Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

Cicero Farms homebred Hope Road (Quality Road) rolled in the GIII Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday afternoon and proved her two prior five-length wins for trainer Bob Baffert were no fluke. Beginning in the care of John Sadler, last summer at the seaside oval the then-juvenile was the runner-up twice against maiden special weights before being well-beaten in the GI Del Mar Derby. Making the barn switch in September, the filly broke through with a strong performance at Santa Anita in mid-June to start her 3-year-old season...

You know how the quote reads directly from the handicapper's Bible, "Behold the pale horse with controlling speed." Heeding that warning arrives once again on Sunday. Halfway through the three-day holiday weekend of Thoroughbred racing, Saratoga and Del Mar card graded races. The Spa's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, the penultimate 'Win and You're In' pass to the Breeders' Cup Classic, sets the tone with a myriad of intriguing storylines woven into this fleece as a half dozen entries will try to catch that aforementioned 'pale horse' Arthur's Ride...

7th-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 3:25 p.m. ET. ALL THE FEELS (Into Mischief) was produced in-house at Spendthrift Farm and will make her first start for trainer Todd Pletcher. GSW Positive Spirit (Pioneerof the Nile) joined the farm's broodmare band after she was acquired for $1.5 million at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale and has handed All the Feels a pair of full-siblings. The Spa debut runner's GSW/GISP second dam is also responsible for GI Kentucky Derby hero Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) and GI Spinaway Stakes heroine Hot Dixie...

Once again, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) will be present to raise awareness for retired racehorses during Pacific Classic Day at Del Mar on Saturday, Aug. 31, the non-profit said in a Thursday release. After a named race on the undercard, a presentation will be made to the winning connections, featuring a TAA-branded gift bag and blanket sponsored by Fenwick Equestrian and Dean Dorton. A VIP experience will be also be auctioned and a variety of other events are planned. "Del Mar is extremely committed to the well-being of Thoroughbreds,...

For a horse that has won the richest race in the world, Saturday's $250,000 GII Pat O'Brien S. at Del Mar might not seem like an overly difficult spot. But when Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) heads to the post for Saturday's race, he probably won't be the favorite and there will no doubt be some wiseguys who throw him out altogether. The problems are threefold: He's not a seven-furlong horse; he will not have run for 147 days; he'll be facing the best sprinter on the West Coast in the California-bred...

At sunny Del Mar, it was first-time starter Tenma (Nyquist--Amagansett, by Tapit) who battled a rival filly down the lane to graduate. The OBS April grad who was featured in TDN's Summer Breezes and Sunday Insights, went off as a 6-1 shot here. Even though stablemate Usha (Tiz the Law) came busting out of the gate, Tenma did not panic as she steadily began to reel in the pacesetter around the far turn. With a full head of steam, the juvenile won by a head in what was a pitched...

1st-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:10 p.m. ET. BRILAND (McKinzie), the second to race after SW Miuccia (Mitole), will have her turn for trainer Chad Brown and the ownership group of Gainesway, Bradley Thoroughbreds, Cambron Equine and Alan Northcutt. Featured in TDN's Summer Breezes segment, the $675,000 buy at OBS April was initially purchased for $200,000 by Scoot Stables during Keeneland September. Briland's dam, Bay Harbor (Speightstown), is herself out of GSW Our Khrysty (Newfoundland). This second dam--a half-sister to GI Whitney Handicap hero Bullsbay (Tiznow)--also produced GISW Grace...

7th-DMR, $75K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 8:02 p.m. ET. Conditioned by John Sadler, Don Alberto homebred UNIQUE POWER (Into Mischief) debuts for his dam--champion older dirt female Unique Bella (Tapit)--who was acquired by the stable for $400,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September Sale. Her own dam is GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic heroine Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song). Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm took this mare home for $3.8 million at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale. Unrivaled Belle's half-sister, Lemon Belle (Lemon Drop Kid), is responsible for GIII Gotham Stakes champ...

Trainer Richard Mandella, a member of racing's Hall of Fame since 2001, has been named the 20th recipient of the Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award and will be honored at Del Mar on Saturday, Aug. 31, the track said in a Thursday release. The Pincay Award, named for, and presented by, the Hall of Fame rider, goes to those who have served the sport of racing "with integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination and distinction." Mandella, 74, went out on his own with a public stable in 1976 and has over 2,300 winners...

In order to accommodate the setting sun, Del Mar will permanently move Friday's first post from 4 p.m. PT to 3 p.m. PT and remain on that schedule for the rest of the meet, the club said in a release on Wednesday. The time shift is keyed on the setting of the sun in the San Diego area, which corrects by almost an hour over the course of the summer. Sunset on opening day (July 20) was at 7:55 p.m. PT, while on closing day (Sept. 8) it will be...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--There is a good reason why White Sands (Into Mischief), the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Sunday's $200,000, GIII Adirondack for 2-year-old fillies at Saratoga Race Course, isn't going to run. She's not here. Trainer Wesley Ward said Saturday morning on the Saratoga backstretch that White Sands is at Keeneland and likely waiting for one of two races at Del Mar next weekend: the $150,000 GIII Sorrento for 2-year-old fillies on Aug. 10 or the $150,000 GIII Best Pal Stakes for 2-year-olds on Aug. 11. White Sands, owned by...

4th-Del Mar, $78,000, Alw (NW2$X)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 7-28, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:36.43, ft, neck. PARENTING (c, 3, Justify--Iadorakid, by Lemon Drop Kid) broke his maiden at first asking by 2 3/4 lengths at Santa Anita Apr. 26, which earned him a 'TDN Rising Star'. Ready for his stakes debut and first two-turn test, the colt drove down the Arcadian course in fine style to win by 7 1/2 lengths June 9. Supported at the windows at 40 cents on the dollar, Wathnan Racing's own took the field into the first turn...