Dr Pescado Rallies To Win Golden Nugget At Golden Gate Fields

Grey or roan gelding Dr Pescado sat off the pace before rallying past early pacesetter and runner-up finisher Stanford Bay late in to win the 6-furlong, $50,000 Golden Nugget Stakes for 2-year-olds on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, Calif.

Dr Pescado, ridden by Pedro Terrero, broke his maiden in his first career start by over 7 lengths. After running poorly while dueling on the lead in his most recent afternoon appearance before Saturday's stakes win, Dr Pescado was asked to relax off a pacesetter. Sitting off the speed was not an issue for the California-bred son of Fullbridled, who stayed on the rail for most of the way before switching outside and running past his rivals in the final furlong. Dr Pescado completed the six furlongs in 1:11.51 and won the contest by a half-length.

Dr Pescado paid $9.40 to win, $4.20 to place, and $2.20 to show. Stanford Bay paid $3.00 to place and $2.10 to show. 6-5 post-time favorite C'Mon Man completed the trifecta and paid $2.10 to show, with Highland Ghost and Northvale Road rounding out the field.

Dr Pescado, bred in California by Juan Heredia, is trained by Felix Rondan and co-owned by Rondan and longtime business partner Ruben Arechiga. With the Golden Nugget Stakes victory, Dr Pescado improved his lifetime record to 2 wins and 1 fourth-place finish from three lifetime starts with career earnings of $59,618.

Live racing resumes at Golden Gate Fields on Sunday afternoon with first post at 12:45 PM for an 8-race program.

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Flash Of Mischief Gives Broberg, Thornton Second Delta Mile Stakes Victory

Jockey Tim Thornton and trainer Karl Broberg are quite a team at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., and on Saturday the pair enjoyed their second consecutive win in the $100,000 Delta Mile Stakes with Flash of Mischief. The Jerry Namy-owned colt won the race this year after Hunka Burning Love took it in 2020.

Thornton's talents are on display daily at Delta Downs but his ride in the Delta Mile was exquisite. After breaking cleanly from the outside post position in a field of seven, Thornton pressed the pace set by It's a Wrap, who went the opening quarter-mile in :23.49 and the half-mile in :47.61. When the field reached the second turn, It's a Wrap had had enough and checked out, leaving Flash of Mischief on the lead heading for home.

In the upper stretch, Thornton roused his mount and he responded, opening up a clear lead in the stretch after covering ¾ of a mile in 1:12.74. Inside the final sixteenth of a mile, Mocito Rojo began rolling at the leader but it was too late as Flash of Mischief held sway and won by 1-3/4 lengths. Longshot Bold Thirst was along for third, another half-length behind the runner-up.

Flash of Mischief covered the eight furlongs of the Delta Mile in a time of 1:39.93 while racing over a fast track.

The win by Flash of Mischief was the sixth of his 14-race career. He earned $60,000 for the effort on Saturday, which raised his overall bankroll to $478,102. He's also now at Delta Downs with three wins in as many starts.

Bred in Kentucky by his owner, Flash of Mischief is a 3-year-old bay colt by Into Mischief, out of the Political Force mare Flashy Campaign.

Sent to the gate as the wagering favorite, Flash of Mischief paid $3.40 to win, $2.40 to place, and $2.10 to show. Mocito Rojo paid $3.60 to place and $3.20 to show. Bold Thirst was worth $7.40 to show.

Delta Downs will conduct its sixth week of the season next Wednesday through Saturday. First post time Wednesday and Thursday is at 12:55 pm. The first race on Friday and Saturday will be at 12:25 pm.

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Baffert Back To Business In Juvenile Stakes At Del Mar

It may be easier for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert to decompress and recover from last week's Breeders' Cup World Championships than the majority of Del Mar racing fans.

Last Saturday, Baffert was busy with five horses to saddle in four Breeders' Cup races. It began with Gamine finishing third as the 2/5 favorite in the Filly & Mare Sprint and continued with Eight Rings (4th) in the Dirt Mile, As Time Goes By (8th), and Private Mission (11th) in the Distaff and concluded with Medina Spirit (2nd) in the Classic at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

A day earlier his Corniche had triumphed in the Juvenile with Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst (5th) and Barossa (9th).

A lot to get the adrenaline flowing in a 68-year-old, even one of his experience and accomplishments. But, Baffert said, recovery time from the rigors of the Breeders' Cup was minimal for him.

“As soon as it goes official, I'm thinking about the next one (race or event),” Baffert said. “I'm proud of all my horses other than Gamine and I blame myself for that. I should have given her a prep race.”

Gamine came in with five straight graded stakes victories by a combined 23 ½ lengths, but hadn't raced since late August.

He considered Private Mission, winner of the Torrey Pines Stakes here during the summer meeting, and As Time Goes By to be victims of circumstance.

