Pretty N Cool looks hard to beat in Del Mar Debutante
DEL MAR, Calif. – Pretty N Cool was rated as the leading 2-year-old filly in trainer Bob Baffert’s stable when the team moved from Santa Anita to Del Mar in July. Since then, Pretty N Cool has gained the role of leading juvenile filly in California.
After wins in a maiden race July 19 and the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes on Aug. 12, Pretty N Cool will be a strong favorite in the summer’s top race for the division – Saturday’s $300,000 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs.
“She’s always been the best one,” Baffert said of the juvenile fillies in his stable. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Pretty N Cool will be ridden by Martin Garcia, who was aboard for her two wins. She beat maidens on a sealed and sloppy track by 4 1/2 lengths and won the Sorrento Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs by 2 3/4 lengths, leading by four in the stretch.
In the Grade 1 Debutante, Pretty N Cool might face the biggest field of her career, with 10 rivals. Two runners were supplemented for $10,000 each – Right There, who won the Landaluce Stakes at Santa Anita in June and was fourth in the Sorrento, and Come to Mischief, who won the My Dear Stakes at Woodbine in her debut June 28.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has three runners – the maiden-race winners Songbird and Surfside Tiara, and Stays in Vegas, a winner of two minor stakes on the Northern California circuit.
Gomo and One True Kiss, second and third in the Sorrento, will face Pretty N Cool again and are threats from off the pace.
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Del Mar Debutante, Race 9
KEY CONTENDERS
Pretty N Cool (Last 2 Beyers: 78-95)
◗ Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, Pretty N Cool, by Scat Daddy, led throughout the maiden race and stalked the pace in the Sorrento Stakes before taking the lead entering the stretch.
◗ Pretty N Cool will start from post 3, which Baffert said is not an ideal draw.
“She’s been really solid,” Baffert said. “I’d prefer a better post. She needs to break well. She has a lot of speed.”
Songbird (Last Beyer: 84)
◗ In her debut, Songbird was in front throughout under Mike Smith and drew away to win a six-furlong race by 6 1/2 lengths.
“We knew she was a good filly,” Hollendorfer said. “We expected her to win.”
◗ Hollendorfer expects Smith to utilize Songbird’s speed to gain a tactical position in the lengthy run down the backstretch.
“For Songbird, I think she drew a good post,” Hollendorfer said. “Mike can break and decide where she wants to be.”
Stays in Vegas (Last 2 Beyers: 70-78)
◗ Stays in Vegas made her debut in the Juan Gonzalez Memorial Stakes at the Oak Tree at Pleasanton meeting on July 4, with Hollendorfer thinking the race was suitable for a filly with promising works. She closed from fifth of six after a troubled start to win by six lengths.
◗ In the Wine Country Debutante at six furlongs at Santa Rosa on Aug. 14, Stays in Vegas was 1-20 and won by 3 3/4 lengths with minimal urging.
“She showed quite a bit of ability,” Hollendorfer said.
Surfside Tiara (Last 3 Beyers: 81-71)
◗ Surfside Tiara was second as the even-money favorite in her debut at Los Alamitos on July 4. The Debutante became a realistic goal after she beat maidens by 5 1/4 lengths at 6 1/2 furlongs on Aug. 9.
“She came alive in her last race,” Hollendorfer said. “She deserves a shot.”