Matriarch field coming up strong

DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar’s fall meeting is bookended by the Breeders’ Cup and the turf festival, and the nominations to the closing weekend’s races, released over the weekend, indicate that this meet will finish with a flourish heading to closing day, Nov. 26.

Nominations for the Grade 1, $300,000 Matriarch Stakes for females on Nov. 26 came up particularly strong, with East Coast-based trainers such as Chad Brown, Christophe Clement, and Arnaud Delacour all expected to participate. Brown nominated three to the one-mile grass race, including Quidura, who was bought at the Fasig-Tipton sale earlier this month by owner Peter Brant for $3.6 million. Off Limits and Rubilinda are Brown’s other nominees.

Clement will run Lull, who remained in California following her victory at Santa Anita in the Autumn Miss on Oct. 29. She worked four furlongs in 49.20 seconds on the Del Mar turf on Sunday.

Delacour will ship Hawksmoor, runner-up in the First Lady at Keeneland in her last start.

Champagne Room, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and sixth most recently in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, is nominated to the Matriarch – which would be her turf debut – but trainer Peter Eurton said he thought it would be “too soon after her last race to try grass for the first time.” Instead, Champagne Room is likely to await the Grade 2, $200,000 Bayakoa Stakes at Los Alamitos on Dec. 3.

“It’s either that or run in the La Brea against Paradise Woods and Unique Bella,” Eurton said of the Grade 1 La Brea Dec. 26 at Santa Anita.

“We’ve got a lot of good horses nominated to all our stakes that week,” said David Jerkens, Del Mar’s racing secretary. “The Matriarch looks like it’ll have a really good field.”

Sharp Samurai, Big Score, and Bowie’s Hero – the first three in the Twilight Derby at Santa Anita on Oct. 28 – look set for a rematch in the Grade 1, $300,000 Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Nov. 25. Sharp Samurai, trained by Mark Glatt, would be seeking his fifth straight win in that race.

Bill Mott nominated both Channel Maker, who was fourth in the Twilight Derby, and Good Samaritan, the Jim Dandy winner who was fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup in his last start but was an accomplished turf horse before moving to dirt.

The turf festival begins Nov. 23 with the Grade 3, $100,000 Red Carpet Stakes at 1 3/8 miles for females. Arles, beaten a nose in this race last year, is expected to make a return visit for trainer Graham Motion after winning the Long Island at Aqueduct earlier this month.