Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Quality Road OBS April Topper Lives Up to Hype, Earns ‘Rising Stardom’

Corniche (c, 2, Quality Road–Wasted Tears, by Najran), the $1.5-million OBS April topper earlier this spring, lived up to his lofty reputation with a 'TDN Rising Star' debut performance for Bob Baffert at Del Mar Saturday evening.

The 1-2 favorite caught a flyer beneath Hall of Famer Mike Smith and cleared the field from his wide draw in post 10. He led them comfortably through early fractions of :21.72 and :45.13, kicked for home in complete control and cruised under the wire after a shake of the reins to a facile 4 1/4-length victory. Apprehend (Arrogate) was second.

The final time for 5 1/2 furlongs was a sharp 1:03.01. Corniche becomes the 10th 'Rising Star' for Quality Road.

The son of six-time GSW and GI Matriarch S. runner-up Wasted Tears (Najran) was led out unsold on a bid of $385,000 at KEESEP last year, but turned in a smooth sales breeze in :10 flat to become one of two horses to eclipse the seven-figure barrier in Ocala.

Wasted Tears, also responsible for the late stakes-placed Coffee Crush (Medaglia d'Oro), had a filly by Mendelssohn in 2020.

Speedway Stables and Baffert also teamed up for a win with Quality Road's 'Rising Star' Roadster in the 2019 GI Santa Anita Derby and a runner-up finish in the GI Malibu S.

10th-Del Mar, $72,500, Msw, 9-4, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:03.01, ft, 4 1/4 lengths.
CORNICHE, c, 2, by Quality Road
1st Dam: Wasted Tears (MGSW & GISP, $941,463), by Najran
2nd Dam: Wishes and Roses, by Greinton (GB)
3rd Dam: Anniversary Wish, by Beau's Eagle
Sales history: $385,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP; $1,500,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $42,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
O-Speedway Stables LLC; B-Bart Evans & Stonehaven Steadings (KY); T-Bob Baffert.

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Elm Drive, Eda Face Off Again in Del Mar Debutante

Little Red Feather Racing's Elm Drive (Mohaymen) and Baoma Corporation's Eda (Munnings), who were separated by just a head after battling the length of the stretch in the GIII Sorrento S. Aug. 6, renew their rivalry in the GI TVG Del Mar Debutante Sunday. Elm Drive, trained by Phil D'Amato, romped by eight lengths in her five-furlong debut at Los Alamitos June 26 and refused to let Eda by when winning the six-furlong Sorrento.

Eda has yet to finish in front in her two-race career. The Bob Baffert trainee inherited the victory via disqualification after finishing a nose runner-up in her June 19 debut and couldn't get by a determined Elm Drive in the Sorrento.

Michael Lund Petersen, who enjoyed Grade I success at Saratoga last weekend when his champion Gamine (Into Mischief) won the GI Ballerina S., will look to double up on the West Coast when Grace Adler (Curlin) goes postward Sunday at Del Mar. Co-owned with Willow Grace Farm and trained by Baffert, the $700,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga purchase battled to a 3/4-length debut score going five furlongs at Del Mar July 31. She enters the seven-furlong Debutante off six-furlong drills Aug. 23 and Aug. 30.

Baffert has won the last two runnings of the Debutante, with Bast in 2019 and Princess Noor in 2020, and has won the race nine times since 1995.

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Pinehurst, Murray Head Field For Monday’s Del Mar Futurity

The curtain comes ringing down on a highly successful Del Mar race meeting Labor Day Monday with a pair of juvenile stakes races topping the bill – the championship-caliber Grade 1 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity and the Del Mar Juvenile Turf.

There will be 10 races offered on the holiday with an early first post of 1:30 p.m. The Juvenile Fillies Turf will run as Race 9 a bit after 5 p.m. and the Runhappy Futurity will follow as Race 10 shortly after 5:30.

A half-dozen well-bred and well-meant colts will put on a show in the $300,000 Futurity, which will be contested at its usual distance of seven furlongs. No fewer than three Hall of Fame trainers will take a crack at this 74th edition of the race including one – Bob Baffert – who is known as Mr. Futurity in these parts.

Baffert, who has two runners for the race, has won Del Mar's top event for 2-year-olds 14 times, starting with his champion Silver Charm in 1996. The other two Hall of Famers – Mark Casse and Steve Asmussen – each have a single entrant in the extended sprint, but, in both cases, they've come loaded for bear.

