Phil D'Amato | Horse Racing Free Tips

D’Amato Readies Two For Yellow Ribbon, Cathkin Peak For La Jolla

Trainer Phil D'Amato reported Saturday morning that 2-year-old filly Elm Drive came out of her victory in Friday's $200,000 Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes “really good” physically.

And if the Kentucky-bred daughter of Mohaymen, a $165,000 purchase at the Ocala sale in March who carries the colors of Little Red Feather Racing stays that way, she'll next be seen in the $300,000 Grade 1 TVG Del Mar Debutante on September 5.

“Yup, absolutely,” was D'Amato's response when the Debutante was mentioned in the winner's circle after she prevailed by a head over Baoma Corp's Eda in a stretch-long duel while covering six furlongs in 1:10.64.

“She broke on top then Juan (Hernandez) got her to rate, make a move and fight off a rival to her outside the length of the stretch. I just thought that's the epitome of class. Very professional, and I think she's the type of filly that the longer (the races) the better.”

Having chalked up one stakes victory for the weekend, D'Amato will send out Raymundos Secret (6-1) and Charmaine's Mia (4-1) in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon and narrowly favored (2-1) Cathkin Peak in Sunday's $150,000 Grade 3 La Jolla Stakes as a possible closer to three consecutive big days.

Irish-bred Cathkin Peak made his U.S. debut at Del Mar in late November a winning one and followed that with a December victory in the $80,000 Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Kicking off his 3-year-old campaign this year, Cathkin Peak was second to soon-to-be Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World in the $100,000 Pasadena Stakes in February and has gone unraced since.

“He had a couple of little things we needed to deal with, but he never left the barn and he has come back to train really well,” D'Amato said. Cathkin Peak will go 1 1/16 miles, the longest assignment of his career, in the La Jolla – second leg in the grass stakes series for 3-year-olds during the Del Mar summer. His previous starts were all at a mile.

“He's really tactical,” D'Amato said. “If there's not a lot of pace, he can be up close; if there is, he can sit back and make a late move. Juan can play the break and try to have him in the right spot.”

The field for the La Jolla from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parenthesis: Stilleto Boy (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1); Wyfire (Kyle Frey, 12-1); Hudson Ridge (Abel Cedillo, 5-2); Cathkin Peak (Juan Hernandez, 2-1); Zoffarelli (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1), and Sword Zorro (Umberto Rispoli, 4-1).

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La Jolla, Graduation Stakes Headline Sunday Card At Del Mar

Stakes horses will once again double up for a Del Mar crowd, this time on Sunday with the presentation of the 81st La Jolla Stakes and the 70th edition of the Graduation Stakes. The races will go as the 6th and 9th races, respectively, on the shore track's 10-race program.

The La Jolla, a Grade 3 affair that carries a purse of $150,000, has drawn a half-dozen 3-year-olds for a mile and one-sixteenth jaunt on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course at Del Mar Thorughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. The Graduation also has drawn six California-bred 2-year-old starters for its five and one-half furlong spin on the main track. It offers a purse of $100,000.

The Irish horse Cathkin Peak, owned by Sterling Stables, Nentwig, and CYBT, is a candidate to be the favorite in the La Jolla. A bay son of the Irish stallion Alhebayeb, Cathkin Peak raced once in his native land as a 2-year-old, then was purchased privately and shipped to California where he won a pair of races, including the overnight Eddie Logan at Santa Anita Park last December. He subsequently chased home the blossoming star Rock Your World in February's Pasadena Stakes, also at Santa Anita, then went on the shelf. This will be his first start in nearly six months, but trainer Phil D'Amato has put a series of steady works into him for this comeback.

Double L Stable and Natalie Baffert's Hudson Ridge hails from the powerful Bob Baffert barn and is a son of one of Baffert's Triple Crown winners, American Pharoah. The colt broke his maiden with a dead-head score in a straight maiden race at Santa Anita on May 1 and came back to win a pair of races after that, including the Cinema Stakes.

Two of the other La Jolla runners — Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal's Zoffarelli and Yuesheng Zhang's Sword Zorro also first saw light of day in Ireland. The former will be making his U.S. debut in the La Jolla, while the latter owns a victory in the Singletary Stakes at Santa Anita on grass April 25.

The Graduation – like many 2-year-old races at this time of year – is a tough one to sort out with only minimal past performances to work with. Morning line maker Jon White could barely separate two of the runners, hanging Lovingier, London, and Zondlo's Rock N Rye as an 8/5 favorite, just a tick better than Lovingier, Beckerle, and Carrillo's Thirsty Always at 9/5.

Rock N Rye is a homebred by Always Thirsty who was a handy winner of a straight maiden race in his second start at Santa Anita on May 30 in his most recent outing. He's been training steadily for this return date at both San Luis Rey Downs and Del Mar.

Thirsty Always, also by Stay Thirsty, scored in his first start at Santa Anita on May 16, then shipped up to Pleasanton and captured the Nevin Stakes there on July 10.

Trainer Walther Solis conditions both juveniles.

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Here's the lineup for the La Jolla from the rail out with riders and morning line odds: Steve Moger's Stilleto Boy (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1); Gary Barber's Wyfire (Kyle Frey, 12-1); Hudson Ridge (Abel Cedillo, 5/2); Cathkin Peak (Juan Hernandez, 2-1); Zoffarelli (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1), and Sword Zorro (Umberto Rispoli, 4-1).

