After second-race dud, Sentient Soon offers value in Generous Portion
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DEL MAR, Calif. – While there are good reasons to back the favorite in the $100,000 Generous Portion Stakes on Friday at Del Mar, an inconspicuous longshot undergoing a crucial equipment change merits consideration at significantly higher odds.
Daytona Diamond’s debut victory by more than five lengths last month and her big workout last weekend stamp the late-runner as the favorite in the six-furlong sprint for Cal-bred 2-year-old fillies. But bettors shopping for a price have a viable option.
The field includes likely pacesetter Sentient Soon, a debut winner in May whose comeback was a disaster. Sentient Soon flipped her palate, could not get her air, and lost by more than 12 lengths. The breathing issue will be corrected Friday with a tongue tie and figure-eight noseband. At double-digit odds, Sentient Soon cannot be ignored as a front-running upset candidate.
Ten are entered in the Generous Portion, which is missing the current leader of the Cal-bred 2-year-old filly division. Free Closer, the romping winner of the CTBA Stakes, is entered Saturday in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante. Others in the Generous Portion include Palo Alto Baby, runaway winner of a Cal-bred maiden-claiming sprint, and Stay Bossy, distant runner-up in the CTBA.
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Carla Gaines trains Daytona Diamond, who overcame early season jitters before her smashing debut. After training in relative tranquility at nearby San Luis Rey Downs, Daytona Diamond got a rude awakening when she transferred to the chaotic hubbub of Del Mar in July.
“When she came here, she was kind of shell-shocked. The whole scene was kind of overwhelming for her,” Gaines said. “She was spooking from the pony – that kind of thing.”
Gaines and Williamson Racing operator Henry Williamson considered giving Daytona Diamond more time to settle. Although it was uncertain if her mind was ready, she was physically fit.
“We knew she was a nice filly,” Gaines said.”
A Cal-bred maiden race on Aug. 8 was her first test.
“I really thought I was running her prematurely, to be honest,” Gaines said. At the time, Gaines thought “this is a good place to get started, let her gallop out well. We really thought she was going to be a miler.”
Daytona Diamond raced midfield in the 5 1/2-furlong race under Kazushi Kimura, split rivals into the lane, and drew off by more than five lengths. It turns out she beat a good field. Two fillies she defeated won next out – third-place Big Blast and fifth-place Manee. The race woke up Daytona Diamond.
“She’s improved by leaps and bounds,” Gaines said. “She’s a smart filly. She adjusts very rapidly. She had a beautiful work [Aug. 29 in company], and her gallop-out was extraordinary.”
Daytona Diamond worked inside the older allowance filly Wink and a Grin, and she did not let her older rival get past her in the 47.80-second drill.
Sired by Kentucky stallion Tonalist, Daytona Diamond should relish the extra half-furlong. Kimura rides her back.
A filly with an opposite style is longshot front-runner Sentient Soon, gate-to-wire winner in her debut for trainer Jeff Bonde on May 8 at Santa Anita. With nowhere to run until the CTBA, Sentient Soon was in a holding pattern for three months. Her comeback did not go as planned.
“She kind of popped and stopped,” Bonde said. “The rider [Kyle Frey] said she just emptied out. The scoping was okay. I think she flipped her soft palate, more than likely. We’ve added a figure eight and a tongue tie to the filly, she’s trained well since, and we’re hoping for a good effort.”
Sentient Soon, who could start at double-digit odds, is expected to set the pace as Bonde seeks his fourth victory in the Generous Portion. He won with Crazy Hot in 2023, Miss Sunset in 2016, and Sierra Sweetie in 2005.
Stay Bossy benefits from the additional half-furlong of the Generous Portion after her closing second in the CTBA. Juan Hernandez rides Stay Bossy for trainer Steve Miyadi.
Palo Alto Baby crushed a $50,000 Cal-bred maiden-claiming sprint by more than nine lengths on Aug. 20. The 15-day turnaround and tougher competition are challenges for Palo Alto Baby, though 2015 Generous Portion winner Patriotic Diamond wheeled back 13 days after her debut.
Favorites have won five of the 11 editions of the Generous Portion since Del Mar reinstalled dirt. The race is back at its traditional six-furlong distance after being run at 5 1/2 furlongs in 2025.
Others in the Generous Portion include Tashie, Big Twist, Strident Miss, Breakaway Babe, You Trust Me, and Obhayve.
◗ The Friday co-feature is the first race, a turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies. Yours Sincerely won the same type of race – an age- and gender-restricted open allowance – last month and is likely to start favored over tough-trip fourth-place finisher Surfin’ U. S. A.
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