Heredia © Benoit Photo
HEREDIA RETURNS TO DEL MAR, FACES AG BULLET IN G1 MATRIARCH
The final grade one race for older horses of 2025 is set to be run Sunday, closing day at Del Mar. The G1 Matriarch pits 10 top female grass horses going one mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course and brings a close to the FanDuel Racing Fall Turf Festival.
Heredia returns to the scene of her G2 Yellow Ribbon win this summer. The English-bred took them wire-to-wire as the post time favorite that day in August. She followed up the Yellow Ribbon with a sixth-place run in the G1 First Lady at Keeneland in October.
“I think it was one of those kind of muddling type of races,” Alice Clapham, assistant to trainer Graham Motion, says of the Keeneland effort. “She ran a good race but just had a lot of ground to make up and just couldn’t quite get there.”
Clapham is expecting a big run out the 6-year-old mare on Sunday.
“She shipped in the other day,” Clapham states. “She looks great and is doing well. I think she’s moved forward after every race she’s run in this year.”
She’ll have to move forward to beat Ag Bullet, runner-up to Shisospicy in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. The daughter of Twirling Candy beat the boys in a G1 when she took the Jaipur at Saratoga and with a placing in the Matriarch will surpass the $3 million mark in career earnings.
“She’s ready to run,” trainer Richard Baltas states. “She came out of the Breeders’ Cup race good. She ran good that day. The other horse just got away from us and ran real fast. Ran :55.1.”
Ag Bullet will be stretching back out to the mile. The last time she ran two turns was in last year’s Matriarch when she ran third. She won the 2024 Osunitas at Del Mar and is 5-2-0-1 at the distance.
Trainer Chad Brown has entered Juddmonte Farm’s Segesta in the Matriarch. The 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper has been runner-up in her last two races after winning the G3 Matchmaker at Monmouth Park in July. She ran second to Special Wan in the G3 Ladies Turf at Kentucky Downs then just missed to Simply in Front in the G1 First Lady last out.
“She’s a very consistent horse, “Brown says. “We’ve always thought she was top class and capable of winning a grade one. She’s been knocking on the door a bit. She’s been grade one-placed more than one time. We’re just looking for the right set up for her to get that grade one under her belt. It looks to be a fair opportunity to do it.”
Brown has shipped horses out to Del Mar and won six of the last eight runnings of the Matriarch.
Trainer Miguel Clement has shipped in a couple of talented runners. Ozara is an Irish-bred filly who won twice at Saratoga this summer including the G2 Ballston Spa. She’s coming off of a disappointing performance at Keeneland where she finished eighth in the G1 First Lady.
“She was a bit unlucky,” Clement says. “She got checked at a pivotal moment in the stretch and yet she was only beaten by four lengths. She’s a better filly than that. She just had no racing luck whatsoever.”
Clement’s other horse, Breath Away, went up to Canada and took down the G2 Dance Smartly before coming to Del Mar and running second in the G3 Goldikova on Breeders’ Cup Day. She was recently sold at the Keeneland auction so she’ll be running for the first time for her new connections, Qatar Racing.
“She’s been a mare on the improve,” Clement comments. “In her last three starts she won a stakes at Monmouth, replicated that performance in a grade two in Canada then ran a gallant second here in the Goldikova, so she’s very consistent. She’s honest and so we’ll take a swing at some grade one black type.”
Another shipper of note is In Our Time from the Saffie Joseph, Jr. barn. She ran second in the G2 Franklin at Keeneland her last time out.
This will be the 45th running of the G1 Matriarch. It goes off as Race 7 on the nine race Sunday card. Probable post is 3:30 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail out with the jockeys and morning line odds. Medoro (Umberto Rispoli, 6-1); Breath Away (Kazushi Kimura, 8-1); Antifona (Armando Ayuso, 20-1); Vibez (Hector I Berrios, 12-1); Spicybug (Ricky Gonzalez, 15-1); Ozara (Antonio Fresu, 6-1); Heredia (Juan Hernandez, 8-1); Ag Bullet (John Velazquez, 3-1); Segesta (Flavien Prat, 7/2), and In Our Time (Javier Castellano, 8-1).
