Free's preview: Female juveniles' chance to impress

DEL MAR, Calif. – Those who expected a flashy debut by a top 2-year-old may have been disappointed in races 1 and 5 Saturday at Del Mar.

Lord Nelson, a Pulpit colt trained by Bob Baffert, won race 1. He won by a half-length as the favorite, returning $7 after five furlongs in 58.01 seconds. The Beyer Speed Figure earned by both colts was 73. An OK win, nothing more.

The hype horse was the $1.5 million Iron Fist. As predicted by Andy Harrington of National Turf, the Tapit colt broke slowly. He rallied from last to fourth and is certain to improve next time out.

Bench Warrant, a Street Boss colt trained by John Sadler, won race 5 in 57.97. He won by 1 1/4 lengths, returned a sweet $15.60, and will earn a Beyer similar to the earlier winner.

The favorite in race 5 was Bollywood. He lacked speed and finished seventh at 3-2.

If the colts were ordinary, maybe the 2-year-old fillies will do something special Sunday.

Now is a good time for a quick look at races 4 and 8.

Race 4: ‘Tango’ favored

Tara’s Tango has been impressive in workouts for Jerry Hollendorfer. She is an Unbridled’s Song filly from a good female family. Mike Smith has been aboard in morning works, and clocker reports are all over her. Count on Tara’s Tango to start at a short price.

Maybellene is trained by Baffert and by a hot sire. Lookin at Lucky already has sired eight 2-year-old winners worldwide. Maybellene outworked Bollywood on July 10, but the way Bollywood ran Saturday, that is not saying much.

This handicapper’s selection is Windy Forecast, a Stormy Atlantic filly who breezed 10 flat at the OBS April sale and has continued to work fast since arriving in California with trainer Simon Callaghan.

Race 8: Potential star

It is showtime for a Baffert filly that has been talked up for weeks. Luminance is a Tale of the Cat filly training like a star. Bullet works, big stride, it all looks right.

Luminance is owned by Kaleem Shah. She makes her debut at the right time. That is because the Shah-owned Landaluce Stakes winner Enchanting Lady did not make the trip to Del Mar. The 2-year-old filly is nursing tender shins and will not run Aug. 6 in the Grade 2 Sorrento.

Luminance is the 5-2 favorite and likely to win. She faces a good Casse-trained filly, however. Conquest Archangel ran superbly in her debut at Churchill Downs. She broke slowly, made a middle move, and chased home a good filly (Take Charge Brandi) that returned to finish second Friday in the Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga.

Pretty sure that Luminance is the real deal and will be surprised if she does not deliver on that promise as the most probable winner on the Sunday card.