Full Serrano © Benoit Photo
FULL SERRANO RETURNS TO THE RACES IN MONDAY ALLOWANCE
One of the best stories of 2024 was that of Full Serrano, an Argentine-bred who came to the U.S. that year and nearly won the Pacific Classic before returning to Del Mar in November and capturing the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
He hasn’t raced since, but returns Monday in a second-level allowance race at Del Mar.
“He’s doing very well,” trainer John Sadler says. “We’re really excited. A mile on dirt are the perfect conditions for him.”
Sadler had entered Full Serrano in the G2 Del Mar Mile on turf on the Pacific Classic undercard Saturday, but decided to keep the 6-year-old on the dirt. He’s no stranger to the turf having run on it four times in his native country before shipping to the States.
It didn’t take Full Serrano long to find the winner’s circle here, capturing his U.S. debut, an entry-level allowance race at Del Mar. Then in the Pacific Classic, he set the pace and was clear at the sixteenth pole only to get run down by surging longshot Mixto, who caught him in the final strides.
Sadler and owner Kosta Hronis had to live with the disappointing near miss in the Classic for two months until Full Serrano made his connections forget all about it with a wire-to-wire score in the Dirt Mile.
An injury in December set Full Serrano back but he starts the journey to defend his crown Monday.
“It’s the start of a three-race process,” Sadler points out. “This one, a race at Santa Anita and then he’ll be ready for the Breeders’ Cup, I’m hoping.”
An interesting contender in today’s race is Two Rivers Over. In March of 2024 after winning the Zia Park Derby, then running fourth in the G2 San Pasqual at Santa Anita, trainer Doug O’Neill took him to Dubai to run in one of the World Cup undercard races. The son of Tamarkuz won the G2 Godolphin Mile.
But he’s only run once since. That was last September when he raced down the hillside turf course at Santa Anita and ran seventh in the G2 Eddie D Stakes.
“We gave him a little time after Dubai,” O’Neill explains. “Then he got an eye infection. It was like an ulcer in his eye and we had to send him to the clinic. We thought he might lose the eye.
“He came back and then right above his knee got infected,” O’Neill continues. “So we sent him to the clinic. But now, knock on wood, both eyes are working and he’s doing well. We’re hoping today he triggers a good effort and we can have a good little series of races with him. Dubai next year would be great.”
Two Rivers Over has a perfect record at Del Mar.
“He’s two-for-two on this track,” O’Neill says. “But we’re meeting a buzz saw. Sadler’s horse looks pretty salty.”
The race also features Packs a Wahlop, the 2022 G3 Juvenile Turf Stakes winner at Del Mar and runner-up in the G2 Charles Whittingham at Santa Anita on Derby Day this year.
A six pack of runners will go to the gate. It’s Race 2 on the 11-race holiday card which also features two stakes races. Probable post is 2 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail out with the jockeys and morning line odds. Packs a Wahlop (Tyler Baze, 6-1); Il Bellator (Cristobal Herrera, 10-1); Two Rivers Over (Edwin Maldonado, 4-1); American Admiral (Kazushi Kimura, 8-1); Ghazaaly (Kyle Frey, 15-1), and Full Serrano (Juan Hernandez, 3/5).
JOCKEY, TRAINER RACES TIGHTEN ENTERING FINAL WEEK OF ACTION
The race is on for the jockey’s title at Del Mar pitting defending champion Juan Hernandez and perennial challenger Antonio Fresu. Both have been putting on quite a show this past weekend and it’s expected to continue through the last weekend of the season.
At one point it appeared that Hernandez had all but locked up his fourth straight summer riding title at Del Mar. He had won six in one day and by August 15 had built up a 10-win lead in the standings. But Fresu methodically started cutting into the deficit, posting victories on nearly every race day and Sunday he caught Hernandez at 35 wins, riding three of the first five winners on the card. That was before ‘J.J.’ reestablished his top standing winning three of the remaining six races on the day.
Going into the Labor Day holiday, Hernandez remains the leader with 38 wins followed by Fresu with 35. Fresu has eight mounts on Monday to Hernandez three.
There’s a bit of a drop off after the top two. Hector I. Berrios is next with 23 victories followed by Kazushi Kimura with 20. Then comes Umberto Rispoli with 19 and Armado Ayuso with 14. Rounding out the Top Ten are Ricky Gonzalez and Diego Herrera with nine wins and Kyle Frey and Tyler Baze with eight.
Hernandez leads in stakes wins with seven and in earnings with $2,808,212. Fresu has $2,462,062 in earnings this summer and the four riders behind him in the standings have earnings exceeding $1-million.
The race for the training title is also tight, as it has been throughout the meet. Defending champion Bob Baffert continues to lead with Mark Glatt and Phil D’Amato nipping at his heels. Baffert has 19 wins with a presumably big weekend still ahead. Baffert trains several topflight 2-year-olds and Del Mar runs its G1 Debutante and G1 Futurity this coming weekend. The Hall of Fame conditioner is expected to have the favorites in both races.
