Baruta tries to transfer form to dirt in Friday sprint feature
Baruta, the 6-year-old Brazilian-bred mare, has thrived on turf since her first start in this country in February 2014. She faces a test in a $78,000 allowance race at Del Mar on Friday to see if that form can translate to a dirt track.
Baruta won at a mile on turf at Del Mar last November and on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on June 11. If she runs well on Friday, a start in the $100,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap for female sprinters Aug. 16 is a possibility.
“I don’t have a hill to run on, so we thought we’d take a shot,” Mandella said.
There are six fillies and mares in the allowance race at six furlongs, and Mandella trains two of them. He also starts Wasted At Midnight, who was second in the minor Desert Stormer Stakes for fillies and mares at Santa Anita on June 14.
KEY CONTENDERS
Baruta (Last 3 Beyers: 86-83-74)
◗ Baruta, who will be ridden by Flavien Prat, has won 4 of 17 starts and earned $186,508. In Brazil, she won her career debut by 14 lengths in a seven-furlong race on dirt in July 2012. In her only other start on dirt, Baruta was fourth in an optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita last October.
◗ Baruta drew the outside post for Friday’s race, which should give Prat options to send the mare to the front or stalk the pace. Just getting Baruta to the gate in good order will be a test, Mandella said.
“It’s hard to get the best race out of her,” he said. “She just gets nervous. She’s a fast mare. We’ll have to see if it transfers to the main track.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Baruta. Trainer Richard Mandella is 25-6-5-4 with a $2.02 ROI over the past five years going turf to dirt in sprints. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Wasted At Midnight (Last 3 Beyers: 78-84-83)
◗ Wasted At Midnight made her second start in a stakes in the Desert Stormer Stakes. In 2012, she finished eighth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante as a maiden. In the Desert Stormer, Wasted At Midnight was beaten 1 1/4 lengths by the longshot Amaranth, who led throughout.
◗ Wasted At Midnight won an optional claimer at six furlongs at Santa Anita in February, leading throughout. Last August, she closed from fifth in a field of 11 to win an optional claimer at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on a synthetic track. Del Mar has since installed a dirt surface.
◗ Mandella expects Wasted At Midnight to be near the pace.
“She likes to sit right close,” he said. “She’s been a steady filly. She’s not the best in the world, but she’s not the worst.”
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Scherzinger (Last 3 Beyers: 68-89-84)
◗ Scherzinger was third in an optional claimer at 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on April 30, her first start since a third in the Grade 1 Vanity Stakes at Santa Anita in June 2014.
◗ A 5-year-old mare trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Scherzinger won the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita in January 2014 in her stakes debut but is winless in her last three starts.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Scherzinger. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is 40-9-6-9 with a $5.02 ROI over the past five years in dirt races in Southern California following a layoff of between 61 and 180 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan