My Girl Red, Princess Noor battle it out in Del Mar Debutante
When My Girl Red reached the eighth pole of the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes on Aug. 6, the six-furlong race was essentially over. My Girl Red led by more than two lengths and won by 4 3/4 lengths as a heavy favorite.
A month later, the 2-year-old filly division has changed.
When My Girl Red starts in Sunday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs, she will face only one of her six rivals from the Sorrento, runner-up Get On the Bus.
The $250,000 Debutante drew a field of six and includes recent maiden race winners Forest Caraway, Princess Noor, and Roll Up Mo Money as well as the maiden Illumination. My Girl Red, who raced on the front in both her races, must improve against what is largely a new cast of opponents.
“We’ll need more to win a Grade 1,” trainer Keith Desormeaux said. “Hopefully, she shows us what she has.”
Owned and bred by Erich Brehm, My Girl Red won her debut in a maiden special weight race at 4 1/2 furlongs on June 14 at Santa Anita and led throughout the Sorrento at six furlongs, finishing in 1:12.12.
“The time wasn’t magnificent, but she did it the right way,” Desormeaux said. “She’s loaded with class. She does what you ask her to do. She wasn’t challenged in the last eighth, and you’d like to think there is more in the tank.”
Flavien Prat rode My Girl Red in her first two starts and has the mount Sunday. Desormeaux said Prat could have My Girl Red in front and wants to avoid a circumstance in which possible favorite Princess Noor is allowed to set an easy pace.
“That will be interesting to see what Flavien does,” Desormeaux said. “Do I tell him to go with the speed, being that she showed natural speed? Do we take that away from her and come from off the pace? I think that will be a rider’s decision.”
Princess Noor, bought for $1.35 million at a 2-year-old sale earlier this year, had an ideal debut Aug. 22, leading throughout a maiden special weight race at 5 1/2 furlongs under Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza.
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Princess Noor is trained by Bob Baffert, who has won the Del Mar Debutante eight times. Espinoza, 48, has won the Del Mar Debutante four times, most recently in 2014 on Sunset Glow. He will be back aboard Princess Noor on Sunday.
“She was very impressive in the way she performed her first start,” Espinoza said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on a horse like Princess Noor. The potential is there. She has everything required to be an excellent horse.
“She came out of there running on her own. I was making sure she was running comfortably. I’m excited for the next start.”
Forest Caraway, who won her debut Aug. 15, drew the outside post in the Del Mar Debutante, which will allow jockey Ricardo Gonzalez to assess the pace.
“I love the draw,” trainer Peter Miller said. “I think we’ll get a position out of there. She’s got some speed, and Ricardo can see what they do inside.
“She’s going to have to move forward to win. We think she has a chance to do so.”