Private Mission, As Time Goes By and favored Letruska blazed early before occupying three of the last four finishing positions as longshot Marche Lorraine ($101.80) rallied to win.

“We thought nobody would go with Private Mission, and then they all did,” Baffert said.

The Breeders' Cup ended on something of a high note for Baffert when Kentucky Derby winner (pending a Kentucky Racing Commission ruling) Medina Spirit finished second to runaway winner Knicks Go, polishing off a strong case for an Eclipse Award as the top 3-year-old.

This weekend, it will be back to business as usual for Baffert. That is, looming large over and being positioned to dominate Juvenile stakes races. Baffert will saddle 6/5 morning line favorite Eda and Under the Stars in a field of five for Saturday's $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies. Sunday, he has three of the five entered, not coincidentally the top three choices on the morning line, in the seven furlong Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes – Winning Map (7/5), Messier (8/5), and Kamui (5/2).

First the fillies:

“Under the Stars is a maiden (0-for-1) but she ran well the first time out and we feel she fits in there,” Baffert said. “It's a short field and an opportunity to get black type (stakes placing) on her record.

“Eda we think will like that distance.”

Eda, runner-up by a head to Elm Drive in the six-furlong G2 Sorrento Stakes in August, was the 6/5 favorite in the $300,000 G1 Del Mar Debutante on September 5. But Eda was cooked in a speed duel with Elm Drive which saw them put up fractions of :21.78 and :44.37 for the first half-mile of the seven-furlong test and fade to fifth.

“They went so fast (in the Debutante) that everything fell apart, which happens,” Baffert said with a chuckle and nod to Gamine as well as the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff.

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Now the colts in the Bob Hope:

“I hate to run them all together, but they're all doing well and deserve a shot,” the trainer offered.

Winning Map debuted with a 4 1/4-length victory in 1:10.20 for six furlongs at Santa Anita on October 3. Messier, is named after NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier. Messier was a teammate of the Empire Maker colt's co-owner Tom Ryan's father-in-law, Pat Hughes, along with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr on those legendary Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s.

Messier finished second in his first start on June 27 at Los Alamitos and came back on October 22 to win by 6 ½ lengths, matching the time over the same distance that Winning Map had produced three weeks earlier.

“We're taking the blinkers off Messier,” Baffert said. “He's not as quick as the others, but we think it's a good spot for him at a distance he'll like.”

Kamui was beaten a half-length by fellow Hope entrant Forbidden Kingdom at Del Mar on August 21 and came back to score by six lengths in a 5 ½-furlong sprint at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on September 11.

The field for the Bob Hope from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Messier (Flavien Prat, 8/5); Kamui (Abel Cedillo, 5/2); Winning Map (Mike Smith, 7/5); Rock N Rye (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1), and Forbidden Kingdom (Juan Hernandez, 9/2).

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Eda Rolls In Desi Arnaz At Del Mar

Eda had no trouble with a short field of four others in the Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. She pressed her pace-setting stablemate Under the Stars, took the lead coming out of the far turn, and drew away in the stretch to win by 4 1/4 lengths.

Coming into the Desi Arnaz, the 2-year-old daughter of Munnings had two victories in her previous four starts, including a last-out win in the Anoakia at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., on Oct. 24. In Saturday's stakes, the Bob Baffert trainee took up position just off stablemate Under the Stars, who held a half-length advantage into the far turn.

Coming into the Del Mar stretch, Eda took over the lead, with Tonito's looming on her outside. The Doug O'Neill trainee challenged briefly, but Eda was too much for her, pulling away to win easily. Under the Stars was third, with Lady T, who had an awkward trip after veering toward the rail early in the race, and Endless Thirst rounding out the field.

The final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:15.53. Find this race's chart here.

Eda paid $2.40, $2.20, and $2.10. Tonito's paid $5.00 and $3.80. Under the Stars paid $2.40.

“She broke well and had good speed. When we turned for home and a horse came up outside us, I shook her up. Then she responded with a good kick,” jockey Flavien Prat said after the race.

“Actually, (Flavien) Prat thought this was the best race she has run. I really thought she relaxed well. I thought my other horse (Under the Stars) was going to be farther back but she broke well and maybe I had her a little too sharp. It was kind of a last minute decision to run Eda here because we also plan to run her back in the Starlet but I loved the way she was able to relax and then kick away clear. Prat doesn't say much, but he was really impressed with her,” Baffert told the Del Mar Press Office after the Desi Arnaz.

Bred in Kentucky by Nathan McCauley, Eda is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Show Me. She is owned by Baoma Corporation. The 2-year-old filly was consigned by Eddie Woods and purchased by Donato Lanni, agent, for $550,000 at the 2021 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company March Sale of Two-Year-Olds In Training. With her win in the Desi Arnaz, Eda has three wins in five starts for career earnings of $190,000.

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