Baffert's pair are SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Golconda Stable, Stonestreet Stable, et al's Murray and SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, et al's Pinehurst. Both were impressive straight maiden winners earlier in the Del Mar meet and, with Baffert's mo-jo behind them, both will draw many eyes and heavy action Monday.

Casse's runner is Best Pal Stakes winner Pappacap, who is a homebred for Rustlewood Farm and Asmussen's starter is Downstream Racing's American Xperiment, who won smartly in a straight maiden race at Saratoga on July 30.

The Juvenile Turf drew nine 2-year-old for a mile spin on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course with a $100,000 purse as a target for them to shoot at.

The morning-line favorite in the race is Sierra Racing or Sterling Stables' Silver Surfer, a gray gelding who has been racing exclusively in Ireland and came stateside to trainer Phil D'Amato's barn in July. He's listed at 5/2 to capture the 10th running of the stakes, which serves as a prep for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf scheduled to be run at Del Mar on November 5.

Here are the full fields for both races with riders and morning line odds:

Runhappy Del Mar Futurity – Pappacap (Joe Bravo, 3-1); Opas or Sinatra's Olympic Legend (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 12-1); Lovingier, Fasihuddin or Navarro's Finneus (Tiago Pereira, 12-1); Pinehurst (Mike Smith, 5/2); Murray (Flavien Prat, 2-1), and American Xperiment (Umberto Rispoli, 5/2).

Del Mar Juvenile Turf – Silver Surfer (Bravo); Paradise Farms, Staudachere, et al's My Mane Champ (Rispoli, 12-1); Martin or Yamamoto's Mogollon Rim (Flavien Prat, 6-1); Sergio Zepeda Jr.'s Shortman (Valdivia, Jr., 30-1); ERJ Racing or Kenney's Mackinnon (Juan Hernandez, 3-1); Peter Redekop's Aquitania Arrival (Abel Cedillo, 5-1); Aldan Butler's Thirty Four Coupe (Smith, 15-1); Red Barons Barn or Rancho Temescal's Optimising (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1), and Thomsen Racing's Socal Red (Pereira, 20-1).

Monday's card is the 31st and final day of summer season No. 82 at the shore oval. The track will return to action on Wednesday, November 3 for its 15-day fall session that will include the Breeders' Cup Championship races on November 5 and 6.

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Pair Of Baffert Trainees Headline Sextet For Del Mar Futurity

Six colts were entered Friday for Monday's 74th running of the Grade 1, $300,000 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity, the traditional closing day feature of the summer meeting.

Six appears to be an operative number for the seven-furlong extended sprint for 2-year-olds that determines the 2-year-old champion of the meeting. If all leave the starting gate it will be the third time in the last four years, and the fifth in the last seven, that a six-pack comprised the field.

And the 2021 running may have more Hall of Fame trainers, per horse capita, than ever before.

Steve Asmussen, Hall of Fame Class of 2016, has dispatched a representative, American Xperiment, from Saratoga. The son of 2015 Runhappy Futurity winner Nyquist will have had five days to acclimate to Del Mar surroundings leading up to the race after being supplementally entered at a cost of $10,000.

“He got here Tuesday, he arrived in good order and we're hoping he runs well,” said Asmussen assistant Sarah Campion, who travelled with American Xperiment. “He broke his maiden impressively at Saratoga, so Steve decided to send him out.”

In his racing debut on July 30, American Xperiment went wire-to-wire over a muddy track in a race taken off the turf and won over six rivals by 5 ¼ lengths.

Mark Casse, Hall of Fame Class of 2020, has Pappacap, winner of the Best Pal Stakes on Aug. 7 in his second career start and second win.

And Bob Baffert, Hall of Fame Class of 2009 – who has 14 Futurity wins on his resume dating back to 1996 – will send out Murray and Pinehurst.

“They both broke their maidens here and they've both trained well since,” Baffert said.

Murray, a son of Street Sense who was a $300,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland last September, was a romping 10 ½-length winner on July 25. Pinehurst, a son of Twirling Candy acquired for $385,000 at the same sale, overcame bumping at the start for half-length victory at five furlongs on August 1.

The fifth entrant is Finneus, a California-bred son of Stay Thirsty who was a $200,000 purchase last year. He has one win in three starts and was the runner-up to Pappacap in the Best Pal last out. Trainer Walther Solis helped in the development of some of Baffert's earliest Futurity winners while serving as manager for the Golden Eagle Farm of John and Betty Mabee.

The sixth is Olympic Legend, a son of Street Boss owned by Larry Opas and Frank Sinatra and trained by Luis Mendez. Olympic Legend broke his maiden in his second career start on June 27 at Los Alamitos.

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