Once again, Baffert has youth on his side

DEL MAR, Calif. – Justify ran six times, his last race coming just 111 days after his first. Yet the impact of the 2018 Triple Crown winner is being felt in Southern California more than a year later.

Starlight Racing and SF Racing, among the partners in Justify, decided last fall to purchase yearlings with the intent of launching a significant West Coast division, with Justify’s trainer, Bob Baffert, at the helm. As Del Mar gets set to begin its summer meet on Wednesday, the presence of those horses has made the hand held by Baffert with 2-year-olds here even stronger than usual, and it’s usually strong to begin with.

Getting those yearlings was significant, as many trainers who rely more on 2-year-olds in training found themselves in a predicament earlier this year, when the important sales took place while Santa Anita was going through upheaval. Several local trainers said their usual orders were reduced, or came late this year.

Baffert has won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity a record 14 times since 1996, including last year with eventual division champion Game Winner. The Starlight/SF partnership has top prospects for the closing-day Futurity Sept. 2 in the colts Eight Rings (by Empire Maker), Hydrogen (Violence), and Mo Hawk (Uncle Mo). Baffert’s other colts include the quick Bronn (Conveyance) and Garth (Into Mischief).

Fillies of note from Baffert’s barn include Fierce for Sul (Speightstown), Gingham (Quality Road), Stellar Sound (Tapit), and Immediate Impact (Into Mischief), a half-sister to Arrogate who appears green but could develop late.

“Our numbers are little bit up,” Baffert said. “They’ll be coming in waves. Most are bred to not be sprinters. It’s a nice group, but it’s still early. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

The Grade 1 Debutante for fillies the past two years has gone through Simon Callaghan, who has the early favorite for this year’s race on Aug. 31 in Amalfi Sunrise, who romped in her debut against maidens last month at Santa Anita and is headed to the Grade 2 Sorrento on Aug. 3. Antigone (Carpe Diem) has a steady series of works at Santa Anita and should debut soon. Callaghan also has a top Futurity prospect in Schrodinger, a debut winner at Los Alamitos who is scheduled to run next in the Grade 2 Best Pal on Aug. 10.

Doug O’Neill also has precocious runners who have had success already, including the filly Comical, who won the Schuylerville last Thursday at Saratoga, and the colt Fore Left, winner of the Tremont at Belmont Park. Both are scheduled to run at Del Mar. Among those set to debut at Del Mar for O’Neill is the colt Defense Wins (Flatter), who has looked well in his last two team drills at Santa Anita.

Richard Mandella tuned up the colt Veteran (Quality Road) and filly Nora’s Joy (Street Sense) in a quick gate drill last week at Santa Anita.

“They’re both nice. They should be fairly early at the meet, next couple of weeks,” Mandella said.

Later in the meet, look for the colt Tizamagician (Tiznow) for Mandella

Dan Ward, who has taken the reins for Jerry Hollendorfer, has a pair of extremely well-bred fillies – Matera (Tapit), a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Liam’s Map who cost $1.4 million as a yearling, and an unnamed filly by American Pharoah who is a half-sister to the barn’s two-time champ Songbird.

The quandary in which Hollendorfer has been placed resulted in several 2-year-olds of his owned by West Point Thoroughbreds moving to John Sadler and John Shirreffs

Sadler picked up the colt Tomorrow Knows (Carpe Diem), but his most precocious horse appears to be the filly Inspiressa (The Big Beast), who was an $850,000 buy earlier this year.

Shirreffs is preternaturally patient, so if he has a 2-year-old set for Del Mar that horse bears watching. Two to follow for him this summer are the colt Express Train (Union Rags) and the filly Classy Ruler (Empire Maker).

Neil Drysdale has a couple of fillies who could come to hand quickly in Overjoyed (Medaglia d’Oro) and an unnamed filly by Exceed and Excel who was purchased in France at the Arqana 2-year-old breeze-up sale in May.

Michael McCarthy’s best runners in his budding career – City of Light and Illuminant – have been by Quality Road, and he has three offspring of that sire nearing debuts, the fillies Dolci and Imprint, and the colt Friar’s Road. Dolci, like Illuminant, could be headed to the grass, McCarthy said.

Peter Miller always is a force at Del Mar. His colt Wrecking Crew (Sky Kingdom), an $875,000 buy earlier this year, has worked at San Luis Rey Downs as though he’ll be set to go soon.

Other newcomers include the colts Roses Twentytwenty (Honor Code) for Keith Desormeaux, Royal Act (American Pharoah) and Shooters Shoot (Competitive Edge) for Peter Eurton, and Disco Ball (Orb) for Brian Koriner. Also, the fillies Savvy Gal (Street Sense) for Richard Baltas, Pure Xena (Warrior’s Reward) for Koriner, and Thirtyseventrouts (Competitive Edge) for Mike Puype.