Del Mar Babies for Thursday, July 31
Race 4
1 Mile, Turf
Maiden Special Weight
2-Year-Old Fillies
Field of 10 (14 AE)
Purse: $75,000
Key Contenders
3) Awesome Diamond
This filly’s breeding is impeccable, which is probably why she sold for $625,000 at the Barretts 2-year-olds in training sale in March. Her sire, Galileo, was a multiple Group 1 winner on turf in Europe who has become one of the leading sires in the world; her dam, Adoration, was a multiple Grade 1 winner routing on dirt here in the United States. She’s bred to go long, so the debut at this distance shouldn’t be of much concern. Jockey Julien Couton is off to a chilly start at the Del Mar meeting and trainer Patrick Biancone is just 2 for 29 this year, but this filly’s pedigree alone should make her a player here.
FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Patrick Biancone is 4 for 10 (6 ITM, $2.36 ROI) over the past three years with 2-year-olds on turf.
8) Visarno
Another filly in this field whose breeding is beautiful, this Victoria Oliver trainee has been done the bulk of her prep work in Lexington over Keeneland’s training track. Her sire, Kitten’s Joy, has become one of the top turf sires in the United States over the past few years; her dam, Chianti Red, has proven herself as a very productive broodmare, with her most successful foal to date being a full sister of Visarno’s named Artemus Kitten (5 for 19 routing on grass, $293,000 earned). While her workouts haven’t been the flashiest, there is little doubt that she has the bloodlines required to run big at first asking.
FORMULATOR FACT: Kitten’s Joy’s juveniles have won at a 21 percent clip in turf routes over the past five years (57 for 274).
7) Ultimate Holiday
This daughter of Harlan’s Holiday makes her first start on the green after a decent debut effort on the dirt at Los Alamitos earlier this month. The most encouraging thing she has going for her is the fact that the heat down at Los Al has already come back live, as two fillies have exited that race and won their subsequent starts. Harlan’s Holiday’s 2-year-olds have been pretty strong in turf routes over the past five years (17 for 95) and the experience she gained in the race at Los Al can only be used to her advantage.
FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Richard Baltas is 3 for 16 (6 ITM) over the past five years with horses going from dirt to turf.
The Strategy
I’m really intrigued by both Awesome Diamond and Visarno – maybe they will both need some racing experience before displaying their best, but they’re irresistible if they go off at anything close to their morning line odds. I will look to play both of them across the board, as well as box them in exactas and trifectas with Ultimate Holiday. The plays look like this:
WIN/PLACE/SHOW wagers on 3) Awesome Diamond at odds of 6-1 or greater
WIN/PLACE/SHOW wagers on 8) Visarno at odds of 6-1 or greater
EXACTA BOX of 3, 7, 8
TRIFECTA BOX of 3, 7, 8
For information regarding all the runners in this field, be sure to check out Closer Looks in DRF GamePlan.