Willow Grace Farm and Michael Lund Petersen's Grace Adler (Curlin) swept to the lead with a powerful five-wide move into the stretch and pulled away effortlessly down the lane to win the
GI TVG Del Mar Debutante by 11 1/4 lengths at Del Mar Sunday. Favored Eda (Munnings) was pressed every step by Elm Drive (Mohaymen) through a quarter in :21.78 and a half in :44.37 as Grace Adler settled off the pace while running free and clear. She moved closer without being asked on the bend, ricocheted to the lead off the turn and, meeting no opposition, strode away powerfully down the lane for an authoritative victory.
The victory gave Bob Baffert his 10th win in the Del Mar Debutante. While the trainer was happy with the effort of Grace Adler, he admitted he knew stablemate Eda was in trouble as she battled on the hot early pace.
“I wasn't happy with [Eda's] position early because they were going way too fast up front,” Baffert said. “Grace Adler is a really good filly and when she started to make her move, you could tell by Trevor Denman's voice that she was really making up the ground. They're both good fillies, it's just too bad that Eda got caught up in a speed duel. It was set up for Grace Adler.”
Flavien Prat, who was riding his third Del Mar Debutante winner, said the race developed much as Baffert had predicted.
“Bob just told me that she wasn't as fast as the other fillies, but that she'd come running,” Prat said. “He was certainly right. It might have looked like I moved too early with her, but it was more a case of them coming back to me. We were going forward and they were coming back.”
Grace Adler was stretching out to seven furlongs Sunday after battling to a determined 3/4-length debut victory going five furlongs over the Del Mar track July 31.
Pedigree Notes:
Grace Adler is the 45th graded stakes winner for two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.
Her dam, Our Khrysty, won the 2010 GIII Turnback the Alarm H. and is a half-sister to GI Whitney S. winner Bullsbay (Tiznow). The mare, purchased by Blue Heaven Farm for $600,000 at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton November sale, produced a colt by Into Mischief in 2020 and a filly by Uncle Mo this year before being bred back to War Front. Her Into Mischief colt RNA'd for $350,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale and is catalogued as hip 99 at the upcoming Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Sunday, Del Mar
TVG DEL MAR DEBUTANTE S.-GI, $301,500, Del Mar, 9-5, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:23.76, ft.
1–GRACE ADLER, 120, f, 2, by Curlin
1st Dam: Our Khrysty (GSW, $313,260), by Newfoundland
2nd Dam: The Hess Express, by Lord Carson
3rd Dam: Turcomedy, by Turkoman
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. ($700,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Willow Grace Farm &
Michael Lund Petersen; B-Blue Heaven Farm (KY); T-Bob
Baffert; J-Flavien Prat. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0,
$222,000. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk
Nick Rating: A.
2–Dance to the Music, 120, f, 2, by Maclean's Music
1st Dam: Beautified, by Congrats
2nd Dam: Makeup Artist, by Dynaformer
3rd Dam: Deux Anes (GB), by Longleat
($40,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $575,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Red
Baron's Barn LLC & Rancho Temescal LLC; B-George Kirkorian
(KY); T-Mark Glatt. $60,000.
3–Bicameral, 118, f, 2, by Constitution
1st Dam: Humble Song, by Songandaprayer
2nd Dam: Song of Africa, by Alzao
3rd Dam: Intensive, by Sir Wiggle
($30,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $100,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $120,000
RNA 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Calvin Nguyen; B-Constitution
Syndicate & Dr. & Mrs. Charles H. Huber (KY); T-Richard Baltas.
$36,000.
Margins: 11 1/4, 2 3/4, HF. Odds: 4.60, 3.40, 28.30.
Also Ran: Myfavoritedaughter, Eda, Rock the Belles, Elm Drive, At the Spa. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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