A showdown of sorts is set to take place Saturday afternoon on the main track at Del Mar. Two trainers, co-champions of last year's training title, will pit their best distaffers against each other in the G1 Clement Hirsch, a 'Win and You're In' for the Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Out of barn 'A' is Philip D'Amato and his two fillies, Elm Drive and Desert Dawn. And out of Barn 'FF' is Bob Baffert and his one-two punch of Fun to Dream and Adare Manor. A field of five will go to the gate for the Hirsch. Trainer John Sadler's Kirstenbosch is the one crashing the party. The short field doesn't bother D'Amato.
“There are two speed horses in the race, Elm Drive and Adare Manor,” D'Amato said. “It's not like there are six speed horses there in a dirt sprint. If both of them are smart about it, they both should have good chances to win.”
“It's all about the break,” Baffert adds. “If you don't break well you're in trouble. A small field means they're all tough, they all see each other. They're doing well and all you can do is hope is that they get the trip.”
Baffert's Fun to Dream, the Cal-bred Horse of the Year in 2022, has never finished worse than second in eight career starts. She won two races at Del Mar last year, the Fleet Treat in the summer and the Betty Grable in the fall, both Cal-bred stakes races. She stepped out into open company and won the G1 La Brea and the G2 Santa Monica before losing by just a head to A Mo Reay in the G1 Beholder.
Baffert says the key to keeping a horse like Fun to Dream in form is the spacing of races.
“If you can give them time in between races that helps,” Baffert says. “Just like they did with Flightline. It's tough when you're going for the Triple Crown. That's why those horses like American Pharoah and Justify were so superior. There's only a few that are made like that.
“Fillies are a little bit tougher to keep in form,” Baffert continues. “They get light on you. You have to be careful there.”
Baffert's other filly, Adare Manor, is riding a three-race win streak, the last two of which were Grade II's, the Santa Maria and the Santa Margarita, both of which she won by over four lengths.
“We freshened her up,” Baffert says. “She's just a big, long jumpin' mare. She's got a big long stride on her. We've been pointing for this race. It's a good spot and they're both doing really well.”
D'Amato is just as confident about his chances.
“She's given me three good performances in a row,” D'Amato says about Elm Drive. “So I feel she's in a real good form cycle right now. She followed up her last race with two fine drills. It's a five-horse field in a Grade I; we're going to take a shot.”
He is not too concerned with Elm Drive stretching out.
“She's gone six and a half on the long stretch at Los Al,” D'Amato says. “So I think a little softer fractions going two turns here should be right up her alley.”
D'Amato says he's looking for improvement from Desert Dawn, who was runner-up to Blue Stripe in last year's Clement Hirsch.
“Last race she was taken out of her game,” D'Amato says. “There was one speed horse in there and she was trying to chase Adare Manor, which was not good for her. She's shown an affinity for this track so this time I don't think she's going to have to change her style. She'll get her feet under her and come with a run.”
The mile and a sixteenth $400,000 Clement Hirsch is the 10th of 11 races on the Saturday card. Approximate post time is 6:30 p.m.
Here's the field from the rail with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Elm Drive (Ricky Gonzalez, 8-1); Fun to Dream (Ramon Vasquez, 9/5); Adare Manor (Juan Hernandez, 4/5); Kirstenbosch (Hector Berrios, 10-1), and Desert Dawn (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1).
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