Yellow Ribbon packed with contenders
While most races include a handful of hopeless toss-outs, the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap on Saturday at Del Mar is a welcome anomaly.
The deepest field of filly-mare grass runners this year in California entered the Yellow Ribbon – eight of the 10 have won graded stakes, two won listed stakes. Perhaps bettors should not throw shade when every starter has a chance.
But skeptical horseplayers may doubt the top contenders, anyway. Maxim Rate was a 13-1 outsider winning the Grade 1 Gamely last out at Santa Anita. Fluke win, perhaps? Charmaine’s Mia won three straight stakes at Santa Anita, but the closers-friendly Del Mar turf course is not conducive to her front-running style.
Maxim Rate and Charmaine’s Mia will try to re-cement legitimacy against an outstanding field that includes last year’s Yellow Ribbon winner Bodhicitta, Grade 1 winner Keeper Ofthe Stars, Chilean Group 1 winner Brooke, Dogtag, and ever-consistent Laura’s Light. Others include Raymundo’s Secret, Ippodamia’s Girl, and Princess Grace.
The 1 1/16-mile race centers on Charmaine’s Mia, whose weapon is speed. But it is a double-edged sword. A front-runner, Charmaine’s Mia was hounded into defeat last out when pressed through suicidal fractions racing nine furlongs in the Gamely. She sped a half-mile in 45.94, six furlongs in 1:09.86, and faded to sixth at odds-on.
Trainer Phil D’Amato believes Charmaine’s Mia can be versatile. “We definitely do not have our hands tied with tactics,” he said. “I’ve breezed her sitting behind horses to give [jockey Joe Bravo] a flavor of the options he has with her.” Bravo is subbing for regular rider Flavien Prat, who rides at Saratoga on Saturday.
Even if Charmaine’s Mia rations her speed, she faces a challenging profile. The Del Mar turf this summer is decidedly anti-speed – just two of the first 30 turf routes were won by the pacesetter. More than half the winners rallied from the back half of the field.
D’Amato is aware. “The course is in excellent condition, but it’s very ‘spongy’ this year, and I think some horses love it, and some horses just kind of muddle through it.”
Potential pace rivals for Charmaine’s Mia include stablemate Raymundo’s Secret, Keeper Ofthe Stars, and Laura’s Light. If they get in each other’s way, the race could unfold perfectly for late-runner Maxim Rate, the 124-pound topweight.
Since her debut victory in 2019, Simon Callaghan-trained Maxim Rate ranked just below California’s top female grass runners. Her biggest win was a modest Grade 2 last fall, and she finished next to last in her comeback this spring at Keeneland.
“She didn’t like the loose, soft turf that day, and that’s why she was 13-1 [winning the Gamely],” Callaghan said. “Physically she seems to get better every year.”
Juan Hernandez rides Maxim Rate, who won twice over the Del Mar turf last summer.
Late-runner Maxim Rate and front-runner Charmaine’s Mia enter the $200,000 Yellow Ribbon as the top two contenders, but bettor beware. There is not a toss-out in the field.