DEL MAR NOTEBOOK
AUGUST 31, 2011
by John Mucciolo
A leading Horse of the Year candidate continued his fine run in the main
event on Sunday at Del Mar.
Pacific Classic (G1): Hilvers and Johnston’s ACCLAMATION (Unusual
Heat) gamely held off Twirling Candy (Candy Ride [Arg]) in a stretch long-duel
to post his third straight Grade 1 win for conditioner Donald Warren. The
surging California-bred led at every call and stopped the teletimer in a
stakes-record 2:00 3/5 with Pat Valenzuela in the irons. He’s the most
accomplished horse in California by far this year.
Pat O’Brien S. (G1): Fog City Stable and George Bolton’s THE FACTOR
(War Front) dueled for the early edge and spurted clear in a fine winning
performance in his debut versus elders for trainer Bob Baffert. The sophomore
colt sped seven panels on the Poly in a swift 1:21 2/5 beneath Martin Garcia.
Del Mar Mile S. (G2): Michael Jawl’s CELTIC NEW YEAR (North Light
[Ire]) saved ground on the inside, took the lead in early stretch and gamely
held off the favorite by a head in earning his first graded win. The John Sadler
trainee went 1 3/8 miles on the firm turf in 2:14 4/5 under Victor Espinoza.
Del Mar H. (G2): Lo Hi Racing et al’s CARACORTADO (Cat Dreams) charged
home inside the final furlong to post a nose tally in this event for conditioner
Mike Machowsky. The talented four-year-old sped one mile on the firm lawn in
1:34 1/5 under Joe Talamo.
Track Stats
From a total of 43 races held over the seaside racetrack during the five-day
race week, favorites won at a 23 percent clip and the top two betting choices
combined for 46 percent of the wins. From 27 frays contested on the Polytrack
oval, five animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (19 percent), while three of the
16 grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (19 percent).
Pace pressers did best on Wednesday, but as the week progressed, it seemed
that early runners had little to no edge on the main strip. This was not the
case in the previous few weeks.
The turf oval played pretty fairly in our estimation, but it is producing
some fast times as the lack of rain has made that ground pretty firm. Two of the
three wire jobs on the lawn came in route events. We’ll look for closers during
the last week or so.
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 261 | |
| POLY: | 186 | |
| TURF: | 75 | |
| FAVORITES: | 79 (30 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 52 (18 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 13 (17 percent) | |
| POLY WIRE: | 41 (22 percent) |
Main Track Post Positions (wins):
| RAIL: | 20 | |
| 1-3: | 61 | |
| 4-6: | 68 | |
| 7-out: | 41 |
HORSES TO WATCH
Wednesday (8/24)
1ST — The Carla Gaines-trained WAR ELEMENT (War Chant) “freaked” in this
one, his second career start, drawing off to a 8 1/2-length win while equaling
the track mark for a mile. The late-blooming four-year-old will be especially
tough if he returns in a one-other-than allowance.
5TH — TUESDAYS WITH P (Ghostzapper) was tenacious in victory here, wearing
down the pacesetter late in a game effort. The Mike Mitchell trainee likes to
win and went unclaimed on this day, making her a big threat in her return.
7TH — NORVSKY (Vronsky) charged home with a furious rally and was a bit
unlucky to lose the head bob in this one for Victor Garcia. The in-form gelding
proved his worth with open foes in here and could venture back into graded
company in the near future.
Thursday (8/25)
1ST — MASSONE (Menifee) has run a pair of good ones at this meet while
second on both occasions, and just needs an honest pace to run at to get the job
done next time. The five-year-old is going good since joining the Tim Yakteen
barn.
3RD — GOOD MOJO (Discreet Cat) was clearly second best on this occasion and
should graduate before long for conditioner Jerry Hollendorfer. The juvenile
colt might was in against a tough one at this level in here, in a swiftly run
race.
Saturday (8/27)
7TH — The Hector Palma-trained DETAILS R SKETCHY (Great Notion) closed with
a really big late run in this one, striding away late in a powerful performance.
The five-year-old got his final five-sixteenths in a swift :29 and fits well
with these high-level claiming/allowance types.
8TH — MR. COMMONS (Artie Schiller) continued his fine progression for
trainer John Shirreffs, just missing in his debut with elders. The smart
sophomore could evolve into one of the top milers in the country in a short
time.
Sunday (8/28)
4TH — HALF DOME DUDE (Kela) remained unbeaten from two starts with another
impressive performance, this time going last-to-first to top a solid field of
winners for Caesar Dominguez. The gelded sophomore has displayed a big turn of
foot in both career outings and could be any kind.
A Look Ahead
The stakes racing heats up over the final week and a half of this meeting.
Saturday will play host to the $250,000 Del Mar Debutante (G1), the $250,000 Del
Mar Derby (G2) takes place on Sunday and Monday’s headliner is the $150,000
Palomar H. (G2), The closing-day feature, the $250,000 Del Mar Futurity (G1),
will be run next Wednesday, September 7.