Beyond the opening-week buzz of Breeders’ Cup, an easygoing charm unfolds in fall at Del Mar.
The breezy autumn meet begins quietly enough Thursday, followed by two days of high-octane Breeders’ Cup races Friday and Saturday, followed by competitive tranquility that continues through the five-week season that ends Nov. 30.
Del Mar in autumn “is a little quieter,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “It’s a quieter training environment, horses enjoy training down there, and they can breeze on the grass.”
Everyone loves Del Mar in autumn.
“I do too,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “It’s kind of laid-back. It’s just a nice time.”
D’Amato and Mandella have plenty to look forward to. D’Amato has five runners for the Breeders’ Cup, including Turf Sprint contender Motorious. Mandella’s four BC runners include Filly and Mare Sprint contender Tamara.
Before the Breeders’ Cup races Friday and Saturday, D’Amato and Mandella will be active on opening day. D’Amato, leading trainer at the Santa Anita autumn meet, always starts more runners than any trainer at the Del Mar autumn meet. Thursday, he entered runners in seven races, including Lyle The Crocodile in the $100,000 Let It Ride Stakes.
Mandella starts debut sprint winner Mescalero in the one-mile Let It Ride, but his best chance is in the opener. Mandella will start 2-year-old Medici, who figures to be strongly favored in the turf mile based on a runner-up finish behind next-start stakes winner Stark Contrast.
Del Mar made a significant tweak to its autumn wagering menu. The pick six, previously a $1 wager at Del Mar, is now $2. The revised minimum mirrors Santa Anita and Los Alamitos and is likely to increase the number of pick six carryovers.
While the Breeders’ Cup is the season highlight, the closing weekend turf festival includes seven stakes with a pair of Grade 1s – the Hollywood Derby on Nov. 29, and Matriarch Stakes on Nov. 30.
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The meet begins Thursday with a nine-race card topped by the Let It Ride Stakes, race 7. A restricted stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on turf, the field includes Geometry, Lyle The Crocodile, and 2-1 program favorite Friendly Confines.
Jonathan Thomas trains Geometry, who scored a sharp allowance win in his summer comeback at Del Mar, followed by a pair of fourth-place finishes in stakes including the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby. Geometry struggled last out, finishing off the board as the favorite in the $150,000 Kent Stakes at Delaware Park.
“It rained a lot that day,” Thomas said. “It didn’t look like he handled the soft turf very well, and after running him a mile and an eighth twice, I’m not so sure that’s his trip either. I’m curious to get him back to a mile over firm turf.”
John Velazquez rides Geometry, who will be one of a limited number of stakes runners for Thomas this fall.
“We have more of a workmanlike group of horses, maidens, allowances, some of the claiming races,” Thomas said. “I think we’re more well-represented in your everyday races this time.”
D’Amato, meanwhile, has runners across multiple categories, including 2-year-old maiden Honey’s Choice, a last-out runner-up who looks formidable racing a mile on turf in race 3. D’Amato’s starter in the Let It Ride is a work in progress.
Imported from Ireland, Lyle The Crocodile finished fourth in his U.S. debut in June. Next out, he blew the break and missed by less than a length while third in the Oceanside Stakes on opening day of the Del Mar summer meet. Lyle The Crocodile did it again in a subsequent allowance.
“He just didn’t get out of the gate, he hopped in the air,” D’Amato said.
Lyle The Crocodile got keen while unsettled early and emptied out on the far turn. D’Amato went back to the drawing board to teach the gelding to leave the gate with everyone else.
“For that reason, I’ve worked with him at the gate a lot,” D’Amato said. “I breezed him out of the gate [Oct. 25] just to make sure we don’t have any gate issues. He broke well.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Lyle The Crocodile.
The program favorite is Friendly Confines, whose sharp allowance win against older last out was validated when the runner-up won his next start. Richard Baltas trains Friendly Confines, whose rider is Flavien Prat.
The field for the Let It Ride also includes Tempest Volat and debut maiden sprint winners Bodi Zafa and Hiding in Honduras.
First post is 12:30 p.m. for the nine-race card on Thursday.
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