Mo Forza Repeats In Del Mar Mile

A year ago, Mo Forza surged to the front in the last eighth of the 2020 Del Mar Mile, winning the Grade 2 stakes by 4 1/4 lengths. In the 2021 edition, the 5-year-old had to work a little harder to find the winner's circle, overcoming a slow pace to sprint past Smooth Like Strait in the final strides, winning his second Del Mar Mile by a head on Pacific Classic Day at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

Off of a ten-month layoff, Mo Forza ducked in at the start of the G2 stakes, cutting off Count Again to take up position behind leader Nepture's Storm, Smooth Like Strait, and Hit the Road. On the front end, Nepture's Storm ran the first quarter of a mile in :23.69 and then slowed the pace down, the half-mile timed at :48.52. Mo Forza lingered toward the back of the short field, seven lengths off Neptune's Storm through the backstretch. On the turn, jockey Flavien Prat asked his horse to go, taking him to the outside for their closing run.

Into the stretch, Smooth Like Strait moved past Nepture's Storm, taking a short lead in the last eighth, but both Hit the Road and Mo Forza were on the move. Mo Forza closed fastest, passing Smooth LIke Strait in the last yards, hitting the wire a head in front of Smooth Like Strait. Hit the Road was third with Nepture's Storm and Count Again rounding out the field.

The final time for the G2 Del Mar Mile was 1:35.03. Find this race's chart here.

Mo Forza paid $4.20, $2.60, and $2.10. Smooth Like Strait paid $2.60 and $2.20. Hit the Road paid $2.60.

He did it last year and he did it again this year, so all the credit goes to the trainer.  He broke well and then relaxed nicely for me.  He really responded when I asked him to run and we were in a sprint from the eighth mile pole home.  I knew we got up,” Prat said after the race.

“I was worried if I had him fit enough, I really was,” trainer Peter Miller said after the Del Mar Mile. “But he's a champion and he's got that heart of a champion. I'm just glad I had him fit enough. Just enough.”

Bred in Kentucky by Bardy Farm, Mo Forza is by Coolmore stallion Uncle Mo out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed. Trained by Peter Miller, the 5-year-old is owned by Bardy Farm and OG Boss. With this win, Mo Forza has a lifetime record of seven wins in 13 starts for career earnings of $914,460.

The post Mo Forza Repeats In Del Mar Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Private Mission Much The Best In Torrey Pines At Del Mar

Private Mission added graded stakes winner to her resume with her win in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. Ridden by leading jockey Flavien Prat, the daughter of Into Mischief took the lead entering the far turn and sailed away to an easy 6 1/2-length victory for owner Baoma Corporation and trainer Bob Baffert.

Breaking from the outside post, Prat held Private Mission a half-length off of early leader Lady Mystify as the Peter Eurton-trained filly logged fractions of :22.28 for the first quarter-mile and :46.71 for the half-mile. As the field of seven rounded the final turn, Private Mission took over, moving past Lady Mystify under a hand ride from Prat. Into the stretch, she stretched her advantage out with ease, the field unable able to mount any serious challenge. I'm So Anna was second and Forest Caraway took third. Lisette, Lady Mystify, Day Plan, and Jeanne B rounded out the field.

The final time for the one-mile Torrey Pine was 1:37.89. Find this race's chart here.

Private Mission paid $4.00, $3.20, and $2.20. I'm So Anna paid $6.00 and $2.80. Forest Caraway paid $2.10.

“She broke really well from the gate and put me right into the race. She got a little aggressive down the backstretch, so I gave her a little bit of a breather until the turn for home,” Flavien Prat said after the race. “When I asked her, she really dug in and got it done. She won pretty easily.”

“We didn't know what she was going to do, but we always thought she could run long. This was a good spot and she passed the route test. That's very important. That's where all the money is,” Baffert commented after the Torrey Pines.

Bred in Kentucky by Mount Brilliant Broodmares, Private Missions is by leading sire Into Mischief out of the Unbridled mare Private Gift. Consigned by Lane's End, Baoma Corporation, the nom du course for Charles Chu, paid $750,000 for Private Mission at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. With three wins in four lifetime starts, the 3-year-old filly has career earnings of $136,800.

 

The post Private Mission Much The Best In Torrey Pines At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Pacific Classic Day Could See Record Handle, Pick Six To Include $1.87 Million Carryover

Del Mar's single-day betting mark (not counting the two Breeders' Cup days held here in 2017), could tumble today thanks to a terrific racing card and a $1,874,996 carryover into today's Pick Six Single Ticket Jackpot wager.

TVG Pacific Classic Day has been designated as one of two “mandatory payout” dates (the other is closing day), which means that all monies in the pool – including the carryover – will be paid out this afternoon to those with the most winners in the six-race bet.

The current single-day mark is the $25,870,431 wagered on TVG Pacific Classic Day on August 18, 2018.

Estimates of anywhere from $6- to $10-million in “new money” in the Pick Six pool today would most assuredly push the one-day betting handle above the former mark, possibly into the $30-million-plus range.

The track's 20¢ Pick Six Single Ticket Jackpot wager has carried over 18 times since it was hit on Day 2 of the current meet.

The post Pacific Classic Day Could See Record Handle, Pick Six To Include $1.87 Million Carryover appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Gregorian Chant Heads Green Flash Field At Del Mar

Slam Dunk Racing and Old Bones Racing Stable's Gregorian Chant, ending an 11-week layoff, carries 5-2 morning line favoritism against seven rivals in Sunday's $100,000 Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

The Green Flash, a five-furlong sprint over the Jimmy Durante Turf Course, is the last of seven graded stakes presented during the three-day Pacific Classic weekend with combined purses totaling $1.95 million.

Gregorian Chant, a 5-year-old English-bred gelding, took a three-race winning streak at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., to Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for the Grade 1 Jaipur on June 5 and, after being forwardly-placed early in the six-furlong turf sprint, tired and finished seventh of nine.

“I don't think it was as much the (listed 'good') turf as the tactics,” trainer Phil D'Amato said. “He likes to come from off the pace and we wound up dueling with the co-favorite on the lead.”

Brought back to the West Coast and given a break, Gregorian Chant has had five turf works here since the July 16 start of the meeting.

“We freshened him up with this race in mind,” D'Amato said. “We'll see if the distance is good for him for the Breeders' Cup.”

The $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint will be run over the same course on Saturday, November 6.

The field for the Green Flash from the rail out with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Kneedeepinsnow (Drayden Van Dyke, 20-1); Texas Wedge (Umberto Rispoli, 6-1); Lieutenant Dan (Giovanni Franco, 7-2); Collusion Illusion (Flavien Prat, 7-2); Chasin Munny (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 10-1); Little Juanito (Ricky Gonzalez, 6-1); Give Me the Lute (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1), and Gregorian Chant (Juan Hernandez).

The post Gregorian Chant Heads Green Flash Field At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights