DEL MAR — Day 2 of Del Mar’s 2024 Turf Festival went to strong stretch runners.
Jockey Umberto Rispoli and Formidable Man ran down Donegal Momentum in the stretch to win the featured Grade I, $300,000 Hollywood Derby by a half-length over equally fast-closing King of Gosford.
Earlier, strong stretch runs by long shots led to victories for Mi Hermano Ramon ($24.80) in the Grade II Seabiscuit Handicap and Will Then ($23) in the Grade III Jimmy Durante Stakes.
Will Then’s victory gave jockey Vincent Cheminaud and trainer Jonathan Thomas a third straight win to open the Turf Festival. Hector Berrios brought trainer Mark Glatt’s Mi Hermano Ramon home a half-length in front of fast-closing, 3-5 favorite Redistricting in the 1 1/16-mile Seabiscuit for older horses.
Donegal Momentum took the lead just over a quarter-mile into the 1 1/8-mile Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds and held the lead into the stretch before giving ground to Formidable Man ($12.60) and King of Gosford. Favored Carson’s Run was never a factor and finished fifth in the field of 11.
It was the third straight win for Formidable Man at Del Mar. The son of City of Light won the Grade II Del Mar Derby on Sept. 1 and the Oceanside Stakes on the opening day of the summer meeting.
“Look, this horse has been working lights-out for weeks,” said Rispoli. “This is always a tough race at the end of the year. I knew there was quality and potential there.”
Formidable Man “had a fantastic trip,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “I was glad to see we were sitting right behind the speed. A hole opened up and he exploded.”
Berrios and Mi Hermano Ramon came out on top of a wild, four-horse stretch charge in the Seabiscuit with jockey Flavien Prat rallying trainer Chad Brown’s Redistricting from 10th to second to place a neck ahead of Astronomer with Easter another nose back in fourth.
“They went fast early and we just got comfortable,” said Berrios. “He was fine. I started following Astronomer on the turn and we found a spot. When I asked my horse, he really went. At the end, he was looking around for another horse to beat.”
Mi Hermano Ramon’s victory all but clinched the fall meeting training title for trainer Mark Glatt.
“He’s going to run his race,” said Glatt. “He’s going to fall back. Hector put a perfect ride on him.”
Will Then’s victory in the Durante followed the same script that gave the Cheminaud-Thomas tandem wins in the Red Carpet (Mrs. Astor) and Hollywood Turf Cup (Truly Quality) — run down the leaders in the stretch.
Will Then was next-to-last for the first half of the mile race for 2-year-old fillires and still eighth among the 11 starters with a quarter-mile to go. But Cheminaud found clear running room outside and passed Casalu (Kazushi Kimura) midway down the stretch and finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of trainer Bob Baffert’s only entry in the Turf Festival.
“I loved that trip,” Thomas said of the ride Cheminaud gave Will Then.
“I was very confident,” said Cheminaud. “Jonathan and I have a very good relationship.”
And three stakes wins in three days.
The Turf Festival and fall meeting conclude Sunday with three stakes on the grass capped by the Grade I, $300,000 Matriarch Stakes — a one-mile test for older fillies and mares.
Leading the contingent is early 8/5 favorite Gina Romantica (Jose Ortiz). The 5-year-old daughter of Into Mischief will be making her 17th and final start. She is coming off her second career Grade I win in the Oct. 5 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland. Brown also has Prerequisite (Flavien Prat, 6-1), Child of the Moon (Manuel Franco, 10-1) and Tax Implications (Joel Rosario, 12-1) in the field of 11.
The second favorite is Ag Bullett (Umberto Rispoli). The 4-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy finished a close third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 2 after setting the Kentucky Downs record for 6½ furlongs last summer while winning the Grade II Turf Sprint. In between those races, Ag Bullet ran fourth in the First Lady won by Gina Romantica.
Sunday’s other Turf Festival races:
• Grade III Cecil B. DeMille Stakes ($100,000, 2-year-olds, 1 mile) — Scipio (Prat) is the early 8/5 f:avorite in the 10-horse field that includes the filly Origami (Juan Hernandez, 8-1). The Richard Baltas-trained Scipio is winless in three starts, but ran third in the Sept. 8 Del Mar Juvenile Turf. “He’s had a little trouble all three times he’s run,” Baltas said of Scipio, who will be chasing the early speed of Clock Tower (John Velazquez, 3-1).
• Stormy Liberal Stakes ($100,000, older horses, five furlongs) — Trainer Phil D’Amato will have the three favorites in the field of nine, including dueling stablemates Unconquerable Keen (Rispoli, 3-1) sand Turn on the Jets (Hernandez 9-2). The pair have met five times in each of their last six starts with Unconquerable Keen holding a 3-2 edge that includes a pair of wins.
