Sneaker battling Grand Slam Smile (inside) to the wire © Benoit Photo
A GRAND SLAM SMILE, SNEAKER REMATCH IN SUNDAY’S BETTY GRABLE
Right behind a Game 7 there’s nothing better in the world of sports than a re-match. When one competitor gets a chance to avenge an earlier loss or prove that the first time around was no fluke. They’re in every sport, including horse racing, and Del Mar has a good one lined up Sunday afternoon.
It’s the $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes. Seven furlongs on the main track for Cal-bred fillies and mares. In this corner, you have Grand Slam Smile the 2024 Champion Cal-bred 3-year-old filly. In the other corner is Sneaker, a daughter of Oscar Performance, who nailed Grand Slam Smile on the wire to win the California Distaff at Santa Anita last month.
Grand Slam Smile has been the model of consistency since her racing debut in May of 2023. She has raced 15 times and has never finished out of the money, with eight victories. She wins on the grass and on the dirt and has two wins and two seconds since coming to trainer Sean McCarthy’s barn earlier this year when her first and only trainer, Steve Specht, retired.
“It’s a lot of fun,” McCarthy says of training Grand Slam Smile. “She’s the kind of horse you dream to have. You know when you lead her over she’s going to give you everything she has. These kind of horses are why we do what we do.”
McCarthy says he wouldn’t have changed a thing, except the outcome, in the defeat to Sneaker.
“It was a good race,” McCarthy notes. “We were in a good spot. When we got close to the wire Sneaker came flying up on the outside. Billy (jockey William Antongeorgi III) said she didn’t see her but when she did she surged again forward but it was too late.”
The daughter of Smiling Tiger has earned $626,120.
The first time the two met, Grand Slam Smile got the best of Sneaker in the $150,000 Solana Beach at Del Mar this summer. That race, like last month’s California Distaff, was on the grass so running on the dirt will add a new dimension to the rivalry.
Sneaker has developed into a force in the Cal-bred ranks this year starting with a win in the $100,000 Fran’s Valentine where she suffered a disqualification. She followed that with her runner-up finish in the Solana Beach then threw in a clunker in an allowance race on Pacific Classic Day at Del Mar.
She rebounded nicely for trainer George Papaprodromou with her winning kick in the California Distaff six weeks later.
“She ran good,” Papaprodromou contends. “She came from off the pace in her second time down the hill.”
Unlike Grand Slam Smile, Sneaker has never raced on the dirt.
“We’re trying something different,” Papaprodromou claims. “She’s training good on the dirt so I don’t see why not. It was the only Cal-bred race available. It was between that and the five-eighths turf but I didn’t want to run her too short like that.”
Papaprodromou acknowledges that Grand Slam Smile is the horse to beat Sunday afternoon.
“I think that filly’s better on the dirt,” he says. “She’s a nice filly, that one.”
While those two are expected to attract most of the attention, there are a couple of others in the seven horse field capable of spoiling the party.
Tina Turner is a lightly raced filly by Grazen who has won both of her career starts. She broke her maiden at Los Alamitos in September, then returned a month later and won an entry level allowance on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita.
“She’s done everything right,” trainer Steve Knapp notes. “When I started training her and working her she looked like she could run and now she’s proving it.”
Like the top two, Tina Turner is returning to the dirt after a race on the grass.
“We know she can run on the dirt,” Knapp states. “She’s got tremendous speed because the other day on the turf she could have gone to the lead if he (jockey Armando Ayuso) asked her but he just held her there. And we beat older horses.”
Issa Court is a 7-year-old by Acclamation who has raced 25 times. She missed catching Grand Slam Smile by just a half a length in the California Distaff. It was her first race back in trainer Bob Hess’ barn after he lost her in a claim over the summer.
The Betty Grable, named after the popular actress of the 1940s, is Race 8 on Sunday’s nine race card. Probable post is 4 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail out with the jockeys and morning line odds: Hot Girl Walk (Kazushi Kimura, 15-1); No Cap (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1); Sexy Blue (Geovanni Franco, 20-1); Grand Slam Smile (William Antongeorgi III, 7/5); Tina Turner (Armando Ayuso, 6-1); Sneaker (Antonio Fresu, 3-1) and Issa Court (Hector I. Berrios, 5-1).
FALL MEET PROVIDES UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HORSEMEN AND FANS
The Bing Crosby Season is in full swing now. Another successful Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar is in the rear-view mirror and now we look ahead to four weekends of racing, capped-off by the Fall Turf Festival at the end of the month.
This is the 12th fall meet at Del Mar. It always has been a more relaxed atmosphere compared to the summers at the seaside oval. Earlier post times and cooler temperatures mix in with the usual competitive racing at Del Mar. For Racing Secretary David Jerkens the fall is a whole different animal from the summer.
“First, you notice how quiet it is,” Jerkens notes. “We race three days a week. Summer’s four days a week. The summer meet feels more intense whereas the fall meet is bit more of a relaxed vibe. That being said, the fall meet provides terrific racing, especially at the end with the turf festival.”
