Del Mar: Executiveprivilege will stretch out to prepare for Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

Shigeki Kikkawa

Executiveprivilege will make her first start around two turns in the Chandelier at Santa Anita.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The undefeated 2-year-old star Executiveprivilege has seen the last of sprints for a while after her fourth career win in Saturday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante.

At Santa Anita this fall, Executiveprivilege will have a campaign geared toward securing the 2-year-old filly championship.

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Sunday, trainer Bob Baffert said that Executiveprivilege is likely to have two starts at the meeting – the $250,000 Chandelier Stakes over 11/16 miles on Sept. 29, a race formerly known as the Oak Leaf Stakes, and the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies over 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 2.

The Chandelier Stakes offers a fees-paid berth to the BC Juvenile Fillies, making a win in that race vital.

Executiveprivilege has never run beyond seven furlongs, but the added distance of the Santa Anita races is not a concern, Baffert said.

“She only ran the last part,” he said of the Del Mar Debutante. “Distance is not a problem. She wasn’t spent after the race.”

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, Executiveprivilege has won three stakes. The Del Mar Debutante was her first start in a Grade 1. Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, she closed with a wide rally to catch pacesetter Beholder in the final stride to win by a nose.
Executiveprivilege ($3.60) ran seven furlongs in 1:23.43.

“That was a hell of a horse race,” Baffert said. “I was glad I was on the right end.”

The narrow result marked the second consecutive day that a Baffert-trained runner beat a runner trained by Richard Mandella in a close photo. Friday, Baffert’s horse Fed Biz beat Mandella’s horse Jimmy Creed by a neck in the $100,000 El Cajon Stakes over a mile.

Walking off the track after the Del Mar Debutante, the two Hall of Famers crossed paths.

“I thought I got beat,” Baffert said to Mandella.

“I’m getting tired of this [stuff],” Mandella said, laughing.

There will be a rematch for their 2-year-old fillies. Beholder is a candidate for the Chandelier Stakes, too.

Recent winners target Grade 1 stakes
Two other winners from Saturday’s program may start in Grade 1 races at Santa Anita on Sept. 29.

Dirty Swagg, the winner of a one-mile maiden race for 2-year-olds, is a candidate for the $250,000 Frontrunner Stakes over 1 1/16 miles, a race formerly known as the Norfolk Stakes.

Trained by owner-breeder Myung Kwon Cho, Dirty Swagg made his fourth career start on Saturday. Ridden by David Flores, Dirty Swagg raced wide throughout and won by a half-length. Cho said the Frontrunner Stakes could be a prep for the BC Juvenile on Nov. 3.

“That’s my dream,” he said.

Self Preservation, who won an optional claimer over six furlongs in her first start since March, is a candidate for the $250,000 Zenyatta Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 29. The Zenyatta Stakes was known in past years as the Lady’s Secret Stakes.

Trainer Ben Cecil said that Self Preservation could also start the $100,000 L.A.Woman Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs on Oct. 7. Owned by Paul Reddam, Self Preservation was third in the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational Stakes at Santa Anita in March.