Hughes runs away from Phone Booth in Del Mar Futurity

After dominating the Best Pal (G3), Hughes was bet down to 1-5 favoritism in Sunday’s $300,000 Del Mar Futurity (G1). The Bob Baffert pupil duly gave his Hall of Fame trainer a 20th score in the Del Mar feature, rebuffing a tag-team challenge from the Doug O’Neill barn in a purely intramural affair. 

O’Neill’s High Pronto, the 25-1 longshot of the quintet, flashed speed on the inside while Hughes and the other Baffert, 3.20-1 chance Domus, attended him early. Hughes forced the issue between horses through the opening quarter in :22.87, but Domus soon beat a retreat from his outside perch.

As High Pronto kept his head in front of Hughes at the half-mile mark in :45.69, Phone Booth began to sneak into contention through an opening on the rail. The most plausible of the O’Neill trio at odds of 11-1, Phone Booth was coming off a distant second in the Best Pal. Now he joined the fray in a more competitive vein in their Sunday rematch. 

Hughes made his move to dispose of High Pronto on the far turn, only to find Phone Booth cutting the corner. But any notion of a tussle was immediately put to bed. 

Kicking away for jockey Juan Hernandez, Hughes confirmed his superiority by 4 3/4 lengths. The undefeated son of Into Mischief negotiated seven furlongs in 1:22.57.

Phone Booth settled for runner-up honors again, but this was an improvement from his 7 3/4-length loss in the Best Pal. Fellow O’Neill entrant Dang Son, who trailed early, churned on another 5 1/4 lengths adrift in third. Domus and High Pronto completed the strung-out field.

Hughes is now a perfect 3-for-3 with $300,000 in earnings for his ownership consortium –Front Row Club, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Albaugh Family Stables, Robert Masterson, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan.

“I was aware that this was seven-eighths,” Hernandez said, “and I know that can sometimes be a tough one for a young horse. So I had that horse (High Pronto) inside me, but I didn’t want to push on my horse (Hughes) too early. He was handling it all well. I never hit him. When we straightened out, he was lugging in just a bit, so I tapped him on the left side and we were fine. He did his job today.”

“He sat off the speed horse,” Baffert also observed. “We knew the inside horse was really fast. Juan (Hernandez) said if he had gone to the lead they would have gone faster, so he relaxed. We’re still learning about these horses. He’s the kind of horse who does most of his running at the end, which is what you like to see, and he was taking off at the end.”

Hughes can claim some stamina on his dam’s side. Bred by Breffni Farm in Kentucky and sold for $675,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, he is out of the multiple Grade 1-placed Union Rags mare K P Dreamin. His second dam, Litigating, is a full sister to Grade 1 winner and $2.9 million-earner Go Between, by one of Baffert’s Hall of Famers, Point Given.

Baffert’s tally of 20 Del Mar Futurity heroes includes Kentucky Derby (G1)-winning Hall of Famer Silver Charm (1996); champions Midshipman (2008), Lookin at Lucky (2009), and Game Winner (2018); and Triple Crown sweeper American Pharoah (2014). 

“It’s very exciting to win this race,” Baffert reminisced. “It all started with Silver Charm. It’s crazy. It’s a long way from Prescott Downs.”

Baffert and Hernandez swept both of the meet’s marquee juvenile events, with Miss Monica starring in Saturday’s Del Mar Debutante (G1).

Shared Belief S.

Miss Monica’s connections celebrated another stakes victory in Sunday’s $126,000 Shared Belief S. with 4-5 favorite Desert Gate. Likewise owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, the Baffert sophomore overpowered his rivals from just off the pace. Hernandez engineered a rail-skimming rally, and Desert Gate surged past early leader Mo Koko to a 5 1/2-length victory.

By finishing the mile in 1:36.25, Desert Gate boosted his bankroll to $661,725 from his 10-5-2-0 line. The Omaha Beach colt was among the prominent two-year-olds of 2025, crushing the Best Pal and finishing second in both the Del Mar Futurity and American Pharoah (G1). But a fourth in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) prompted him to drop off the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Desert Gate responded to the clever spotting, and the addition of blinkers, with blowout wins in the Hot Springs S. at Oaklawn Park and the Texas Derby at Lone Star Park. Regressing to fourth in the 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby (G3), he was a one-paced fourth in the Iowa Derby last out. The Shared Belief indicated that Desert Gate may still have upside as he expands his tactical repertoire. 

Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf

Even a hop at the start couldn’t prevent even-money favorite Vanta from dusting her opponents in the $102,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf. Under a patient Umberto Rispoli, the Jeff Mullins trainee inhaled the leaders in deep stretch and won in hand by 2 1/2 lengths. 

Blockade, the 56-1 longest shot on the board, threatened to spring a shock until Vanta came calling. Ogle, the Oscar Performance half-sister to Grade 1 star Stark Contrast, was another length away in third.

Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures’ Vanta polished off the firm-turf mile in 1:36.30 in her stakes and two-turn debut. The dark bay won at first asking in a turf sprint, and her scorecard stands at 2-for-2 with $108,000 in her account.

The first stakes winner for freshman sire Greatest Honour, Vanta was his top-selling juvenile when commanding $370,000 at OBS in March. She was bred in New York by Sequel Thoroughbreds, Lakland Farms, and Truly Thoroughbreds Inc. Her dam, Goodn’ready, is a daughter of More Than Ready and Grade 2 winner Redaspen.