One characteristic of the fall meet is the small amount of horses and their trainers on the backside. At the height of the summer there are over 1,900 horses stabled at Del Mar. Now there are about 400. That’s because the horsemen prefer not to take on the expense of shipping their entire stables south from Santa Anita for just one month of racing. Instead they van them down for the weekend they’re scheduled to race and then ship them back up north.
“I’ve learned to handle it for what it is,” Jerkens remarks. “The first year or two, there was a period when the phones weren’t ringing and you step outside and you see empty barns. It was a little daunting. You’re relying on a ship instead of having the horses here where they can just lead them over.”
And yet it works in the end. The fields remain some the largest in the country and it’s one of the few places left this time of year where there’s turf racing.
“Generally, the demand for stalls was us about eight percent,” Jerkens says. “I feel like there’s been a lot more desire to run and more communication that I’ve been receiving from last year. We do everything we can to help the horsemen that are shipping. We provide a $400 payment for each start which helps offset their costs. We do the free meals for the grooms on race days.”
And there are those trainers who bring large strings of horses to Del Mar in the fall. Trainers like Phil D’Amato, John Shirreffs, Bob Hess, Richard Mandella, Doug O’Neill, and Peter Miller.
“We do have quite a few individuals who quite honestly enjoy being here,” Jerkens states. “They like having a racetrack essentially to themselves.”
“It’s challenging in some aspects,” Jerkens adds, “but I’ve always said as long as the weather cooperates we should have a good meet.”
The Bing Crosby Season runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through the rest of November. First post daily is 12:30.
UMBERTO RISPOLI TO RETURN TO HONG KONG FOR JOCKEY CHALLENGE
Del Mar’s current leading rider Umberto Rispoli is making plans for after Del Mar closes its doors on the 2025 racing season. The popular veteran rider is returning to Hong Kong for the International Jockeys Challenge on December 10. It will be his first time competing in the Challenge but not his first time in Hong Kong.
“For me, it’s like going back home,” Rispoli comments. “I spent six years of my life there as a jockey and as a person so I have lots of good memories of Hong Kong. Riding in this Jockey Challenge is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
It’s the most prestigious jockey challenge in the world. It’s made up of four races to be run at the Happy Valley Racecourse worth a combined HK$7.5 million. Then add in the HK$1 million in bonus money for the top three finishers and it can be a lucrative trip for the U.S. representative.
“I’m really excited to compete with tremendous riders,” Rispoli adds. “If you look, it’s a really good card of jockeys.”
Ten of the 12 jockeys have been selected, a couple of which were here for the Breeders’ Cup last weekend. There’s William Buick, Mickael Barzalona, Christophe Lemaire, and New Zealand’s James McDonald. There will be top female riders, Hollie Doyle and Rachel King. Former winner, Ryan Moore is recovering from a leg injury and may or may not compete.
Rispoli doesn’t know yet which horses he will ride.
“That’s just the luck of the draw,” he notes.
What he does know is that he’s in store for a 14-hour flight to Hong Kong but that doesn’t bother him.
“I went to Australia so nothing is longer than that,” Rispoli contends. “I’ve gone to the other side of the world. I’ve been to Singapore. It will be a good flight with my family. The kids are very excited. My son hasn’t been back to Hong Kong since 2020. Likewise for my wife. She grew up there where her father was a jockey. She misses Hong Kong as well so it’s going to be an enjoyable trip.”
But Rispoli is quick to remind us that the target is to try to win at the IJC.
“It’s a spot-on time for me,” he says. “Del Mar will be over. I can go over there and enjoy the city, see some friends and obviously compete in the races.”
Rispoli won’t miss any time at Del Mar since the Challenge takes place after the Bing Crosby Season concludes November 30. That’s important since he’s jumped out to an early lead in the jockey standings. Rispoli won five times over the first weekend of the fall meet.
“Big days like that you always want to do good,” Rispoli admits. “I’m always excited to be here. It’s a beautiful place. Looking forward to a great meet here and then terminate the season between Hong Kong and the opening week at Santa Anita.”
COOLING OUT: A first on Friday. Trainer Simon Hobson notched his first victory at Del Mar. The veteran conditioner won Race 4 with Crypto Ride…Mrs. Astor is back on the worktab. She hasn’t raced since her third place finish in the CTT & TOC Stakes at Del Mar this past summer. Trainer Jonathan Thomas says “we’re gonna try” to have her ready to defend her crown in the G3 Red Carpet on November 23…Stronghold is expected back from the farm to trainer Philip D’Amato’s barn in about two weeks. The Santa Anita Derby winner in 2024 and D’Amato’s first Kentucky Derby horse last raced in the G2 Pat O’Brien at Del Mar this summer, finishing second to Dr. Venkman. D’Amato says the son of Ghostzapper will race in 2026…Heavy fog shrouded the racetrack this morning but several horses still got in their workouts albeit challenging for the clockers.