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.

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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.

 

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Prat Increases Lead In Del Mar Jockey Standings, Looks To Add More Saturday

With two wins yesterday, Flavien Prat increased his lead from four to six victories over Abel Cedillo and five to seven over Juan Hernandez atop the jockey standings entering the final 11 days of the 31-day meeting. Prat is looking to make it three straight riding titles at the summer meeting and five of the last six either taken outright or shared.

Prat has recorded six stakes victories, working toward the record 14 stakes in a season he established last year.

And, in terms of quantity and quality, the 29-year-old native of France appears positioned to advance toward both those goals with his mounts on the TVG Pacific Class Day program that is the annual highlight of the season.

Prat has mounts scheduled in all 11 races, five of which are stakes. In the six non-stakes events he is booked on two morning-line favorites – Barbwire (5th, 3-1) and Dream Shake (8th, 7-2) — and has no mounts higher than 4-1 in the early odds. During the run of five stakes in six races, here are Prat's runners on oddsmaker Jon White's morning line:

Race 6, Torrey Pines – Private Mission for trainer Bob Baffert, 9-5 favorite.

Race 7, Del Mar Mile – Mo Forza for trainer Peter Miller, 8-5 favorite.

Race 9, Del Mar Oaks – Going Global for trainer Phil D'Amato, 9-5 favorite.

Race 10, Pacific Classic – Tizamagician for trainer Richard Mandella, 4-1, co-fourth choice.

Race 11, Del Mar Handicap – United for Mandella, 2-1 favorite.

Of course, all that stands in the way of Prat's success today is 83 other horses and 22 other riders intent on success of their own.

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Five Set To Start In Rancho Bernardo At Del Mar

A field of five was entered today for Friday's $100,000 Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap, the first of seven graded stakes during TVG Pacific Classic weekend at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

Five graded events, topped by the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic are part of an 11-race card on Saturday. The $100,000 Grade 3 Green Flash on a nine-race program on Sunday wraps up the stakes smorgasbord.

Stellar Sound and Scotish Star, a pair of 4-year-old fillies who finished 1-2 in a six-furlong allowance race at Del Mar on July 29 return for a rematch with an added sixteenth of a mile to run in the Rancho Bernardo.

The field from the rail with jockeys in parentheses: Scotish Star (Flavien Prat); Candura (Umberto Rispoli); Stellar Sound (Juan Hernandez); Edgeway (Joe Bravo); and Proud Emma (Mike Smith).

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