The 'TDN Rising Star' spent some time at WinStar after his championships season and, with Bob Baffert serving his suspension, was sent to Pletcher in May with an eye on the late season sophomore highlights. (Click here for Pletcher's thoughts in Mike Kane's Saturday feature).

“We're hoping that with the good fortune we had with his sire Quality Road and him making his debut for us in the Amsterdam, which produced a track record performance, that hopefully some of that good fortune will follow through here,” said Pletcher, who seeks his fifth Amsterdam win.

While he will be the favorite, he won't have it easy. Corniche is joined by Grade I winner Gunite (Gun Runner) and graded stakes-winning fellow Pletcher trainee My Prankster (Into Mischief), who finished one-two in Churchill's Maxfield S. last out July 3. The champ also faces one of his former shedrow mates from the Baffert barn in GISW Pinehurst (Twirling Candy).

Also on tap at Saratoga Sunday is the GII Bowling Green S. for turf marathoners. Grade I winners Arklow (Arch) and Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).

Juju's Map Headlines Monmouth Oaks

Never worse than second in a juvenile campaign that included a win in the GI Darley Alcibiades S., Juju's Map (Liam's Map) looks to return to winning ways Sunday in the GIII Monmouth Oaks. Making her seasonal debut with a dominant optional claimer score on the GI Kentucky Oaks undercard, the dark bay checked in third as the favorite last out in Belmont's GII Mother Goose S. June 25.

She will be made to work for it though with the presence of Meydan sensation and 'TDN Rising Star' Shahama (Munnings), who receives Lasix for the first time Sunday. The $425,000 OBSAPR acquisition was second in the Mother Goose after rallying for sixth in the Oaks.

A pair of Gun Runner fillies look to add to their sire's stakes success at Monmouth last weekend in SW Shotgun Hottie and GSP Runaway Wife.

Sunday's graded action wraps at Del Mar with the GII Eddie Read S., where GII Charles Whittingham S. top two Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) and Masteroffoxhounds (War Front) top the field.

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Trained by Michael McCarthy, Law Professor, who came off a five-month freshening to rally and win a first condition allowance going a mile on turf Nov. 27 at Del Mar, was off at 4-1 in a field of nine sophomores and paid $10.20, $4.60 and $3.20.

Owned by Twin Creeks Racing Stables, LLC, Law Professor, who was making his second graded stakes start, tracked Beyond Brilliant to the far turn, and drew alongside a quarter mile from home in a hard-earned victory.  Law Professor, a colt by Constitution, now has three wins from seven starts and with the winner's share of $120,000, increased his earnings to $226,640.

A winner of the G1 Hollywood Derby in his most recent start, Beyond Brilliant was off at 7-5  and paid $3.20 and $2.60 while finishing some 8 ½ lengths clear of Tarantino.

Off at 8-1 with Juan Hernandez up, Tarantino paid $5.20 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.26, 46.65, 1:10.95 and 1:23.62.

“I thought he was much better than what he showed,” said Ortiz. “When he made the lead he started wandering around, he didn't give me one hundred percent. I think he's a little bit better than what he showed today. I was showing my rein to change it up and keep his attention. When I did that he responded well, I caught his attention and kept doing that to the wire.”

“He is a little bit on the difficult side,” said McCarthy. “He hasn't quite totally figured it out yet.  I thought his last win at Del Mar was very professional. I was looking forward to running him on the grass today, I also thought about running him on the dirt at Los Alamitos. I thought he broke well here when he broke his maiden, but he really hasn't put it all together yet, when he does, I think it will be very exciting. It's great to have a horse that is as versatile as him, I don't know what it holds for him just yet but after what we saw today we may think about putting a little blinker back on him. We have a lot of options at play, it's very exciting.”

