It should be no shock that the path to glory in the GIII Best Pal S. will pass through the barn of Bob Baffert at Del Mar Sunday afternoon. He'll bring back a pair of 'TDN Rising Stars' in $2m OBS March sales topper Muth (Good Magic) and $950,000 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Sale grad Prince of Monaco (Speightstown). Both colts impressed in their lone prior starts–Muth earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure in his gate-to-wire 8 3/4-length blowout at Santa Anita June 18 while Prince of Monaco rolled home by eight in almost an identical time for five furlongs at Los Alamitos July 9.
The only other entry in this five-horse field given any sort of respect on the morning line is Tranche (Collected) for trainer Luis Mendez. While it took him three tries to break his maiden, he graduated in stakes company when taking the Fasig-Tipton Futurity S. by 7 1/4 lengths in gate-to-wire fashion at Santa Anita June 17.
Doug O'Neill's Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) is the only runner in the bunch to have a win over the Del Mar surface. He took his maiden race by 2 1/4 lengths on debut July 23 for owners Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis.
Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at both Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits.
Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. To follow are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga, Ellis Park and Del Mar and including any already-raced 2yo sales grads entered for the afternoon's juvenile graded stakes at the seaside oval:
Sunday, August 13, 2023 Saratoga 2, $136k, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:44 p.m. ET Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze Latte Lizzie (Catalina Cruiser), OBSAPR, 85,000, :10.1 Consigned by Randy Miles, agent Buyer: M D C Partners
Nikitis (Audible), OBSAPR, 535,000, :10 Consignor: Richardson Bloodstock, agent Buyer: Rich Schermerhorn, Jay Hanley & 30 Year Farm
Ellis 4, $70k, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 2:13 p.m. ET Rock Star Doctor (Connect), OBSMAR, 45,000, :21.4 Consignor: Eddie Woods, agent Buyer: Eddie Kenneally, agent
Saratoga 6, $83k, 2yo, f, 6f, 4:00 p.m. ET Azteca Stardust (Sharp Azteca)-AE, FTMMAY, 20,000, :10.4 Consignor: Grassroots Training & Sales LLC, agent Buyer: Frank Catapano & Nicholas Primpas
Day Away (Yoshida {Jpn}), FTJUN, 20,000, :10.3 Consignor: Crane Thoroughbred Services LLC, agent Buyer: Gary Contessa
Echo Lake (Catalina Cruiser), FTMMAY, 40,000, :10.2 Consignor: Paul Sharp, agent Buyer: Steven G Laymon
Handle On You (Solomini)-AE, FTMMAY, 37,000, :10.3 Consignor: Kings Equine, agent Buyer: Thorostock, agent
Lady Prospect (Runhappy), FTMMAY, 45,000, :10.1 Consignor: Six K's Training & Sales LLC, agent Buyer: Jon Taisey, agt for Big Dom Racing, Hibiscus & Big Toe (PS)
Del Mar 3, $82k, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 6:08 p.m. Acoustic Melody (Arrogate), OBSAPR, 250,000, :10.2 Consignor: White Lilac (Katie Miranda), agent Buyer: Mike Ryan, agent for Peter Redekop BC Ltd
Del Mar 4, Best Pal S.-GIII, 2yo, 6f, 6:38 p.m. ET Muth (Good Magic), OBSMAR, 2,000,000, :9.3 Consignor: Top Line Sales LLC, agent Buyer: Donato Lanni, agent
Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief), OBSAPR, 75,000, :10 Consignor: Randy Bradshaw, agent Buyer: Steve Rothblum, agent for Mark Davis
Muth (c, 2, Good Magic–Hoppa, Uncle Mo), a $2 million purchase back in March at OBS, certainly lived up to expectations Sunday afternoon at The Great Race Place as he won convincingly in his debut at odds of 1-5 and stamped himself as a newly-minted 'TDN Rising Star' for his efforts.
After settling down in the gate, the bay colt briefly broke outward, but flashed some strong early foot to seize the lead up the backstretch. Immediately distancing himself from the rest of the field, the Bob Baffert trainee poured on the power around the far turn. Into the stretch, despite the efforts of El Magnifico (Street Sense) and Harry Houdini, Juan Hernandez geared his mount down en route to break his maiden by 8 3/4 lengths.
The first of Hoppa's offspring to make the races, she also has a yearling filly by Violence and foaled a filly by Tacitus May 10. Second dam Handoverthecat (Tale of the Cat) passed away in 2017. Third dam Frayne (Red Ransom), who was sent to Saudi Arabia in 2011, is a full-sister to GSW Wandering Star.
Muth is the second 'Rising Star' for sire Good Magic, with other being Blazing Sevens, who was second in this year's GI Preakness S.
2nd-Santa Anita, $61,500, Msw, 6-18, 2yo, 5f, :57.29, ft, 8 3/4 lengths. MUTH, c, 2, by Good Magic 1st Dam: Hoppa by Uncle Mo 2nd Dam: Handoverthecat by Tale of the Cat 3rd Dam: Frayne, by Red Ransom
Sales History: $190,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $2,000,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $36,600. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
2nd-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 3:30 p.m.
When the hammer fell at OBS back in March, MUTH (Good Magic) was not only the session topper, but the 2-year-old tied the sale record with a final price of $2 million. Purchased by Amr Zedan and trained by Bob Baffert, the bay colt breezed during the under tack show by going 1/8 in :9 3/5. Muth debuts for these connections from the outside post with Juan Hernandez aboard. TJCIS PPS
1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, 1:05 p.m.
On Belmont's Sunday card, a juvenile named Wine On Tap (Tapit) makes her debut for Todd Pletcher. The gray filly, who cost $600,000 at the Keeneland September sale last fall, is the first offspring to make the races for GSW Princess La Quinta. Out of a female family which includes multi-million dollar Japanese earner Washington Color (Black Tie Affair), Wine On Tap gets the services of Irad Ortiz Jr. from post four. TJCIS PPS
8th-SA, $61K, Msw, 3yo-5yo, 6f, 6:30 p.m.
Another Bob Baffert trainee, this one a 3-year-old, makes his first start Sunday at Santa Anita. Fifth Street (Quality Road) fetched $950,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling sale. The bay colt's dam is a half-sister to Champion turf female and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Rushing Fall (More Than Ready). Also drawn in is stablemate Extortion (Into Mischief), who was purchased for $1 million at the '22 Keeneland November sale by Gandharvi LLC. He will be making his second start after a fourth-place debut May 29 at Santa Anita. TJCIS PPS