G3 JIMMY DURANTE ATTRACTS MIX OF TOP 2-YEAR-OLD GRASS RUNNERS
The first of a pair of 2-year-old graded stakes races this weekend will be run Saturday as part of the FanDuel Racing Fall Turf Festival. It’s the G3 Jimmy Durante and features 11 juvenile grass runners. Five are coming in off of maiden scores, one is coming out of the Breeders’ Cup and two are East Coast invaders.
One of those shippers is out of the Chad Brown barn. Just Aloof broke her maiden first time out.
“We figured we’d take a shot in this race because it’s graded,” Brown says. “It’s a big jump off just a maiden win but we felt we didn’t have her fully cranked for her debut and she won despite that. Though her figure didn’t come back fast, I think there’s solid room for improvement to her second start.”
Just Aloof is a daughter of Justify and her mother is by Galileo.
“I’ve been around her for a good portion of her 2-year-old season preparing her for her debut and she fits the profile of horses we’ve had in the past that were lightly raced horses who could handle the trip mentally.”
The other shipper is Sweet Little Lila, an Irish-bred who has run her first four career races in New York and at Laurel Park. She’s finished second in a couple of maiden special weights but has yet to break her maiden.
“She’s been running well all year,” notes Dominic Boccia, assistant for trainer Brittany Russell. “We wanted to bring her out here to see if she can run with these types of fillies. She handled the ship very well, trained really well this week and impresses us with the way she handles everything we throw at her.”
There’s also a Euro invader in the Jimmy Durante. Special Wood began her career in France. She was recently purchased by Glen Hill Farm and is trained by Thomas Proctor.
La Ville Lumiere is coming out of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile where she ran a non-threatening seventh. She’s switching back to the turf
“I thought her effort in the Juvenile Fillies on the dirt was decent,” trainer Michael McCarthy states. “It seemed like she was picking up through the lane against a pretty heady group of horses. Over here during the summer we really never got to see her at her best on the turf so we’ll see how things go on Saturday.”
Hypergamy is the lukewarm morning line favorite. She broke her maiden at Del Mar three weeks ago.
“She’s always trained well,” trainer Doug O’Neill points out, “and I think last time she just got a lot of confidence being on the lead. She was able to confidently pull away. It was good to see.“
O’Neill is also saddling Latte Luv, a Constitution filly who’s coming in off of a maiden score at Santa Anita last month.
Yours Sincerely has been running in stakes company. She was a troubled fourth in the G3 Surfer Girl last time out at Santa Anita.
“She was just kind of stuck on the inside there,” trainer Philip D’Amato says. “Never got a clear run to stretch her legs which she likes to do. There looks like there’s some nice pace in there. She’ll come running late and hopefully it sets up for her.”
It’s the 35th running of the G3 Jimmy Durante, known as the Miesque Stakes when it was run at Hollywood Park. It’s named after one of the most popular performers of the 20th century who was a Del Mar fan and regular. Probable post is 2:30 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail out with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Latte Luv (Mirco Demuro, 6-1); Special Wood (John Velazquez, 8-1); Bourbon and Ginger (Tiago Pereira, 20-1); Just Aloof (Hector I. Berrios, 6-1); La Ville Lumiere (Kazushi Kimura, 8-1); Sweet Little Lila (Mike Smith, 8-1); Umbralle (Armando Ayuso, 10-1); Yours Sincerely (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1); Hypergamy (Antonio Fresu, 7/2); Wild Like the West (Juan Hernandez, 10-1), and Cee Drew (Ricky Gonzalez, 20-1).
UNCONQUERABLE KEEN GUNS FOR THIRD STORMY LIBERAL WIN SUNDAY
Trainer Philip D’Amato is no stranger to winning big stakes races multiple times. Gold Phoenix has won the G2 Del Mar Handicap four times. Motorious has won the G3 Green Flash three times. Both are trained by D’Amato who now brings two-time defending champion Unconquerable Keen into Sunday’s $100,000 Stormy Liberal turf sprint, part of the FanDuel Racing Fall Turf Festival at Del Mar.
This is the fourth running of the Stormy Liberal and D’Amato has won it three times, two in a row with Unconquerable Keen.
“Umberto Rispoli breezed him on the grass just the other day and really liked him,” D’Amato states. “It’s his first race off of a layoff so we’ll see but he seems to run well fresh.”
Unconquerable Keen last ran on Derby Day when he ran third in the G2 Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs.
D’Amato has another horse in the Stormy Liberal. Sorrento Sky is not without a chance. He ran third in the Eddie D and second in this race last year.
