After Sweet Azteca's easy score, Baltas tries two Grade 1s this week
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Sweet Azteca will not race again until the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31 after her easy win in Sunday’s Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Stakes at Del Mar.
“She runs well fresh,” trainer Richard Baltas said earlier this week.
Sweet Azteca was the first stakes winner of the Del Mar meeting for trainer Richard Baltas, who has runners in two Grade 1 races on Saturday – Wild Like the West in the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks at 1 1/8 miles on turf, and British Isles in the $1 million Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles on the main track.
Wins in either race would be a career first for Baltas, 65.
Sweet Azteca, who races for owner and breeder Pam Ziebarth, won for the ninth time in her 11th start in the Rancho Bernardo Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs.
With a break of more than two months between the Rancho Bernardo and BC Filly and Mare Sprint, Baltas hopes to have Sweet Azteca in peak form for a race she missed last year. Sweet Azteca was the morning-line favorite for the 2025 BC Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar, but was scratched on the morning of the race because of concern over a foot.
This year, Sweet Azteca is unbeaten in two starts – the Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes at Los Alamitos on July 4 and the Rancho Bernardo. She has won those races for the last three years.
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The foot is not an issue, Baltas said.
“She’s a lot better than last year,” Baltas said. “The time off did her good.”
Sweet Azteca won the Rancho Bernardo by 4 3/4 lengths as the 3-10 favorite in a field of five. Starting from the outside post, Sweet Azteca stalked pacesetter Thermal to the top of the stretch before taking the lead under jockey Juan Hernandez.
“Juan said she was really relaxed,” Baltas said. “He could put her where he wanted. He rode a perfect race.”
Sweet Azteca’s win was a much needed boost for Baltas, who through Sunday had two wins from 32 starters at the Del Mar meet. The stable has had seven second-place finishes.
On Saturday, Wild Like the West will be a longshot in a field of 10 in the Del Mar Oaks. She has won once in eight starts for owner Steve Young’s Sayjay Racing.
Wild Like the West was ninth in the Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap at a mile on turf at Del Mar on July 18 after racing in traffic in the final furlong. Wild Like the West was within a length of the lead in the stretch when she was checked by jockey Hector Berrios after a passing rival moved in front of her. Wild Like the West lost several positions because of the incident.
Earlier this year, Wild Like the West finished second by a nose in the Providencia Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita.
British Isles is the only 2026 Grade 1 winner in a field of 11 in the Pacific Classic. In March, British Isles won the first stakes of his career in the Grade 1, $300,000 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles, closing from third in a field of five.
British Isles is listed at 12-1 on the morning line for the Pacific Classic, a race led by Knightsbridge, at 5-2. Knightsbridge has won three Grade 3 races at Gulfstream Park and Monmouth Park this year for trainer Bill Mott.
British Isles has been beaten in his last two starts – a sixth-place finish in the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland on April 18 and a fourth-place finish in a field of five in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on May 25.
In the Gold Cup, British Isles finished 10 lengths behind Forged Steel, who led throughout and won by 9 1/2 lengths.
Forged Steel is entered in the Pacific Classic, and could be joined on the lead by the Japanese shipper Finger and Malarchuk, who was second in the Gold Cup. Knightsbridge, expected to go favored, is likely to be close to the front.
“It seems like a real tough race,” Baltas said. “There is a lot of speed, maybe we can come off the pace.
“We’ll be a bit of a longshot, but the race could be good the way it sets up.”
After the Gold Cup, British Isles was given a 30-day rest at a local farm. Since returning to the racetrack, British Isles has had four workouts, including five furlongs in 1:00.80 on Aug. 7 and six furlongs in 1:12 last Saturday.
The latter workout convinced Baltas to try the Pacific Classic, especially after the retirements of two contenders for the race in recent weeks – Journalism and Nysos.
“I gave him 30 days off,” Baltas said. “I wanted to get him out of the barn.
“He didn’t lose much” conditioning.
The six-furlong workout last weekend clinched the participation of British Isles, who races for the partnership of Slam Dunk Racing, Debby Baltas, and Cynthia McClanahan. Baltas said British Isles handled the exercise without difficulty.
“He wasn’t blowing after the work,” Baltas said. “He picked it up nice down the stretch. He seems like he’s real fit. We’ll take a shot.”
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