Abel Tasman unlikely to start in Clement Hirsch Stakes

DEL MAR, Calif. - There is likely to be only one 2017 champion in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on July 29.

Unique Bella, the champion female sprinter of 2017, will be a heavy favorite in the $300,000 Hirsch Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares. Trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday that Abel Tasman, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2017, is unlikely to start in favor of a trip to Saratoga for the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Aug. 25.

“I think I’ll wait for the Personal Ensign,” Baffert said. “I hate to run against Unique Bella. If it were a mile and an eighth, I would.”

Unique Bella and Abel Tasman won Grade 1 races in their last starts. Unique Bella, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, won the Beholder Mile at Santa Anita on June 2. Abel Tasman won the Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park a week later.

The Hirsch Stakes is the leading race for fillies and mares on dirt at the Del Mar summer meeting. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

The race will not have a large field. As of Saturday, other candidates were Bernina Star, Turkish Tabby, Yuvetsi, and possibly Vale Dori.