Del Mar Futurity (Grade 1)
Del Mar Debutante Stakes (Grade 1)
THE Gun Runner colt Brant made the step from a maiden race to a Grade 1 in accomplished style in winning the Del Mar Futurity, over seven furlongs, in a Baffett one-two, with Desert Gate taking second ahead of Doug O’Nell’s Civil Liberty.
The Zedan Racing Stables-owned colt had cost $3 million at this year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training from Eddie Woods’ consignment. He raced the first quarter-mile in 21.88secs, over a length clear of second-placed Balboa.
Desert Gate closed to a length in the straight, but could get no closer to Brant, who was well on top at the end.
Flavien Prat reported: “I was travelling very well, and I never felt like I was doing too much for him.
“He took a nice breather around the turn, enough to re-engage when that horse came outside of him.”
The Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante Stakes over seven furlongs wasn’t so much the outsider of three but the outsider of Baffert’s three as the Vino Rosso filly Bottle Of Rouge got the better of her more fancied stable companion Explora, and Juan Hernandez steered the filly home by half a length.
Baffert was winning his 12th Del Mar Debutante Stakes and jockey Mike Smith his fourth, but their time first together.
Explora led early lead, before Himika moved into second after half way to give the expected match between the two Baffert main fancies but Bottle Of Rouge challenged Explora in the straight as Himika began to fade.
At the line, Bottle Of Rouge won by a length from Explora, a half-length ahead of La Wally. The other graded race at the track last weekend was the Grade 2 John C.
Mabee Stakes and it went to the South Africa-bred mare Gimme A Nother, one of a small group of top South African performers to join trainer Graham Motion’s barn in the past year, and also partnered by Juan Hernandez.
Kentucky Downs
KENTUCKY Downs’ big money meeting came to a close but there was no more success for the Europeans with the Juddmonte-owned, Ralph Beckett-trained filly Tabiti (Frankie Dettori) who took third place, beaten over four lengths in the Grade 2 Ags Music City Stakes worth $1,867,100, and won by Shisospicy for Morplay Racing LLC and Qatar Racing and trainer Jose Francisco D’Angelo.
The only Grade 1 on the weekend card, the six and a half furlong Ainsworth Franklin-Simpson Stakes worth $1,994,300, went to the small owner/breeder team of Donamire Farm, and trainer Gregory Foley with the Tyler Gaffalione-ridden Troubleshooting,
The Not This Time three-year-old won by half a length from Golden Afternoon.
Epic Ride took the mile Grade 3 FanDuel TV Mint Millions Invitational Stakes with Point Lynas (Frankie Dettori for Edward Bethell) only making sixth and Cairo (Ben Curtis/Alice Haynes) 11th of the 14 runners.
The Grade 3 Light & Wonder Ladies Marathon Invitational over almost a mile and six furlongs went the four-year-old Justify filly Stellify for Brad Cox and Florent Geroux.