Del Mar has never had what you’d call an inferiority complex. One glowing sunset over the cliffs of Solana Beach is enough to cure any feelings that karma has given the seaside track short shrift.
It is a fact, however, that in its 80 years of operation, Del Mar has risen to the upper reaches of the national sports consciousness only four times – and now five counting the Breeders’ Cup to be run next weekend.
Hazit disappointed in a turf work on Oct. 19, and bounced back with a better dirt work on Friday morning at Belmont Park. He will now be strongly considered for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 4.
:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2017: Pre-entries, odds, comments, and more
Hazit, fifth in the Grade 1 Champagne after a debut win at Saratoga, was pre-entered for both the Juvenile Turf and Juvenile. Hazit is 12-deep on the preference list for the Juvenile Turf and is unlikely to get into that field.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Takaful, the Grade 1 Vosburgh winner, worked a sharp half-mile in 46.66 seconds Friday morning over the Belmont Park training track in preparation for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 4. It was the fastest by 1.36 seconds of 46 works recorded over a fast training track.
Bal a Bali, who was among the pre-entrants for the Breeders’ Cup Mile, has been retired, trainer Richard Mandella said Friday.
Bal a Bali was one of 14 pre-entrants who had secured a starting spot in the Mile, and his defection opens the door for the England-based Home of the Brave to run. Home of the Brave was excluded from the Mile last year and instead finished 11th in the BC Turf Sprint.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The workout on Thursday by Imperative here at Del Mar is being investigated by the state racing board, as it appears it came prior to when it should have been allowed owing to Imperative being placed on the veterinarian’s list for shock-wave therapy.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jerry Hollendorfer marches to and from the track each morning with quick yet purposeful strides, his head down, focused on getting to his favorite spot in the grandstand to watch his horses train.
There’s little variance in the approach. He likes his routine. And that determination has served him well this year, for it seems every time Hollendorfer, 71, has taken a step forward, he’s had to take a step back, but he remains steadfast in his resolve.
It has been two decades since Skip Away shipped out to California to win the 1997 Breeders’ Cup Classic – highlighting a career in which the big gray Hall of Famer brought home four Eclipse Award statues, including the 1998 Horse of the Year trophy, won 10 Grade 1 races, placed in 20 other graded events, and bankrolled $9.6 million.
Cat Thief sprang a $41.20 upset in the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Gulfstream Park. Cat Thief, who now stands in Saudi Arabia, has flown similarly under the radar in his second career and is now quietly fashioning a good reputation as a broodmare sire, with champion Classic Empire on his résumé and Highway Star a contender for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
Many breeders spend their entire lives trying to produce one horse with the chops to make it to the Breeders’ Cup. This year, Frank and Patricia Generazio have two in the same race.
The Generazios will send two homebreds to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint– Disco Partner, who broke the world-record time for six furlongs on turf in the Grade 3 Jaipur Invitational at Belmont, and Pure Sensation, who comes off a win in the Grade 3 Turf Monster Handicap at Parx Racing. Christophe Clement trains both.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Nelson is entered to race Sunday at Saint-Cloud in the Group 1 Criterium Saint-Cloud, which would preclude a start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Nelson was pre-entered in the BC Juvenile Turf and had an automatic slot in the race because he won a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In race in Ireland. If Nelson indeed is taken out of the Juvenile Turf it would allow another horse into a race capped at 14 runners that attracted 27 pre-entrants.
