One Bad Boy back home with eye on Del Mar Derby

DEL MAR, Calif. – One Bad Boy, winner of the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine in June, recently returned to trainer Richard Baltas’s stable at Del Mar and is a candidate for the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 1.

The $250,000 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf would be the graded stakes debut for One Bad Boy, who was third in the Prince of Wales for Canadian-breds on July 23 at Fort Erie.

“We’ll look at that race if he bounces back,” Baltas said of the Del Mar Derby. “He’s very good on the turf.”

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Owned by Sayjay Racing, Greg Hall, and Brooke Hubbard, One Bad Boy has won 2 of 6 starts and earned $554,372. One Bad Boy won his only start on turf, a maiden special weight race at a mile at Santa Anita in April.

Baltas plans to start Lemoona in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf Saturday. Lemoona won a stakes for the first time in the Possibly Perfect Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf June 16 at Santa Anita.

The $200,000 Yellow Ribbon is expected to be led by the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Vasilika, who is unbeaten in four starts this year, all graded stakes on turf.

Comical, winner of the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes on July 11 at Saratoga, is expected to be part of a small field in Saturday’s Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at six furlongs.