November, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Great Track To Train On’: D’Amato All In For Del Mar’s Crosby Meet

When Phil D'Amato drove off the Del Mar Fairgrounds in September he brought with him a share of the trainers' title from the summer meet and arguably the hottest barn in Southern California. Since then, the line-up has changed a bit but D'Amato again brings a formidable force to the Bing Crosby meet which gets under way on Friday.

A few of his star equines are no longer in the barn. They've been retired and are off to the breeding shed or turned out for the winter. D'Amato is still packed with enough talent to defend his fall meet crown, though, and notch his third consecutive trainers title at Del Mar.

“We're bringing 40 horses down to Del Mar to train there through the remainder of the meet,” D'Amato says. “A nice array of 2-year-olds to older horses, allowance and stakes horses as well. We have them ready for all those nice races you have there.”

D'Amato tied Bob Baffert for the summer meet training title at Del Mar with 19 victories, four of them graded stakes. Going Global won the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon, Gold Phoenix the G2 Del Mar Handicap, Hong Kong Harry the G2 Del Mar Mile, and Bellabel the G2 San Clemente. He also took down the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes on opening day with Balnikhov and the $100,000 Juvenile Turf Fillies with Comanche Country. All of his stakes winners are Irish-breds.

“Recently we've had out-of-town owners who have sent me horses as well as owners purchasing horses overseas,” D'Amato explains, “so we kind of have both of those avenues going. It definitely helps coming up with a top roster of grass horses for racing in California.”

But D'Amato will be the first to tell you, it's not the trainers titles that float his boat.

“I do not think about winning trainer titles and things like that,” D'Amato says. “I think about winning nice races and big purses. It's not a numbers game for me. It's quality of races won and winning stakes races.”

A couple of his stars will be making appearances at Del Mar this fall. Hong Kong Harry is being pointed to the G2 Seabiscuit on Nov. 26; Balnikhov may go in the G1 Hollywood Derby Dec. 3. Bellabel will train at Del Mar but there's no plan on racing her during the fall meet. Instead she will be pointed to the American Oaks at Santa Anita.

Gold Phoenix has been turned out for a 30-day freshening with plans to get him started later next year in hopes of defending his title in the Del Mar Handicap. He has been joined at Kingfisher Farms in Solvang by Comanche Country, who will get a brief freshening before starting her 3-year old campaign.

Going Global was retired. Going to Vegas was sold to Japanese interests at the recent Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

D'Amato will be a fixture at Del Mar during the Bing Crosby meet with plans of staying in town for the four weeks instead of commuting back up to Los Angeles like many trainers do during the fall meet.

“I enjoy the fall meet,” D'Amato says. “I wish it was longer; I wish we could train there more. It's just a great track to train on.”

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Del Mar Kicks Off Crosby Meet With Let It Ride Stakes

One indication of the improving popularity of the Bing Crosby meet at Del Mar is this year's lucrative, record-setting stakes schedule and the first of the 15 stakes races, the $75,000 Let It Ride Stakes, takes place opening day Friday. A field of nine 3-year olds will enter the starting gate for the one mile turf test.

Trainer Graham Motion has sent out a string of four horses for the opening weekend. The East Coast-based trainer has made a habit of dabbling a bit at Del Mar over the past few years. One of his horses will run in the Let It Ride. Script, a son of Algorithims, returned from an eight-month layoff and won an entry level allowance at Keeneland last out. He's a horse Motion has always been very high on.

“I thought he had the potential to be a Derby-type horse,” Motion says. “He just didn't pan out on the dirt and then he got sick in the spring with a low grade pneumonia. So we gave him the whole summer off at Stone Farm, brought him back and it was so gratifying to see him run so well at Keeneland in that allowance race.”

He was ridden by jockey John Velazquez that day and will be ridden by the veteran jockey again in the Friday feature. Velazquez, like his fellow New York-based rider, Flavien Prat, has moved his tack to Southern California for the fall and winter.

Handy Dandy is the most experienced of the group running in the Let It Ride. The son of Fury Kapcori has raced 12 times and finished in the money in nine of those starts. After clearing an entry level allowance at Del Mar this past summer he finished fourth in the G2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita last month. He hails from the barn of Peter Miller, fresh off winning the trainers title at Santa Anita's fall meet.

“He's been a little bit unlucky,” Miller says of Handy Dandy. “He had a rough trip last time in the Twilight Derby and we're hoping we get a better trip and the horse can show what he can do.”

Jockey Juan Hernandez is back on board after riding Hawthorne Derby winner Speaking Scout for Motion in the Twilight Derby.

“Juan knows the horse very well,” Miller adds. “It wasn't necessarily Umberto's (Rispoli) fault last time. It was just circumstance. But Juan has won on the horse and ridden him plenty and so we felt Juan gave us our best chance to win.”