The field for the Graduation lays out like this: Lovingier or Templeton Horses' Mr. T's Thirsty (Tyler Baze, 2-1); McMahon or Rudy's Trip to Spain (Frey, 2-1); Thirsty Always (apprentice Cesar Ortega); Rock N Rye (Rispoli); Moger, Burke or Estrada, et al's Northvale Road (Tiago Periera, 6-1), and Branch or Hill's Fowler Blue (Edwin Maldonado, 12-1).

First post for Sunday's card is 2 p.m.

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‘Epitome Of Class’: Elm Drive Holds Off Eda To Win Del Mar’s Sorrento Stakes

Little Red Feather Racing's Elm Drive dug in the length of the stretch and gamely held off Baoma Corp's Eda by a head in a dandy horse race that decided the winner of the 53rd edition of the Sorrento Stakes Friday at Del Mar.

The Grade 2 headliner at the seaside oval north of San Diego, Calif., went with a purse of $201,500 and Elm Drive came away with the winner's share of $120,000. She was ridden by Juan Hernandez and was saddled by Phil D'Amato.

Finishing third was King, Kirby or Kirby's Smash Ticket, the unlucky race favorite at 13-10 who broke badly, then ran into traffic trouble on the backside.

Elm Drive, a bay daughter of Mohaymen, is now two-for-two in her brief career after having easily captured her initial start in a straight maiden race at Los Alamitos on June 28. Her earnings rose to $147,000.

The winning time was 1:10.64 for the six furlongs.

Elm Drive paid $6.60, $3.80 and $2.20 across the board. Eda returned $3.20 and $2.20, while Smash Tickets paid $2.10.

The Sorrento is considered the key prep for the track's biggest race for juvenile fillies, the Grade 1, $300,000 TVG Del Mar Debutante, which will be contested at seven furlongs on Sunday, Sept. 5. Trainer D'Amato indicated that that race is the next target for Elm Drive.

The track's ever-growing Pick 6 Jackpot wager once more expanded when for the 10th straight day as no player was able to take down the entire pool as the single winner. The carryover into Saturday's program grew to $831,517. First post on Saturday's 11-race card will be at 2 p.m.

Post-race quotes:
JUAN GONZALEZ (Elm Drive, winner) – “Phil (trainer D'Amato) didn't give me any special instructions. He just said play the break and put her in a good spot. She broke well and I had her where I wanted her. When we turned for home and the other filly (Eda) came up outside us, my filly got real brave. She dug in. She's not afraid to fight. She's a good one.”

PHIL D'AMATO (Elm Drive, winner) – “She broke on top then Juan got her to rate, make a move and fight off a rival to her outside the length of the stretch. I just thought that's the epitome of class. Very professional, and I think she's the type of filly that the longer (the races) the better. (Debutante?) Yup, absolutely.”

FRACTIONS: :22.00 :46.00 :57.95 1:10.64

The stakes win was the third of the meeting for rider Hernandez, but his first in the Sorrento. He now has 10 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer D'Amato, but his second in the Sorrento (Spectator, 2017). He now has 30 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Little Red Feather Racing overseen by Billy Koch of Woodland Hills, CA.

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United, Madone Target Del Mar Handicap, Oaks For Next Starts

United and Madone came out of their respective Grade 2 wins in the $250,000 Eddie Read and $200,000 San Clemente Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., on Saturday in fine fettle, their trainers reported Sunday morning.

And with those lucrative first steps taken, the connections are eyeing even bigger things on August 21 as part of the five-stakes mega card for TVG Pacific Classic Day. For United, it's the $300,000 Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap, a “Win & You're In” qualifier for the $3 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf here on November 6. For Madone, it's the $300,000 Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks.

In defending his Eddie Read title United, a 6-year-old gelded son of Giant's Causeway, rebounded from a lackluster last-of-four effort in the Charles Whittingham on May 29 at Santa Anita. That effort had his Hall of Fame trainer mystified until a small bruise was found under a shoe.

Under Flavien Prat on Saturday, United went willingly between rivals on the far turn and prevailed by a neck in a stretch duel with even-money favorite Smooth Like Strait.

United covered the 1 1/8 miles over the Jimmy Durante Turf Course in 1:49.49 which compared to 1:46.71 in the 2020 victory.

“Different race, different horses,” Mandella said.

“He went back to his old form,” said Prat.

A year ago, the G2 Eddie Read win prompted Mandella to toy with the idea of entering United in the TVG Pacific Classic. After a few days of thought, and also becoming aware that the Classic purse had been dropped from $1 million to $500,000, Mandella opted for the Del Mar Handicap. United was second by a head to Red King in that one.

Mandella's focus is entirely on the G2 Del Mar Handicap this time.

“We're not on the roll we were last year,” he said.

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In the G2 San Clemente, Madone made amends for a no-factor performance from a wide trip in the Honeymoon at Santa Anita on May 22. That race was three weeks after a victory in the Senorita and trainer Simon Callaghan shouldered responsibility for the disappointment.

“I ran her back too soon,” Callaghan said. “She bounced, simple as that.”

Madone's victory ended a five-race win streak for Going Global, the 2-5 San Clemente favorite. Trainer Phil D'Amato said the Irish-bred filly came out of the race well and a rematch should be forthcoming in the Del Mar Oaks.

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