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In what was the best race of his career, Beyond Brilliant controlled the pace throughout en route to taking the G1 Hollywood Derby at a mile and one eighth on turf Nov. 27 at Del Mar. Off at 10-1 in a field of 14, Beyond Brilliant, who was a close third two starts back in the G2 Twilight Derby here on Oct. 31, has now won two out of his last three races—all with Kent Desormeaux, who rides back on Sunday.

A bay colt by Twirling Candy, Beyond Brilliant is owned by Lee and Susan Searing's C R K Stable LLC and is 9-3-2-2 with earnings of $381,280.

Originally trained by Baffert, Du Jour was sent to trainer Bill Mott to run in the G1 Belmont Derby July 10, a race in which he finished fourth. Subsequently third in the G1 Saratoga Derby Aug. 7, he was most recently a dull eighth as the 9-5 favorite in the ungraded Dueling Downs Derby going 1 5/16 miles on turf Sept. 5 at Kentucky Downs. Following that race, Du Jour was returned to Baffert at Santa Anita and the bay colt by Temple City has a series of six drills, all on Santa Anita's inner training track, for his return.

Twin Creeks Racing's homebred Law Professor comes off a sharp off the pace win in a first condition allowance going one mile on turf Nov. 27 at Del Mar and appears to have found a home on the grass. Trained by Michael McCarthy, this gelding by Constitution earned an 85 Beyer in his most recent start and should get a lively pace to run at on Sunday.

THE GRADE 2 SANTA ANITA MATHIS MILE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGTHS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 11 Approximate post time 2 p.m. PT

1. None Above the Law—Joe Bravo—124
2. Tarantino—Juan Hernandez—120
3. Airman—Umberto Rispoli—120
4. Zoffarelli—Drayden Van Dyke–122
5. Cane Creek Road—Victor Espinoza—120
6. Flashiest—Abel Cedillo—122
7. Du Jour—Flavien Prat–122
8. Beyond Brilliant—Kent Desormeaux—124
9. Law Professor—Jose Ortiz—120

One of six graded stakes on Sunday, the Santa Anita Mathis Mile has been carded as the seventh race on an 11-race Opening Day program which gets underway at 11 a.m. Admission gates open at 9 a.m.

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The holiday weekend card featured seven stakes races on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Riding for trainer Phil D'Amato on Friday, Desormeaux was aboard the stretch-running Say the Word for the first time in the G2 Hollywood Turf Cup. Say the Word was last in the field of seven for the first mile of the 1 1/2-mile contest for 3-year-olds and up. Desormeaux swung Say the Word to the outside at the top of the stretch and in a drive to the wire overtook his stablemate Acclimate to win by a length in 2:27.62. The win was Desormeaux's first in the Hollywood Turf Cup.

Trainer John Shirreffs gave a leg up to Desormeaux on Beyond Brilliant in Saturday's G1 Hollywood Derby. In the field of 14, Desormeaux was riding Beyond Brilliant for the third time. From an inside post, the duo made every pole a winning one finishing the nine furlong test over Santin by a neck in 1:48.84.

“All the credit for this win goes to the barn,” said Desormeaux to the Del Mar publicity office. “They've done wonders with this horse the past month. When I rode him last time (10/31) at Santa Anita, he was a handful to control. Today he was easy.”

The victory was the first for Desormeaux in the Hollywood Derby. He has 87 stakes wins at Del Mar, ninth most of all riders.

After a slow start to the meet, Hall of Famer Desormeaux came on strong to finish 4th in the Del Mar standings with 10 wins and $1,153,196 in purses.

Desormeaux outpolled Tyler Gaffalione who was the leading rider in wins for the week, Jose Lezcano who won three stakes races, Jose Ortiz with two Grade 1 stakes and one Grade 3, and Irad Ortiz, Jr. who won four stakes races.

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Taken in order in which they were achieved:

Three Diamond Farm's Field Pass, a 4-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid, recorded career win number eight in his 23rd career start in the $250,000 Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap and the $150,000 winner's share of the purse boosted his career earnings to $913,143. Nolan Ramsey is trainer Mike Maker's assistant in charge of West Coast operations.

