamed the Desi Arnaz Stakes, honoring the singer/bandleader who was a pioneer in television while co-starring with his wife, Lucille Ball, on the beyond-popular “I Love Lucy” comedy series.
ALL-TIME STAKES LEADER BAFFERT AIMS FOR CROSBY SEASON FIRST
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, the Del Mar summer season’s all-time leader for stakes wins with 108, aims for No.1 of a Bing Crosby meeting when he sends out Maybellene in Sunday’s $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
“She’s been pretty solid, she tries hard,” Baffert said of Maybellene.
A daughter of Lookin At Lucky purchased for $140,000 at the Keeneland September sale in 2013 and owned by Baffert’s wife, Jill, Maybellene has two victories in five career races. Maybellene’s first three starts were at Del Mar last summer, culminating with a narrow victory in a maiden special on August 31. Eleventh of 12 in the Grade I Chandelier at Santa Anita on September 27, Maybellene rebounded with a neck victory in an optional claimer there on October 23.
“Her only bad race was (the Chandelier) when she stumbled very badly at the start,” Baffert said.
Baffert monitored the Crosby Season from the L.A. area before taking the freeway south for a first on-site experience Saturday when the official attendance figure was 19,704.
“I feel it’s got a really strong vibe, which is very positive for racing,” Baffert said. “I know that years ago they had a fall meeting that wasn’t very good. But Del Mar has a whole new brand since then and it’s real nice to see people coming out.”
LATE SCRATCH REDUCES ARNAZ FIELD TO FOUR; NO SHOW WAGERING
The scratch of Xoxo from Sunday’s $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes reduced the field to four and as a result there will be no show wagering.
Trainer Peter Miller opted to wait for an allowance race later in the meeting for Xoxo, a daughter of Majestic Warrior he partly owns.
With the scratch, the Arnaz field from the rail out is Light The City (Elvis Trujillo, 7-5), Maybellene (Rafael Bejarano, 3-1), Into Oblivion (Mike Smith, 5-2) and Achiever’s Legacy (4-1). Xoxo had been the longest shot on the morning line at 8-1.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BING
For the inaugural Bing Crosby Season at Del Mar, we offer a daily note, quote or anecdote about the track’s founding father for whom the fall meeting is named.
In the 1960s, Bing generated publicity for a fly-in resort near La Paz, Mexico, when he bought a home at the development along the Sea of Cortez. A nearby neighbor was Desi Arnaz, a Del Mar regular in that era and the man for whom today’s stakes is named. An interesting feature of Arnaz’s Mexican bungalow was a pool in the shape of a flamenco guitar.
CLOSERS – Selected works from 33 timed Sunday morning – Conquest Typhoon (5f, 1:00.80), Tizcano (5f, 1:00.80), Zen Zai Sun (1:00.80), Winning Rhythm (6f, 1:12.00), Flamboyant (4f, turf, :51.20), Power Ped (4f, turf, :49.00), Tiz Lady’s Legs (6f, turf, 1:16.20), Lil Bit O’Fun (7f, turf, 1:32.00).
DEL MAR STATISTICS
Jockey Standings
(Current Through Saturday, November 15, 2014 Inclusive)
|
Jockey |
Mts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
Money Won |
|
Tyler Baze |
34 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
18% |
$145,500 |
|
Elvis Trujillo |
31 |
5 |
8 |
3 |
16% |
$217,954 |
|
Martin Pedroza |
20 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
25% |
$178,554 |
|
Edwin Maldonado |
23 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
17% |
$128,058 |
|
Victor Espinoza |
20 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
20% |
$185,928 |
|
Kent Desormeaux |
24 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
13% |
$106,670 |
|
Fernando Perez |
19 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
16% |
$108,330 |
|
Mike Smith |
14 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
21% |
$182,650 |
|
Alex Solis |
8 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
38% |
$90,590 |
|
Joseph Talamo |
15 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
20% |
$116,790 |
Trainer Standings
(Current Through Saturday, November 15, 2014 Inclusive)
|
Trainer |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
Money Won |
|
Peter Miller |
22 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
14% |
$119,728 |
|
Mike Puype |
17 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
18% |
$139,220 |
|
Leandro Mora |
25 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
8% |
$95,444 |
|
Robert B. Hess, Jr. |
11 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
18% |
$52,330 |
|
George Papaprodromou |
11 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
18% |
$76,220 |
|
Barry Abrams |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
33% |
$78,520 |
|
Richard Baltas |
10 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
20% |
$88,040 |
|
Adam Kitchingman |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
50% |
$72,850 |
|
Victor L. Garcia |
5 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
40% |
$89,570 |
|
Vladimir Cerin |
6 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
33% |
$35,460 |
Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Saturday, November 15, 2014 Inclusive)
Winning favorites -- 15 out of 52 -- 28.85%
Winning favorites on Polytrack -- 11 out of 33 -- 33.33%
Winning favorites on turf -- 4 out of 19 -- 21.05%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 1 out of 5 -- 20.00%
In-the-Money favorites -- 29 out of 52 -- 55.77%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 2 out of 5 -- 40.00%
Sunday, November 16, 2014 Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793