Desi Arnaz no easy spot for Pretty N Cool
DEL MAR, Calif. – The matter of Pretty N Cool carrying her speed around two turns is a worry for next month, at the next track. There will be no concerns when she changes surfaces again in the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, a seven-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar on Sunday.
“Pretty N Cool – she takes her track with her,” trainer Bob Baffert said.
Pretty N Cool is already a sprint winner over three distinct surfaces – a fast Del Mar main track, a sloppy Del Mar main track, and, in her last race, the Belmont Park main track. She will use the Desi Arnaz Stakes as a stepping-stone to the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 1 Starlet on Dec. 12 at Los Alamitos. Pretty N Cool has never run farther than seven furlongs.
“This is a good setup race for the Starlet,” Baffert said.
What he did not say is that the Desi Arnaz, formerly the Moccasin at Hollywood Park, is not an easy spot. Pretty N Cool is the only graded stakes winner in the field, but on dry land, others have run faster.
Lucky Folie won her debut with an 85 Beyer Speed Figure and then was second across the wire in a turf-route stakes. Surfside Tiara won a maiden race with an 81 Beyer and a minor stakes two starts later.
By comparison, the highest figure earned by Pretty N Cool on a fast track is an 80 for her victory in the Grade 2 Matron at Belmont Park. If the number seems low, it is because Pretty N Cool earned a 95 in her debut romp on a Del Mar track labeled “sloppy.”
Pretty N Cool, who also won the Grade 2 Sorrento at Del Mar, is the likely favorite in the Desi Arnaz. Baffert also entered the maiden winner Treasuring, a full sister to 2013 Hollywood Starlet winner Streaming.
The others in the field are debut winner Street Fancy, California-bred stakes winner Patriotic Diamond, and Imflatoutsweet. According to weather.com, there is a 60 percent chance of rain Sunday at Del Mar.
KEY CONTENDERS
Pretty N Cool
(Last 3 Beyers: 80-74-78)
◗ The only loss by the 3-for-4 Pretty N Cool was a runner-up finish behind Songbird in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante.
◗ Martin Garcia rides Pretty N Cool, a Scat Daddy filly owned by longtime Baffert clients Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.
◗ Pretty N Cool is the only entrant who has run a sub-45-second half-mile, which she has twice.
◗ Though she shows only one work after winning the Matron on Oct. 18, Baffert said she has worked twice since returning from Belmont.
Surfside Tiara
(Last 3 Beyers: 72-48-81)
◗ Surfside Tiara, also by Scat Daddy, is 2 for 4 after winning the Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 11.
◗ The quality of the Anoakia is dubious. The filly Surfside Tiara defeated by a half-length, Uptown Twirl, returned Thursday to finish fifth of six in an allowance race.
◗ Surfside Tiara drew the rail. She is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano.
Treasuring
(Last 3 Beyers: 74-41-64)
Treasuring woke up at Los Alamitos in her third start, a maiden win by more than seven lengths. Her first two starts were ordinary third-place finishes at Del Mar.
“She struggled with the Del Mar surface,” Baffert said. He does not anticipate a recurrence. “The surface is totally different now – it’s a better surface.”
◗ Victor Espinoza will ride Treasuring.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Treasuring. Trainer Bob Baffert is 7-3-0-0 with a $4.14 ROI over the past five years with juveniles on dirt coming off a maiden win and a layoff of 45 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Lucky Folie
(Beyers: 78-85)
◗ Lucky Folie’s debut Beyer is the highest figure on a fast surface in the field.
◗ Richard Mandella trains Lucky Folie, shortening to a dirt sprint after finishing second in the Surfer Girl Stakes at a mile on turf. She was disqualified and placed third.
◗ Gary Stevens will ride Lucky Folie.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Street Fancy. Trainer Phil D’Amato is 6-4-1-0 with a $6.20 ROI over the past two years at Del Mar in the second career start following a winning debut. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan