This past weekend Del Mar Racetrack hosted three graded races, Torrey Pines Stakes; Del Mar Oaks and Del Mar Mile, Horse Racing Tote brings you the Recap in case you missed it!
Del Mar Oaks
Outside the main event it was the Flavien Prat show at Del Mar on Saturday, with the Frenchman – atop the jockeys’ standings at the meeting – picking up three big prizes on the undercard, chief among them the Del Mar Oaks on hot favourite Going Global.
The ex-Irish filly lost her unbeaten record Stateside on her previous start when taken down by Madone, but she turned the tables on that rival in style, moving through to lead at the eighth pole and keeping on under a firm drive to score by a length from Closing Remarks, stopping the clock in a tick under 1:49. Fluffy Socks was three-quarters of a length back in third, while Madone was only fifth.
“She showed that she’s the class of the field against a really good bunch of horses,” trainer
Phil D’Amato said of the 7-5 favourite. “She got it done. She’s just special.”
The Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf may be on the agenda for the daughter of British sire sensation Mehmas, who is now five-for-six in the US, although the extra quarter-mile will be a factor in the decision.
Del Mar Mile
A long absence from the track was no obstacle for Mo Forza, who picked up precisely where he left off after a ten-month break, finishing with wings on his heels to win by a head from Smooth Like Strait.
Mo Forza was going back-to-back in the Del Mar Mile for trainer Peter Miller, whose concern over the five-year-old’s fitness beforehand was not shared by bettors, whose faith was rewarded with a $4.20 payoff at the windows. Prat sat well off a moderate pace set by Neptune’s Storm until bringing his mount four wide on the turn, and his finishing kick got the job done with two or three strides to spare, stopping the clock in 1:35. Smooth Like Strait held on to second by a length from Hit The Road.
“I was worried if I had him fit enough, I really was,” said Miller, the meeting’s leading trainer. “But he’s a champion and he’s got that heart of a champion.”
Mo Forza is likely to have one start – probably the Grade 2 City Of Hope at Santa Anita, a race he won last year – before returning to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Torrey Pines Stakes
Prat kick-started his Graded-race hat-trick with his easiest job of the day, steering Private Mission to victory by six and a half lengths in an uncompetitive contest for the Torrey Pines. He kept the Bob Baffert-trained filly just off the brisk fractions set by Lady Mystify and then put his filly’s nose in the wind at the start of the turn, whereupon she drew off in taking fashion to justify her even-money odds in a time of 1:37 and change, in a canter. I’m So Anna was the distant runner-up, and Forest Caraway was nearly eight lengths further behind in third.
Make sure to check Horse Racing Tote for all the latest horse news, races videos, racetrack entries, horse racing results, horse betting odds and so much more.
Follow us on Social Media for instant Torrey Pines Stakes updates!