Del Mar Notebook

DEL MAR NOTEBOOK

AUGUST 21, 2013

by John Mucciolo

A pair of graded races for the ladies headlined the week of racing at Del Mar

Race Course.

Del Mar Oaks (G1): Patricia Generazio's homebred DISCREET MARQ

(Discreet Cat) sat in third behind dueling leaders into the lane and spurted

clear to post a three-quarters of a length victory for conditioner Christophe

Clement. The streaking sophomore lass traveled nine panels on the firm turf in

1:47 1/5 under the guidance of Julien Leparoux.

Rancho Bernardo H. (G3): Lanni Family Trust's RENEESGOTZIP (City Zip)

cleared the field with ease early on and never looked back en route to a facile

4 1/4-length triumph under Garrett Gomez. The Peter Miller-trained filly rolled

to her second straight impressive win at this meeting, clocking 6 1/2 furlongs

on the main oval in a stakes record 1:14 2/5.

Track Stats

From a total of 43 races held at the Southern California racetrack during the

past week, favorites won at a 35 percent clip and the top two betting choices

combined for 60 percent of the wins. From 31 frays contested on the Polytrack

oval, six animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (19 percent), while one of the 12

grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (8 percent).

We thought the main oval played fairly this week, with a possible edge once

again to those tracking the pace a few paths off the rail. The severe speed bias

surely appears to be gone with the past few weeks of racing proving so.

Meet Totals

RACES:		218
POLYTRACK:		155
TURF:		63
FAVORITES:		61 (28 percent)
2ND CHOICES:		48 (22 percent)
TURF WIRE:		10 (16 percent)
POLY WIRE:		44 (28 percent)

HORSES TO WATCH

Wednesday (8/14)

6TH -- UNBRIDLED GIANT (Giant's Causeway) was always prominent from the start

and rolled home an easy winner on the big class drop under Martin Garcia. The

sophomore gelding was claimed out of this by Emily Mode, and while it's tough to

claim off of trainer Bob Baffert, if this one is properly placed next time out

he can surely win right back.

7TH -- BOAT TRIP (Harlan's Holiday) made a big late run from last to just

miss in a fine fourth-place finish in this turf dash. We've long liked this

Michael Pender trainee, especially since he switched to the green, and he should

be stakes bound right back.

Thursday (8/15)

3RD -- JOURNEY ON (Good Journey) took command soon after the start and poured

it on late in a superb maiden claiming win, finishing off six panels in a rapid

1:08 4/5. We'd surely keep an eye on this Doug O'Neill charge next time.

PEARL DE VERE (Songandaprayer) finished a clear second in this spot and will

graduate very soon with improvement going forward.

6TH -- MISS EMPIRE (Empire Maker) had no chance with the impressive winner

but did earn a nice placing when second in a good showing beneath Edwin

Maldonado. The sophomore filly finished in front of a few talented runners and

will be a player in her return with a similar effort.

Saturday (8/17)

3RD -- HARD BUNS (Rock Hard Ten) completely missed the start when rearing

while still in the gate, but somehow the Vann Belvoir pupil moved into

contention turning for home and won in the final yards in a sensational tally.

Trainer Adam Kitchingman claimed her out of this race and she could be in line

for a class rise. We'd suggest watching this replay to see how impressive this

win really was.

4TH -- TEST RIDE (Zensational) made up some ground to be a good third in this

debut run, and most from the barn of Michael Pender improve with experience, so

we'll tab the juvenile colt for a big showing in his subsequent outing.

6TH -- NEW YEAR'S DAY (Street Cry) was last early and still had a ton to do

in the lane, but the Baffert charge was visually impressive with a nice late run

to be third, and the colt could have a nice future ahead of him.

9TH -- The Mike Harrington-trained FEATURE ATTRACTION (Roman Ruler) showed

vastly improved early speed off of her debut and proved best late in inching

clear in the final furlong of this dash. This filly could be a nice one.

A Look Ahead

Sunday will play host to the signature race of the meeting when the Grade 1,

$1 million Pacific Classic tops a fine day of racing. Also on Sunday will be the

Grade 2, $250,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes and the Grade 2, $200,000 Del Mar Mile.

The Saturday feature at Del Mar is the Grade 2, $200,000 Del Mar Handicap.