Odds-on favorite Havnameltdown walked his beat Sunday at Del Mar in the $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes (G3) and came away a 1 1/4-length winner over stablemate Newgate in the feature for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs at Del Mar.
The husky colt by the Florida sire Uncaptured continued his fine performances at the seaside oval as he registered his third win in four starts at the shore this year. Two of those victories were stakes and his only loss was a second-place finish to stablemate Cave Rock in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) Sept. 11 in his previous start.
Forced out early by rank stablemate and early pacesetter Hard to Figure, Havnameltdown rated in third under Juan Hernandez through the opening quarter in :22:23. He sprinted up to take command while clocking the half mile in :44.36, held a short lead around the turn, then drove to victory under right-handed urging.
Havnameltdown, who returned $3.80, is owned by the trio of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who also sent out runner-up Newgate as well as Hard to Figure.
Havnameltdown ran the seven panels in 1:21.68 on a track rated as fast. The stakes victory was Baffert's 154th at Del Mar, adding to his record total that has him 69 winners ahead of his next closest pursuer.
Practical Move, finished third, another 2 1/2 lengths behind Newgate. Hard to Figure tired and faded to finish last in five-horse field.
The winner picked up a check for $60,000 for his efforts and increased his earnings to $288,000.
Bred in Florid by Katherine S. Devall, Havnameltown is out of the Put It Back mare Ashley's Babe. He was a $200,000 purchase at the OBS April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where Blaz Perez Stable consigned after buying him for $16,000 at the 2021 OBS October Yearling Sale.
BOB HOPE STAKES QUOTES
JUAN HERNANDEZ (Havnmeltdown, winner) – “He broke nice and easy today. Before in his races he was slingshotting out of there. Today he was more professional. Our other horse (trainer Baffert's Hard to Figure) inside of us on the rail was trying to get out into us, but my horse took it well. He's learning how to run. After we cleared that other horse, I had a nice trip from there.”
BOB BAFERT'S ASSISTANT TRAINER JIMMY BARNES (Havnameltdown, winner) – “He broke well and sat just off them there. Newgate was in a position where he had a good chance, and they both finished together down the stretch so we couldn't be happier. He's (Havnameltdown) developed into a really nice horse and he likes it here at Del Mar.”
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