Bayern will head to Santa Anita at the end of this meet and could race there this fall, but already there have been discussions between Baffert and owner Kaleem Shah about whether to go on with him, being as Bayern has not reproduced the strong form of 2014, when he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Trainer Tony Dutrow suffered his first significant setback of the meet when Tekton sustained a condylar fracture to his left hind leg on Monday.
Santa Anita Derby winner Dortmund, idle since the Preakness Stakes, worked three furlongs in 36.40 seconds on Monday as he gears up for a return to the races, which was interrupted earlier this meet when he was cast in his stall and severely bruised his ribs.
D. Wayne Lukas said after the Indiana Derby that he was going to shorten Mr. Z up in distance and, despite having nominated him to the Grade 1 Travers, he will stay true to his word by running him in Saturday’s Grade 1 King’s Bishop at seven furlongs.
Gloryzapper, who overcame a slow start to win a first-level allowance sprint and remain unbeaten on Sunday, will stretch out around two turns for her next start, according to trainer Phil D’Amato.
After posting three-win days Sunday and Monday, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. now has 46 wins at the meet, nine more than Javier Castellano. The 23-year-old Ortiz is seeking his first Saratoga riding title after finishing second to Castellano last year.
The El Cajon Stakes on Saturday and Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes on Sunday, both at one mile and worth $100,000, are the features on a fairly light weekend of racing at Del Mar that bridges the big Pacific Classic weekend last week and the stakes-filled closing weekend next week.
It’s been a tough couple of days at the office for the personnel at trainer Doug O’Neill’s barn following the death on Sunday at Del Mar of the popular Pure Tactics, who suffered catastrophic injuries to the sesamoids in his left hind leg during the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf and had to be euthanized.
With his regal parentage, the debut of Jess's Dream was highly anticipated, and the colt didn't disappoint, launching a dramatic rally after spotting the field as many as 12 lengths to win a maiden special weight race on Aug. 24 at Saratoga.
Partisan Politics and All in Fun were separated by a head when fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Grade 2 Lake George Stakes here on opening day. The price difference between the two figures to be a significantly greater margin than that, which may make All in Fun a value play in Thursday’s $100,000 Riskaverse Stakes at Saratoga.