Trainer George Papaprodromou has brought two to the party. Time to Party was claimed from the Peter Miller barn last month after winning a claiming allowance at Santa Anita at the same distance as the Let It Ride. Papaprodromou will also run Law Abiding, a son of Jimmy Creed, who is stepping up into stakes company off of his maiden victory last out.

Spycatcher is another one to watch. The runner-up at 68-1 to Slow Down Andy in the G2 Del Mar Derby last summer is back for another run on the Jimmy Durante turf course. The son of Noble Mission has not raced since his Derby outing in September.

The Let It Ride Stakes is the seventh of eight races on the Friday opening day card. It's named after the popular 1989 movie starring Richard Dreyfus that has become a favorite among horse players.

Here's the field from the rail with jockeys and morning line: Clutch Hitter (Victor Espinoza, 6-1); Handy Dandy (7/2); Law Abiding (Mario Gutierrez, 20-1); Crazy Dreams (Abel Cedillo, 12-1); Script (3-1); St Anthony (Flavien Prat, 4-1); Time to Party (Joe Bravo, 12-1); Spycatcher (Ryan Curatolo, 7/2) and Degree of Risk (Drayden Van Dyke, 12-1).

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$33,434 Pick 6 Carryover At Aqueduct On Friday

Friday's nine-race card at Aqueduct Racetrack will feature a Pick 6 carryover of $33,434 after the multi-race wager went unsolved on Thursday's nine-race program in South Ozone Park, N.Y.

The $1 Pick 6 returned $514 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners correctly.

The sequence kicked off in Race 4 as the James Ryerson-trained He'sgottashortfuse [No. 3, $22.20] graduated with Trevor McCarthy up in the six-furlong maiden claimer over the main track. Jay'stalker [No. 6, $20.20] followed in Race 5 with a rallying score under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano for trainer Bruce Levine in a $16,000 claiming event.

Trainer Mike Maker celebrated a return to the winner's circle for multiple graded stakes-placed Atone [No. 1A, $3.40] in Race 6 for his first victory in almost a year, piloted by Kendrick Carmouche for his second win of the day. Race 7 saw Randi Persaud trainee Keen Dancer [No. 8, $26.40] post the biggest upset of the day under Luis Rodriguez Castro, one race before Palace Gossip [No. 6, $10.40] scored her third career victory under Jose Lezcano for trainer Tony Dutrow.

The final leg in Race 9 was won by the Jimmy Toner-trained Siege of Boston [No. 5, $4.90] , who graduated in a one-mile turf route under Junior Alvarado after three consecutive runner-up finishes.

Friday's Pick 6 will begin in Race 4 at 1:46 p.m. Eastern. First post is 12:20 p.m.

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the best way to bet every race of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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TAA Accredits 42 Organizations

Edited Press Release

Forty-two Thoroughbred aftercare organizations have been awarded accreditation for 2022, including one that received accreditation for the first time, according to a press release from the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. The TAA, the only accrediting body in Thoroughbred aftercare, now has a network of 81 organizations with approximately 180 facilities in North America.

“Congratulations to the 42 organizations who earned their Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accreditation,” said TAA President Jeffrey Bloom. “Earning TAA accreditation is a true testament to an organization's dedication to providing the best care possible for our Thoroughbreds.

“TAA-accreditation proves to the racing industry that its Thoroughbreds are going to the best possible aftercare organizations in North America, and although this stamp of approval is reassuring, funding is still a concern to assist these groups and the thousands of retired racehorses in their care. We encourage everyone to support the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and its 81 accredited charities.”

The 42 organizations earning accreditation this year are: After the Races, Bright Futures Farm, Inc., CANTER Kentucky, CANTER Michigan, Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare, Center for Racehorse Retraining, Central Kentucky Riding For Hope, Days End Farm Horse Rescue, Down The Stretch Ranch, Equestrian Inc., Equine Advocates Inc., Equine Rescue & Adoption Foundation, Final Furlong, Inc., Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program, Friends of Ferdinand, Inc., Galloping Out, Harmony and Hope Horse Haven, Inc., Healing Arenas, Inc., Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, Hidden Acres Rescue for Thoroughbreds, Hope's Legacy Equine Rescue, Illinois Equine Humane Center, Lollypop Farm, Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement, Inc., NEER North, Our Mims Retirement Haven, Inc., Out Side In, Inc., R.A.C.E. Fund, Inc., Remember Me Rescue, RVR Horse Rescue, Sandia Creek Ranch Auxiliary Foundation, Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption and Placement, Inc., Second Chance Thoroughbreds, Inc., Second Stride, Inc, Square Peg Foundation, The Foxie G Foundation, The Susan S. Donaldson Foundation, This Old Horse, Inc., Thoroughbred Athletes, Inc., Tranquility Farm–The Harry A. Biszantz Memorial Center for Thoroughbred Retirement, TRRAC Thoroughbred Retirement, Rehabilitation, and Careers, War Horses at Rose Bower.

The full list of 81 organizations, information about the accreditation process, and the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance's Code of Standards can be found on ThoroughbredAftercare.org.

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