“Everybody's happy for the horse,” Ramsey said this morning. “He's a hard-trying horse and it's nice to see him punch his ticket. As far as what's next, the San Gabriel at Santa Anita (Park in Arcadia, Calif.) is an option but we have options back east as well.

“As of right now, he's booked on a flight to go back east Tuesday, but we'll find out today what we're going to do.”

The win by Tezzaray in the $100,000 G3 Jimmy Durante was the second in as many starts for trainer Peter Miller since being imported from England last summer. Ruben Alvarado, who is taking over as Miller takes a step back from training, said all three of the stable's Durante entrants – Liam's Dove (5th) and Travel Smart (6th), in addition to Tezzaray, were fine.

“I thought all three of my fillies ran very well and were given great rides,” Miller said after the race. “It's nice to win a stakes race on the way out.”

Trainer John Shirreffs said by text that Beyond Brilliant, winner of the $400,000 G1 Hollywood Derby was looking very good Sunday morning. “He had his head out waiting for his early morning feed. That's always a good sign.”

It was the third victory in nine starts for Beyond Brilliant, owned by the C R K Stable of Lee and Susan Searing of Arcadia. The $240,000 winner's share of the purse, earned via a masterful wire-to-wire guidance by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, raised the son of Twirling Candy's earnings to  $381,280.

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In a full field of 14, Desormeaux put Beyond Brilliant on the lead right out of the gate, setting early fractions of :23.96 and :49.23 as he strode out to a length and a half lead. On the far turn, Team Merchants challenged, shrinking Beyond Brilliant's lead to a half-length as the field hit the top of the stretch. The son of Twirling Candy repelled the challenge, increasing his lead to a length as Desormeaux set his mount down for the stretch drive.

Beyond Brilliant was clear of the field until the last sixteenth of the mile when Subconscious and then Santin came on with their final rallies for the lead, Santin shrinking Beyond Brilliant's lead down to a neck at the wire. Cathkin Peak (IRE) was third and Public Sector fourth.

The final time for the 1 1/8 miles over the firm turf was 1:48.84. Find this race's chart here.

Beyond Brilliant paid $23.80, $11.80, and $7.40. Santin paid $15.80 and $8.20. Cathkin Peak paid $4.60.

“All credit for this win goes to the barn. They've done wonders with this horse over the past month. When I rode him last time (October 31 at Santa Anita), he was a handful to control. Today he was easy. He was dry as a bone in the paddock and he was happy out on the racetrack. His mind was right. And he showed he can sprint that last part,” jockey Kent Desormeaux said after the race.

“This horse likes to be on the lead or close to the lead and obviously with a big field that's a good place to be. And Kent Desormeaux is riding great right now, isn't he? I'm gonna put Kent on more horses he's riding so well. I'm thankful for him doing it for us today,” trained John Shirreffs told the Del Mar Press Office after the Hollywood Derby.

Bred in Kentucky by Fred W. Hertrich III, John D. Fielding, and Robert L. Tribbett, Beyond Brilliant is out of the First Defence mare Summer On the Lawn. The 3-year-old colt is owned by C R K Stable LLC. Consigned by Kings Equine, the son of Twirling Candy was purchased by Mayberry Farm for $200,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Mid-Atlantic Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale. With his win in the G1 Hollywood Derby, Beyond Brilliant has three wins in nine starts in 2021 for career earnings of $381,280.

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Desormeaux has found a purple patch of form over the last week or so at the seaside oval, winning with eight of his mounts since Nov. 20, a streak that also included the $100,000 Cary Grant S. aboard longshot Principe Carlo (Coil) Nov. 21 and Friday's Turf Cup. A three-time Kentucky Derby winner, the Hall of Famer was winning his first Hollywood Derby Saturday.