Glatt and D’Amato are next in the trainer standings with 16, D’Amato having won three stakes races over the weekend, two on Pacific Classic Day, to catch Glatt who had pulled to within one of Baffert last Thursday. Baffert upped his lead back to two on Friday and the pair have been trading victories since.
Following the top three are Michael McCarthy, John Sadler and Peter Miller with 12 wins each; Peter Eurton and George Papaprodromou with 10, and Jeff Mullins with nine.
Baffert leads in earnings with $1,800,340, but just $9,000 more than D’Amato who leads all trainers in stakes victories at Del Mar this summer with seven.
Mia Familia Racing Stables, led by trainer Librado Barocio, leads the owner’s standings with six victories followed by Muir Hut Stables, Nick Alexander and Giddy Up JR with five wins apiece.
Field sizes continue to climb as the summer meet progresses. Prior to this week’s racing, the average field size was up to 8.51, a marked increase over last year at this time. AFS on the turf is up to 8.86. There had been 101 races run on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course as of August 26.
TWO-YEAR-OLDS DECIDE DEL MAR DIVISION TITLES NEXT WEEK
There is one last weekend of top-class Thoroughbred racing at Del Mar this summer and, if it’s anything like the previous seven weeks, it will be must-see racing. Next week will feature the best 2-year-olds on the grounds with the G1 Debutante on Saturday and the G1 Del Mar Futurity on Sunday.
The Debutante will crown the top 2-year-old filly of the summer meet. Last year Tenma won the race and went on to win the G2 Santa Anita Oaks. Over the years the Debutante has been won by the likes of Landaluce, Chilukki, Bellafina, Tamara and Songbird.
There are two other stakes on the docket on Saturday.
The G2 John C. Mabee will pit top fillies and mares in a mile and an eighth test on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Defending champion Hang the Moon is expected back to defend her crown. 24 fillies and mares have been nominated for the race, including G2 Yellow Ribbon winner Heredia and Osunitas Stakes winner Medoro.
Completing the Saturday stakes tripleheader is the $100,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf for top-notch 2-year-old grass runners going in the one mile showdown. Twenty fillies have been nominated for the race, won last year by this year’s G2 San Clemente winner Thought Process.
Entries for next Saturday’s races will be drawn on Wednesday.
Sunday is closing day at Del Mar. A bittersweet time for race fans as another summer meet comes to an end. But it also means the return of the Breeders’ Cup is close at hand.
The traditional closing day feature, the G1 Del Mar Futurity, will be run for the 78th time. Top 2-year-olds will line up to begin their quest for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and maybe a run on the Triple Crown trail and spot in the Kentucky Derby next year. Last year’s winner, Gaming, made it to the Breeders’ Cup and ran second to Citizen Bull.
Past Futurity winners include Gato Del Sol, Best Pal, Bertrando, Silver Charm, American Pharoah and Nyquist. This year Bob Baffert is expected to bring several of his top-flight juveniles to the Futurity including the G3 Best Pal winner Desert Gate. Baffert has won the Futurity a record 18 times, including the last four.
The G3 Del Mar Juvenile Turf is also on the Sunday card. 24 juveniles have been nominated representing most of the top barns on the backside. Last year’s winner Artislas has run twice at Del Mar this summer in the Oceanside Stakes (fourth) and the La Jolla Handicap (third).
Entries for next Sunday’s races will be drawn on Thursday.
There’s also a stakes race on Friday. It’s the 36th running of the $100,000 I’m Smokin Stakes for Cal-bred 2-year-olds going 5 ½ furlongs on the main track. Seven colts and one gelding have been entered in the race, including the Graduation Stakes winner Sammy Davis who drew the inside post. It’s Race 7 on the eight-race program. Probable post time is 6 p.m.
COOLING OUT: Both of the Baffert horses in the $125,000 Shared Belief, Citizen Bull and Gaming, came back in good order. Baffert indicated after the race that he might point Citizen Bull to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile…D’Amato reported that The Padre, winner of Sunday’s G2 Del Mar Derby, came back in good shape and may run next in the G1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar on November 29. Iron Man Cal, who scratched out of the Del Mar Derby, is fine according to D’Amato and will point to the Twilight Derby at Santa Anita…The large group assembled in the winner’s circle following The Padre’s win in the Derby sang Happy Birthday to winning jockey Umberto Rispoli, who celebrated his 37th trip around the sun Sunday…A special ceremony will be held today before Race 4 for Brice Miller, a sports columnist for the San Diego Union Tribune, who passed away earlier this year. Miller was a race fan and became a friend of Del Mar over the years. His gripping story of the Lilac Fire at San Luis Rey Downs in 2017 is considered one of his finest and won him an Eclipse Award…Notable works on Monday: Diaghliev (4f, :46.60); Madaket Road (4f, :47.00); Neon Lights (5f, :58.40), and Privman (5f, :59.60). 106 horses put in official works at Del Mar on Monday.