“I like him at five furlongs,” D’Amato claims. “He nearly won this race last year. He’ll get a little speed to run at and he should be right behind the speed. And we got Flavien Prat aboard, that doesn’t hurt either.”
Big City Lights has put in some impressive performances at Del Mar over the years. He won the Real Good Deal Stakes in 2022 and took last year’s Cary Grant Stakes by 8 ½ lengths. He ran in the G2 Pat O’Brien and most recently in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. But the 6-year old son of Mr. Big is trying something new and different in the Stormy Liberal, the turf.
“We thought about it before,” trainer Richard Mandella says about switching surfaces, “but it never worked out. I don’t see why he wouldn’t like it.”
Big City Lights has often had his way with Cal-bred company. Other than the dominant win in the 2024 Cary Grant he won the Cal Cup Sprint at Santa Anita by 7 ¾ lengths earlier this year. He’s run in open company before, winning the 2024 Palos Verdes and finishing third in the G2 Triple Bend four months later. He was a 20-1 longshot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint where he finished eighth.
“I was surprised he didn’t show his speed,” Mandella recalls. “He ran even after that and nobody was stopping. It wasn’t a terrible race. We’re hoping he’ll improve for this.”
Big City Lights will break from the inside post.
“I don’t know if he’ll get to the lead,” Mandella says when asked about the tactics they’ll employ. “Five-eighths everybody will be trying to go for the lead. We’ll let him break and see if he can get there. Just figure out the best way he can.”
He’ll have his hands full with Yellow Card, runner-up to Reef Runner in the G2 Eddie D at Santa Anita last out in September.
“I thought he was unfortunate to get beat that day,” trainer Michael McCarthy notes. “I thought it was a great effort. It was a distance he hadn’t been in quite some time coming off two five-eighths races here. We were hoping to take part in the Breeders’ Cup but never got in.”
The four year old colt was also second in the G1 Franklin-Simpson at Kentucky Downs in 2024. But then he was off for nearly a year before returning at Del Mar this summer.
“He’s been plagued by some stops and starts,” McCarthy adds, “but it seems like he’s doing very well right now. He’s got a win over this racetrack. He’s very sharp. Looking forward to seeing what he does.”
No Nay Hudson is another one to watch out for. He won the G2 Nearctic turf sprint at Woodbine last out. Wesley Ward ships in the 5-year-old gelding for this one.
The Stormy Liberal is Race 5 on Sunday’s nine-race card. It’s named for the winner of back-to-back Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprints in 2017 and 2018 for trainer Peter Miller. Probable post time is 2:30 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail out with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Big City Lights (Mirco Demuro, 4-1); Zio Jo (Antonio Fresu, 12-1); Virat (Hector I. Berrios, 15-1); Yellow Card (Kazushi Kimura, 9/2); Sorrento Sky (5-1); No Nay Hudson (Pablo Morales, 8-1); Book Smart (Mike Smith, 8-1); Nay V Belle (John Velazquez, 12-1); Unconquerable Keen (Umberto Rispoli, 7/2), and Ballyvaughan Gig (Edwin Maldonado, 20-1).
COOLING OUT: Trainer Jonathan Thomas reports all is well with Truly Quality, winner of Friday’s G2 Hollywood Turf Cup. He says he’s always wanted to win the San Juan Capistrano at Santa Anita, “So, we’ll figure out how to get there.”…A couple of firsts at Del Mar Friday: Trainer Angel Vega won his first race ever as a trainer at the seaside oval when Sexy Blue won Race 4. The former assistant trainer to Richard Mandella went out on his own last year...Also, jockey Cesar Belmont won his first race ever at Del Mar in just his second ride in the U.S. He scored with Sendit Mo in Race 6 for trainer Peter Miller. He’s been riding in France…Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will be riding this weekend at Del Mar. He has six mounts on Saturday and four more on Sunday. Flavien Prat flies in tonight. He has seven mounts on Sunday. Javier Castellano is another out-of-town jockey riding at Del Mar in the Fall Turf Festival. He has one mount on Sunday…Dan Smith will host Sunday’s Handicapping Seminar at Del Mar. His guest will be clocker Toby Turrell. The seminars are held on the patio of the Hacienda Room adjacent to the large fountain in the Plaza de Mexico. They begin at 11:30 a.m. and run for approximately 30 minutes ahead of the first post at 12:30 p.m.