Horse racing notes: Flavien Prat rides for records at Del Mar
DEL MAR LEADERS
(Through Sunday)
Jockeys / Wins
Juan Hernandez / 13
Umberto Rispoli / 12
Antonio Fresu / 12
Hector Berrios / 9
Tiago Pereira / 8
Kazushi Kimura 7
Trainers / Wins
Mark Glatt / 12
Phil D’Amato / 7
Doug O’Neill / 6
Peter Miller / 6
Michael McCarthy / 5
(Six tied) / 4
WEEKEND STAKES
DEL MAR
Friday
• $200,000, Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/2 miles on turf
Saturday
• $300,000, Grade I Hollywood Derby, 3-year-olds, 1 1/8 miles on turf• $200,000, Grade II Seabiscuit Handicap, 3 and up, 1 1/16 miles on turf• $100,000, Grade III Jimmy Durante Stakes, 2-year-old fillies, 1 mile on turf
Sunday
• $300,000, Grade I Matriarch Stakes, fillies and mares, 3 and up, 1 mile on turf• $100,000, Grade III Cecil B. DeMille Stakes, 2-year-olds, 1 mile on turf* $100,000 Stormy Liberal Stakes, 3 and up, 5 furlongs on turf
LOS ALAMITOS
Sunday
• 3-year-old quarter horses compete in 400-yard trials for the Dec. 22 Southern California Derby
DOWN THE STRETCH
• Leading U.S. jockey Flavien Prat rides in all seven Turf Festival races at Del Mar as he chases North American records for stakes wins (he’s two away from Irad Ortiz Jr.’s 79 in 2022) and graded-stakes wins (he’s three from Jerry Bailey’s 55 in 2003). Prat has Dicey Mo Chara in the Hollywood Turf Cup on Friday; Rothschild in the Hollywood Derby, Redistricting in the Seabiscuit Handicap and Supa Speed in the Jimmy Durante on Saturday, and Prerequisite in the Matriarch, Scipio in the Cecil B. DeMille and Slider in the Stormy Liberal on Sunday. Nine of this year’s 13 highest-earning jockeys are at Del Mar this week. Prat, leading with $35.7 million in purses through Wednesday, may have sealed his first Eclipse Award when he rode Breeders’ Cup winners Sierra Leone in the Classic and Moira in the Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar a month ago.
• The exciting 3-year-old filly Accuracy (Umberto Rispoli) runs in an allowance-level mile at Del Mar Friday. It’s the first start for the Michael McCarthy-trained daughter of Arrogate since a 15-length allowance win at Santa Anita last month made her the sixth-fastest 3-year-old of either gender in North America in 2024, going by her 107 Beyer speed figure for covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.44. McCarthy said a solid showing could send Accuracy to the 7-furlong La Brea Stakes on the Dec. 26 opening-day card at Santa Anita.
• Juan Hernandez goes into the final weekend leading Umberto Rispoli and Antonio Fresu with 13 winners to their 12 as he seeks his fourth consecutive jockey title at a Del Mar meet. Mark Glatt is well on the way to his first Del Mar training title, leading with 12 wins to second-place Phil D’Amato’s seven.
• The first Kentucky Derby qualifying-points race since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile will be run Saturday at Churchill Downs. Jonathan’s Way (Joel Rosario), the Ohio-bred who won the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill for trainer Phil Bauer before finishing seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, has post 2 of 10 going 1 1/16 miles in the $400,000, Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.
• A round of official Kentucky Derby future wagering began Thursday and runs through Sunday. East Avenue and Chancer McPatrick are each 10-1 on the morning line, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Citizen Bull and Jonathan’s Way are 20-1. Thirty-eight individual horses are listed, plus an all-others option that’s 4-5 on the morning line.
— Kevin Modesti