Coming-out time for top 2-year-olds
DEL MAR, Calif. – The local 2-year-old division was so loaded at Del Mar last summer that California Chrome could only manage to finish fifth in the season-ending Del Mar Futurity, a race in which top-class runners Tamarando and Dance With Fate ran one-two, while the Del Mar Debutante went to She’s a Tiger, who went on to be named her division’s champion.
As good as that group was, the current crop of 2-year-olds here could be even deeper. The usual suspects – Bob Baffert, Jerry Hollendorfer, Doug O’Neill, and John Sadler – have been rounded up, but Peter Miller has more than three dozen 2-year-olds in various stages of readiness, Tom Proctor has more 2-year-old prospects than usual, young trainers Simon Callaghan and Michael McCarthy both have promising youngsters, and Mark Casse has brought in both experienced 2-year-olds ready for stakes and unstarted juveniles primed to be unveiled.
While it would be difficult to imagine emulating last year’s crop, which produced a Kentucky Derby winner and an Eclipse Award winner, the 2-year-old racing here this summer should be outstanding. Many trainers, like Sadler, have waited for this meet to start bringing out their babies.
“I haven’t run a 2-year-old yet,” Sadler said. “Horses that go two turns are the kinds we’ve been trying to buy and breed.”
That said, Sadler will be in action this weekend in races that look like they are going to come up live. Sadler plans to run the Street Boss colt Bench Warrant in a five-furlong race for males Saturday, while Appealing Lady, a daughter of Cindago, is scheduled to go in a five-furlong race for fillies Sunday.
Sadler’s second wave later this summer includes the War Front filly Our First Girl and Daddy D T, a son of Scat Daddy.
Baffert also will be in action most weekends, with his starters determined by which ones work best early in the week. Luminance, a filly by Tale of the Cat, already has had four workouts at five furlongs or longer and should be seen soon. Bollywood, a colt by Bernardini out of the Grade 1-winning mare Tarlow, also is among the Baffert runners likely to debut during the first part of the meet.
A full field of 10 plus four also-eligibles were entered for the first 2-year-old maiden race of the meet, race 6 on opening-day Thursday. Pulmarack has the most intriguing pedigree in the five-furlong race for California-breds, being a son of Lucky Pulpit – the sire of California Chrome – out of the dam Tamarack Bay, who produced Tamarando.
Pulmarack is trained by Hollendorfer, who is expected to run the Tapit colt Iron Fist and the Unbridled’s Song filly Tara’s Tango in maiden races this weekend. Both Iron Fist and Tara’s Tango are owned fully or in part by Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables, a new client for Hollendorfer.
Hollendorfer also recently acquired the City Zip filly Achiever’s Legacy after a debut win last month at Gulfstream. She is slated for the Grade 2, $200,000 Sorrento Stakes on Aug. 6, along with Caval, a daughter of Blame who was a first-out winner for Hollendorfer at Santa Anita on June 19.
O’Neill always has action aplenty, beginning in Thursday’s race 6 with the Stormin Fever colt Stormin Wild. Notables to follow from his barn include the Pioneerof the Nile filly Queen of Kings and the colts Remo (by Hard Spun) and Joshie Hit a Homer (by Stevie Wonderboy).
Miller had a preview of coming attractions last weekend at Los Alamitos when winning a maiden race with the Sky Mesa colt Rowdy Dylan, who is scheduled to run next in the Grade 2, $200,000 Best Pal Stakes on Aug. 3. Among those set to debut at Del Mar for Miller are the In Summation colt Calculator and the Zensational filly Fancy and Flashy.
Casse’s talented crop of 2-year-olds includes the Malibu Moon filly Conquest Eclipse, who won her lone start at Churchill Downs, and the Warrior’s Reward filly Unbridled Reward, second last month in the Debutante at Churchill Downs. Both could go to the Sorrento. The Speightstown colt Conquest Bespoke could debut early at the meet, as could the Afleet Express filly Diva Express, who worked a half-mile from the gate in 47.40 seconds here Monday. The Blame filly Conquest Archangel, second in her debut at Churchill Downs, also could see action early in the meet.
Proctor is not one to rush his babies, but two fillies from his barn have progressed quickly and should be seen soon – Educating (by Elusive Quality) and Lake Shore Gal (by Tiznow).
Callaghan has more than a dozen 2-year-olds, the most precocious being the Stormy Atlantic filly Windy Forecast, set to debut Sunday in what is shaping up as a potential key race.
McCarthy, the former Pletcher assistant who has returned to his native Southern California, likes the Super Saver colt Hauler, who McCarthy said will debut later in the meet and “is a two-turn kind of horse.”
Other newcomers to watch include the Phil D’Amato-trained Street Boss filly Long Hot Summer and the Jeff Mullins-trained More Than Ready filly Penny N Mitzi.