Analysis & Selections By: Dean Keppler @Keppskorner
BEST BET: 1-Miss Monica (Race 2)
Race #1: Selections: 7-4-6
7-Ulysses Rose (Ire) is the horse to beat in the Sunday afternoon opener, having run par for this class level in two of her last three grass route tries for trainer Michael McCarthy and was runner-up over a pair of today’s returning rivals on July 17. Her stablemate 4-Preclude (Ire) ships in from Gulfstream making her initial start in the new barn after breaking slowly and being outrun on debut back in early January. By group 1 winner Wootton Bassett, the 3-year-old filly has trained steadily locally and should improve. Rispoli on. The speedy 6-Daring Pursuit is a seven-start maiden that returns to turf for conditioner Dan Blacker, dropping back down into the maiden ranks off a speed-and-fade in the G3 Summer Oaks.
Race #2: Selections: 1-5-4
1-Miss Monica must negotiate the tricky rail draw but has trained like a filly with a whirlwind of talent for Team Baffert and arrives on the scene with some snappy a.m. drills. The $850k OBS purchase is by G1 Preakness winner Early Voting, who is 5-for-18 (27%) with his juvenile debuting prodigy. Hernandez aboard. 5-Well Versed (by Into Mischief) draws outside the short field for Mandella and has a series of spirited works. This jockey-trainer combo has lost with nine straight firsters together, however. 4-Royal Pearl is a $425k Keeneland purchase by freshman sire Mandaloun, who is (18-3-3-3) with 2-year-old firsters according to DRF Formulator.
Race #3: Selections: 7-1-2
7-What About Us (GB) makes her initial Stateside try for trainer Mark Glatt and was a solid 3 ½-length maiden winner over a lofty field of 14 at Down Royal before shipping west. The daughter of Group 1 winner Siyouni has never been off the board, adds Lasix, and lures Hernandez off the mini-freshening. 1-Red Cherry has speed, and the rail and exits back-to-back runner-up grass route finishes. The sophomore filly makes her second start off the bench today for the lucrative Rosario/Sadler jockey-trainer combo. 2-Mia Familia ships in from her South Florida base for trainer Jose D’Angelo, having hit the board in five of seven lifetime starts. She may have moved too soon when rallying wide for the place spot at Colonial in last when getting run down late.
Race #4: Selections: 8-2-9
A puzzling field of $20k maiden claiming fillies with a half dozen firsters sprinting five furlongs could offer some spice to the early pick five sequence. 8-Rejoiceful is by Grade 1 winner Jack Milton, who is 13-for-68 (19%) with his juvenile debuting prodigy and was a winner on debut himself. The blowout gate drill in :36 flat on July 25 catches the eye, and this barn sent out 14-1 winning firster Broadway Babe back on July 23. 2-Senora Gobernadora removes the blinkers off a subpar fourth when bet to 2-1 on debut at Los Al back on June 20. That race experience and class drop are likely to help with an improved effort this afternoon. The Paul Aguirre-trained 9-Eleanore’s Pick is by Editorial, who is an impressive 6-for-17 (35%) with firsters. Her morning drills are nothing to speak of, but have to respect the firster sire’s stats in this wide-open affair.
Race #5: Selections: 3-8-6
A wide-open group of geldings gathers here sprinting on grass to kick off the late pick five. The Sadler-trained 3-Gazon (GB) has never tried the Del Mar lawn but exits back-to-back seconds going six furlongs over at Santa Anita this current campaign and will likely appreciate shortening up to five panels. The 5-year-old gelding figures to get a favorable upfront pressing trip with Rosario. A recent 1,000-yard winner under the lights at Los Al, the veteran 8-year-old gelding 8-Daniel’s Magic returns to turf for trainer Craig Dollase, where he’s done most of his running over his career. He drops in for a career-low $25k claiming tag and his grass Beyers match up well here. 6-Urban Ruler is one of two from the O’Neill barn. This gelding arrives from Hawthorne, where he’s been facing allowance competition and holding his own. He gets a strong grass pilot for his first Southern California start.
Race #6: Selections: 1-4-5
The maiden 1-Dash gets the upset call in this edition of the Grade 3 Sorrento S. for trainer Michael McCarthy, sporting the field’s best late pace figure. The 2-year-old daughter of multiple G1 winner Cyberknife broke slowly on debut but made up solid ground late on the rail to finish fourth, and has returned to train sharply in the a.m., including a second-best of 93 four-furlong gate drill in :47.1 on Aug. 2. An alert break from the rail is essential, however. Three Chimneys 4-Ruiva ships in for trainer Wesley Ward off nearly a three-month freshening after finishing third in a field of 27 at Ascot in the Queen Mary (G2) back on June 17. The juvenile filly by Munnings was a 7-length main-track runaway winner over the sloppy going at Churchill to begin her career this past spring and gets Hall of Famer Mike Smith in the saddle. 5-Holmby defeated the top choice Dash with a solid 2 ¼-length maiden debut score for Baffert and is a logical choice right back.
Race #7: Selections: 5-7-6
5-Fancy Facts teams up with jockey Drayden Van Dyk, who is back in Southern California after a reboot and an extended break. This 4-year-old filly has solid early zip, makes her third start of the current form cycle, and will try to run these gals off their feet. A beaten favorite in the last, 7-Pavel Is Appealing exits a career-best grass Beyer (75) for trainer Doug O’Neill and figures to be making up solid ground late once again. 6-Tiger of the Sea is one of several exiting the July 18 five-furlong grass dash when a wide trip fourth. This filly switches to Rosario this afternoon and needs only to work out a better journey to find the winner’s circle.
Race #8: Selections: 1-5-6
1-No Bad Beats has speed to coincide with today’s rail draw for Team O’Neill and gets substantial class relief this afternoon, dropping out a pair of graded stakes from this past winter. The 4-year-old filly ran well in both sprint main-track tries at this racetrack to start her career and has trained well off a six-month freshening. 5-Scary Fast Ride is 0-for-6 at Del Mar but has won two straight with Beyers of 80 and 82 and now goes first off the Andy Mathis claim. 6-Pocket Venus has run well in her last two starts for Glatt—a win against softer at Los Al in her most recent try and a runner-up at Santa Anita two back. Rosario hopped aboard, and this jockey-trainer combo teamed up to win with the maiden Essos back on Aug. 2.
Race #9: Selections: 1-4-7
The lightly raced 1-Back Nine Stakes ships in from Gulfstream now under the care of conditioner Sean Williams. The 3-year-old gray colt was a much-improved gate-to-wire winner when he switched to turf in start number two, and lures Hernandez for today’s Southern California unveiling. This lucrative jockey-trainer combo is 6-for-12 (50%) overall with a $4.50 ROI when teamed up together, and they’ve won with their last three starters in California. Recent maiden winner 4-Divisible By flew by the field from the back of the pack to win convincingly back on June 13, and his winning (77) Beyer matches up well here. The 5-year-old gelding could get a similar setup this afternoon. The 1-for-14 7-Moonlit Sonata has run par or better for this class level on multiple occasions and switches to Rispoli off a troubled trip third back on May 24 when boxed in traffic in the stretch.
