With main foe set to scratch, Beau Recall a stickout in Yellow Ribbon
Beau Recall is back for more Saturday at Del Mar, where a major defection from the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap changed the race from a compelling showdown to an apparent one-sided affair.
Pre-race favorite Jolie Olimpica will scratch, leaving seven fillies and mares in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. Beau Recall, who won the Yellow Ribbon last year as second choice, inherits the role of standout favorite.
Runner-up last out in the Grade 1 Just a Game at Belmont Park, Beau Recall is one of only two Yellow Ribbon starters who have won a graded race against older. Keeper Ofthe Stars won the Grade 1 Gamely two starts back, then bombed last out and finished fifth in the Grade 3 Wilshire.
The remaining starters are Lady Prancealot, who defeated 3-year-olds in the Grade 1 American Oaks in December; Summering, a 4-year-old East Coast filly who won both of her starts at Del Mar as a 2-year-old; Bodhicitta, second in the Gamely last out; front-runner Harmless; and longshot Tonahutu.
Brad Cox trains Beau Recall, a 7-for-27 mare who returns to California as a fresh horse making just her third start following an autumn-winter layoff. If there was any doubt about her form at age 6, she answered it in the Just a Game.
“I thought she ran an incredibly good race,” Cox said. “Second best that day, was able to defeat some very, very nice fillies.”
Beau Recall, a late-runner, ran her opening half-mile in 49.84 seconds and her second half in 46.31. The winner, Newspaperofrecord, led gate to wire. Beau Recall finished a half-length in front of 2019 champion female turf runner Uni. Afterward, Cox planned a return to California for Beau Recall.
“We thought maybe it made more sense to go back to the West Coast as opposed to Saratoga with her,” he said. “We obviously know she likes Del Mar. She’s been training well, so hopefully we can repeat.”
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Based on class and current form, Beau Recall should be tough under Umberto Rispoli. Who is second choice in the Yellow Ribbon? Take your pick.
Keeper Ofthe Stars has not hit the board in her three starts on the Del Mar turf, but one was on a wet course and the two others were better-than-looked fourths last summer. She could return to form for trainer Jonathan Wong and jockey Abel Cedillo.
Summering is the only Yellow Ribbon starter with two Del Mar wins. She won her career debut in 2018, followed by the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf. Tom Proctor trains Summering, whose rider, Drayden Van Dyke, is emerging from a summer funk.
Van Dyke won five races from 12 mounts last weekend at Del Mar and seeks his fifth consecutive victory in the Yellow Ribbon. He rode Beau Recall to victory last year, Cambodia in 2017 and 2018, and She’s Not Here in 2016.