Ridden positively from gate two, Beyond Brilliant had some token early pressure from Team Merchants (Nyquist), but was clearly in front with a circuit to travel and went through the opening couple of furlongs in :23.96. Desormeaux got Beyond Brilliant to switch off beautifully in the middle furlongs–the half was up in :49.23 and three-quarters in 1:13.62–and began to feel for his mount in earnest with 2 1/2 furlongs to travel. Asked to kick off the home corner, Beyond Brilliant pinched a bit of a break under energetic handling and covered his final eighth of a mile in :11.88 to score narrowly. Santin was able to sit a three-wide trip with cover for the opening seven furlongs, followed the move of the well-bet Subconscious (Tapit) while going better than that one into the lane and got to within a neck of the winner on the line. Cathkin Park parlayed an inside trip into a board placing.

A seven-length maiden winner going a mile on dirt at Santa Anita June 13, Beyond Brilliant was well-beaten in two subsequent tries on the main track, but–with Desormeaux in the irons for the first time–went gate to wire over this turf course Sept. 6. He was unable to make the lead from the 10 hole in the GII Twilight Derby in Arcadia Oct. 31, but fought on gamely to round out the triple beneath Subconscious and Cathkin Peak.

“All credit for this win goes to the barn,” Desormeaux said. “They've done wonders with this horse over the past month. When I rode him last time, he was a handful to control. Today he was easy. He was dry as a bone in the paddock and he was happy out on the racetrack. His mind was right. And he showed he can sprint that last part.”

Pedigree Notes:

Beyond Brilliant is the 33rd stakes winner, 13th graded winner and seventh Grade I winner, two of which have accomplished that feat on the grass.

The winner, whose half-brother Ainoa (Blame) was scheduled to compete in an allowance race on dirt at Hanshin Sunday afternoon (Japan time), is out of a winning half-sister to MGSW & GISP Summer Applause (Harlan's Holiday) and MSP Big Easy (Gulch). His third dam was responsible for the outstanding Chicago-based handicap horse of the late 1990s Recoup the Cash (Copelan). Barren to City of Light for 2020, Summer On the Lawn produced a Mitole filly this past February and was most recently covered by More Than Ready.

Saturday, Del Mar
HOLLYWOOD DERBY-GI, $404,500, Del Mar, 11-27, 3yo,
1 1/8mT, 1:48.84, fm.
1–BEYOND BRILLIANT, 122, c, 3, by Twirling Candy
1st Dam: Summer On the Lawn, by First Defence
2nd Dam: Summer Exhibition, by Royal Academy
3rd Dam: Dewan's Flag, by Dewan
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN,
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($50,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo
'20 EASMAY). O-C R K Stable LLC; B-Fred W. Hertrich III, John
Fielding & Robert L. Tribbett (KY); T-John A. Shirreffs;
J-Kent J. Desormeaux. $240,000. Lifetime Record: 9-3-2-2,
$381,280. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. **Triple Plus**
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Santin, 122, c, 3, Distorted Humor–Sentiero Italia, by
Medaglia d'Oro. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE,
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Godolphin, LLC; B-Godolphin (KY);
T-Brendan P. Walsh. $80,000.
3–Cathkin Peak (Ire), 122, g, 3, Alhebayeb (Ire)–Drumcliffe
Dancer (Ire), by Footstepsinthesand (GB). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE.
(€0 RNA Wlg '18 GOFNOV; €17,000 Ylg '19 GOFSPT). O-CYBT,
Sterling Stables, LLC & Michael Nentwig; B-G. Kinch (IRE);
T-Philip D'Amato. $48,000.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, HD. Odds: 10.90, 17.70, 7.10.
Also Ran: Public Sector (GB), Subconscious, Zoffarelli (Ire), Flashiest, Sifting Sands (GB), Hudson Ridge, Camp Hope, It Can Be Done, Dicey Mo Chara (GB), Team Merchants, In Effect. Scratched: Airman.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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