David Wilson had done his homework.
When Mr. A. P. was entered in a $150,000 claiming race for 2-year-old maidens at Del Mar on July 31, Wilson, a longtime owner and client of trainer Vladimir Cerin, had scouted the first-time starter.
“I like a horse in there,” Wilson told Cerin.
A claim was submitted. Mr. A. P. finished second by 5 1/4 lengths.
On Sunday, Mr. A. P. has his second start, this time in a tough maiden special weight race at six furlongs at Del Mar.
“We think we have a useful horse,” Cerin said.
Mr. A. P. was previously trained by Hector Palma for B G Stables. The expensive claim was a Del Mar record, but not the highest in California. In 1983, Allen Paulson claimed Twin’s Tornado for $170,000, a staggering sum in that era.
Last September at Churchill Downs, Frosted Departure was claimed for $175,000 by trainer Chris Hartman. Frosted Departure was claimed from Hartman for $80,000 by trainer Aaron Shorter at Churchill Downs in June.
Mr. A. P., a ridgling by American Pharoah, is part of a field of nine in the sixth race on an 11-race program that begins at 1:30 p.m. Pacific. The maiden races include three runners trained by Bob Baffert – Falcon Jet, second in his first two starts, and the first-time starters Kristofferson and Rio Grande.
Baffert said Falcon Jet “may have a little edge” over his stablemate because of his recent experience. Falcon Jet was beaten by stablemate Buetane on Aug. 3 and by another Baffert-trained runner in Litmus Test on Aug. 16, losing the latter race by three-quarters of a length.
Kristofferson, by Nyquist, was bought for $1.15 million at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Turf Paradise stakes winner Impasse. Rio Grande, bought for $750,000 at Keeneland last September, is a colt by Justify who is of out of the stakes winner Kram.
Kristofferson and Rio Grande need to race, Baffert said.
“I want to get some outs in them at the end” of the Del Mar meeting, Baffert said. “They’re not super tight.”
The Del Mar summer meeting ends on Sept. 7. Baffert has been the dominant trainer of 2-year-olds at Del Mar this summer, winning two stakes and five maiden races in the division.
Sunday’s race includes the first-time starter Plagarist, a colt by Beau Liam who has worked well in recent weeks for trainer Mark Glatt. Plagarist, who starts from the inside post, is a half-brother to Trademark, an active millionaire and stakes winner.
Wilson, the owner of several car dealerships in Southern California, and his wife, Holly, have made expensive claims in the past with Cerin.
Early Pioneer was claimed for $62,500 in October 1998 and over the next three years earned $1,068,815. Early Pioneer won the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup in 2000.
Designed for Luck was claimed for $62,500 by the Wilsons in December 1999. Over the next seven years, Designed for Luck won five stakes, including the Grade 1 Shoemaker Breeders’ Cup Mile at Hollywood Park, and earned $959,200.
“David Wilson has an imaginative way of looking at claims,” Cerin said. “He said, ‘If I buy a yearling for $1 million, I’ve got to wait two and a half years to find out he can’t run.' "
A win by Mr. A. P. on Sunday will give the Wilsons a hearty return on a hefty investment.
“We’ll see if we can make it interesting,” Cerin said.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.