Big three throw down in Del Mar Debutante

DEL MAR, Calif. – The quality of the 2-year-old racing this summer at Del Mar, particularly among the fillies, has been one of the highlights of the meet, and makes the Grade 1, $300,000 Debutante on Saturday such a compelling race, featuring three fillies who have scored fast, impressive victories this season.

Bellafina, Brill, and Mother Mother are the big three, and their presence makes this a highly anticipated race and contributed to a small field. Who wants to take them on? Only the connections of two other fillies.

Bellafina, who has raced twice and comes off a front-running score in the Grade 2 Sorrento going six furlongs, has the edge on experience, but it would be hard to separate the three on talent.

“It’s a tough race,” said Bob Baffert, the trainer of Mother Mother, who sent another top local filly, Chasing Yesterday, to Saratoga to run in the Grade 1 Spinaway on Saturday. “The fillies here are so competitive.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Simon Callaghan, the trainer of Bellafina. “It should be an exceptional race.”

Bellafina, a daughter of Quality Road who was an $800,000 buy at a breeze-up sale earlier this year, is the quickest of the three. After being defeated as the 1-2 favorite at Los Alamitos on July 4 in her debut, she added blinkers for the Sorrento on Aug. 5 and the difference was profound. She went to the front and improved her position, winning by 4 1/4 lengths while recording a Beyer Speed Figure of 94.

“It was the kind of performance we felt was in her,” said Callaghan, who trains Bellafina for owner Kaleem Shah. “She had been showing lots of talent in the morning. It was nice to see her put it all together.”

Callaghan was cautious immediately following the Sorrento about committing Bellafina to the Debutante, but over the past two weeks he has said she has done everything to deserve being wheeled back in this seven-furlong race.

“We wanted to let her tell us,” Callaghan said. “She’s done everything you want to see in between. She’s maturing and getting better. I couldn’t be happier. I expect a big race.”

Callaghan is seeking his second straight win in the Debutante, having captured it last year with Moonshine Memories.

Brill, a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro who was a $1 million yearling purchase, won her lone start on opening day July 18, closing with a rush to win going five furlongs – a distance that seemed far short of ideal for her – while earning a Beyer Figure of 88. She gets an extra quarter-mile on Saturday.

“We thought she would run well,” said Jerry Hollendorfer, who trains Brill for Larry Best’s OXO Equine. “We’ve always liked her. I think more distance will help.”

You would not want to ever play poker against Hollendorfer, because he rarely has a tell, but his enthusiasm for Brill is hard for even him to contain.

“She’s trained spectacularly,” he said. “She’s doing everything nice and easy.”

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Drayden Van Dyke rode both Brill and Mother Mother to their debut victories and has sided with Brill for this race. Joe Talamo picked up the mount on Mother Mother.

Mother Mother, like Brill, figures to appreciate extra distance, as she is by Pioneerof the Nile. As with Brill, she won her first start as an odds-on favorite. She debuted four days after Brill, in part because her race was at six furlongs, and in part because the word was out on Brill and Baffert wanted to avoid her.

Mother Mother romped by 6 1/2 lengths and got a Beyer Figure of 87.

“She was really impressive,” Baffert said. “We thought she’d run well and she handled everything well.”

The other two runners in the Debutante will be outsiders.

Boujie Girl was third behind Bellafina in the Sorrento after beating high-priced maiden claimers earlier in the meet. Watch Me Burn is 2 for 2 at the meet, but against far softer, though she did beat males last time out.

The Debutante goes as race 4 on an 11-race card that begins at 2 p.m. Pacific and kicks off the final weekend of the meet, with the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity the highlight of the closing-day card Monday.