DEL MAR, Calif. – Seismic Beauty wasted no time Saturday at Del Mar, where she ran them off their feet in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes.
“I think she won the race out of the gate today,” jockey Juan Hernandez said after Seismic Beauty ($4.20) defeated Kopion by 1 1/2 lengths. Richi finished 3 1/2 lengths back in third in a race that solidified Seismic Beauty’s as the top older female in California.
Seismic Beauty’s victory in the Hirsch was her first Grade 1, and earned the improving filly a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff that will be run Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Given the uncertainty of the Distaff division, Seismic Beauty ranks among the early favorites.
Like many Bob Baffert trainees, Seismic Beauty wins races with speed. Baffert expressed mild concern after Seismic Beauty drew the inside post in the 1 1/16-mile Hirsch. It was up to Hernandez to make sure Seismic Beauty left the gate in good shape. She did.
“She broke really, really sharp,” Hernandez said. “She loves to be on the lead.”
Hernandez and Seismic Beauty set the pace into the first turn while Royal Spa applied token pressure outside, with the Baffert-trained Richi just behind in third. “It wasn’t an easy lead, they were rolling,” Baffert said. Seismic Beauty went the half-mile in :46.63, six furlongs in 1:10.32 and finished in a solid 1:42.33, producing a whopping 110 Beyer Speed Figure. It is the highest Beyer this year at more than one mile by a horse of either sex.
“She’s a big filly, covers a lot of ground,” Baffert said. “She’s just getting better and better.”
The surprise in the Hirsch was the strange trip by 1.90-1 second favorite Kopion. Stretching out from a series of fast sprints, Kopion was expected to be forwardly placed. Instead, she was positioned last of six.
Jockey Kazushi Kimura allowed Kopion to settle near the rear. Kopion began to pick up steam into the far turn, she rallied wide and finished willingly, but Seismic Beauty had a three-length lead at the furlong pole. The deficit was too much for Kopion to overcome.
Kopion’s trainer Richard Mandella was non-committal regarding where Kopion might run next. Will she try two turns again? “I’ll kick it around,” Mandella said. Kopion is a multiple Grade 1 sprint winner, and Mandella could shorten her back to one turn and aim for the BC Filly and Mare Sprint.
Seismic Beauty, meanwhile, is a two-turn beast. She is 3 for 3 since stretching out; she wired the Grade 2 Santa Margarita last out at Santa Anita. Sired by Uncle Mo and owned by My Racehorse and Peter Leidel, Seismic Beauty, a 4-year-old by Uncle Mo, has won four of seven starts.
Richi, who won the Grade 2 Santa Maria last out, took up the chase from second around the far turn but was no match in the stretch. She was followed across the wire by Royal Spa, Nothing Like You and Little Hidden Port. Mahina scratched.
The win by Seismic Beauty was the eighth Hirsch victory by a favorite in the 11 years since Del Mar reinstalled dirt in 2015. It was the third straight Hirsch victory for Baffert and Hernandez, who won the last two years with Adare Manor.
For the time being, Seismic Beauty has emerged among the top contenders for the BC Distaff. The list includes 2024 winner Thorpedo Anna, Randomized, Leslie’s Rose, Scottish Lassie and Good Cheer.
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