Sunset Glow aims for second straight stakes win in Debutante
DEL MAR, Calif. – Get used to Sunset Glow. She may be a frequent participant in major stakes for 2-year-old fillies through the rest of the year.
On Aug. 6, Sunset Glow won the first stakes of her career in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar. Trainer Wesley Ward considered the race a prep for Saturday’s $300,000 Del Mar Debutante over seven furlongs.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Sunset Glow. Trainer Wesley Ward is winless in 18 starts over the past five years with 2-year-olds in graded stakes following a winning effort. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Ward said he needs to keep Sunset Glow active to prevent the filly from gaining weight.
“The plan was to do this because she gets so chubby,” he said Wednesday. “She licks the bottom of the feed tub.”
Earlier this year, Sunset Glow raced in England, finishing second June 20 in the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot. The Sorrento was her first start following that race and her first stakes win. Ward hopes the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante will lead to a start Nov. 1 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.
Owned by Ten Broeck Farm, Sunset Glow has won 2 of 4 starts and earned $197,645. Last fall, she caught Ward’s eye with the way she trained while being broken.
“I started with a big pool of these things, and she was always at the forefront, the top five or six of the group,” he said.
Sunset Glow led throughout the Sorrento Stakes, winning by 3 1/4 lengths. She will get a stern test in the Del Mar Debutante, the championship race of the meeting for 2-year-old fillies. The field of nine includes the sharp maiden race winner Her Emmynency and Manahatta.
Manahatta is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, who also starts Seduire, the winner of the Wine Country Debutante over six furlongs Aug. 8 at Santa Rosa.
Key contenders
Sunset Glow (Last 3 Beyers: 90-65-54)
* Sunset Glow likely will be part of the pace. She left observers impressed when she worked five furlongs in 59.40 seconds Aug. 30.
* Since Ward is based in Florida, Sunset Glow is with trainer Blake Heap in California. Heap and Ward have worked as a team for years.
“Blake was on the pony and said he saw her gallop out strongly [after the workout],” Ward said. “He took her to the track the next day. She was tearing down the barn.”
* Sunset Glow is one of four $10,000 supplemental entries to the race, along with Conquest Eclipse, Manahatta, and Stealth Drone.
Her Emmynency (Last Beyer: 78)
* Trained by Mike Stidham, Her Emmynency ran like a veteran in her debut, closing from off the pace to win by 2 3/4 lengths in a maiden race over 5 1/2 furlongs Aug. 2.
“That’s what she has been doing in the mornings,” Stidham said. “She was willing to do what we wanted her to do. We can only go forward after the first race. Her works since then have been very solid.”
Manahatta (Last Beyer: 70)
* Trained by Hollendorfer, Manahatta led throughout a maiden race over 6 1/2 furlongs to win by a length over Windy Forecast and Dad’s Princess, maidens who are entered in the Del Mar Debutante.
* Manahatta has shown quick workouts since her maiden-race win.
“She’s a good, big, strong filly and pretty fast, too,” Hollendorfer said. “She’s been consistent in training.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Starlet O’Hara. Trainer Bob Baffert is 4 for 16 with a $3.52 ROI over the past five years with 2-year-olds in graded stakes sprints on synthetic surfaces following a maiden victory. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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