DEL MAR – Jockey Hector Berrios completed a sweep of the weekend’s two turf stakes races, riding Moment’s Pleasure to victory in Sunday’s $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar.
Berrios also rode Iscreamuscream to victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks.
Berrios’ strong ride down the stretch denied jockey Antonio Fresu a fourth win on the day as he also rallied Rose Maddox late to finish second in the field of 11 older Cal-bred fillies and mares going a mile.
Moment’s Pleasure ($10.80) won by 1 ¾ lengths.
“I knew she had the speed,” Berrios said of Moment’s Pleasure. “So I decided to stay close. I waited inside and once I saw a clearing I asked her for one more step and she responded. It is my father’s first time here (from Chile), so this win makes me very happy that he is here with me to celebrate.”
“Moment’s Pleasure is three and most the horses in this race were four,” said winning trainer Craig Lewis. “She’s developed a lot since getting beaten earlier in the year by the favorite (Stay and Scam ran fifth). Hector gave her a terrific ride. We drew it out just like that in the paddock and it went just the way we wanted it to go.”
Moment’s Pleasure was fourth at the three-quarter pole, took over in the stretch and was pulling away. Rose Maddox, rallied from sixth entering the stretch and finished a nose ahead of Court Snort.
Fresu earlier won three races, the first two for trainer Doug O’Neill in back-to-back wins with Ivan The Great ($7.40) in the fifth race and favored Pali Kitten ($4.80) in the sixth. Fresu then won the seventh race aboard Gypsy Woman ($4.20) for trainer Mark Glatt.
Glatt and jockey Kyle Frey also had notable days. They teamed to win the second (Elector, $10.80) and eighth (Wayne the Brain, $16.60) races. Giving Glatt three wins on the day and Frey two.
Glatt moved into a tie for third with Phil D’Amato in the trainer standings. John Sadler leads with 12 wins to 11 for Bob Baffert and 10 apiece for Glatt and D’Amato. Fresu moved into third in the jockey standings with 16 wins — trailing Juan Hernandez (25) and Umberto Rispoli (20). Berrios is fourth with 15.
Looking ahead
Next Saturday’s Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes is shaping up as one of the sleeper attractions of the summer meeting.
The 14 nominees for the seven-furlong $250,000 race include 2023 Cal-Bred Horse of the Year The Chosen Vron, Saudi Cup winner Senor Buscador and the Bob Baffert-trained duo of Arabian Knight and Prince of Monaco.
Senor Buscador, a 6-year-old son of Mineshaft, is scheduled to start for the first time since returning from the Middle East, where he ran third in the Dubai World Cup last March 30 five weeks after winning the Saudi Cup. Senor Buscador won the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar in 2023, then ran fourth in the Pacific Classic.
Arabian Knight won the 2023 Pacific Classic but ran a disappointing fourth in the San Diego Handicap on July 27 in his first start since also running fourth in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic. After winning the Grade 3 Best Pal and the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity here last summer, Prince of Monaco finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before rebounding with a second-place finish in a Grade 1 Stakes at Saratoga on June 8.
The Chosen Vron has won 19 of 24 career starts while running out of the money only twice. He is currently on a six-race winning streak and has won 14 of his last 15 starts, the only setback being the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The Chosen Vron has more than $1.6 million in career earnings.
For the second straight year, The Chosen Vron has clinched a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint by winning the Grade 1 Bing Crosby last month. Last year, The Chosen Vron didn’t race between the Crosby and the Breeders’ Cup, where he finished fifth. Trainer J. Eric Kruljac believes the extended training schedule didn’t benefit The Chosen Vron.
The 6-year-old gelded son of Vronsky went four furlongs in 48.20 seconds Saturday after going three furlongs in 36.00 seconds last Saturday. Arabian Knight went five furlongs in 1:00.20 Saturday.
Classic interest
The top three finishers from the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap and Grade 3 Cougar II Stakes winner Midnight Mammoth appear headed to the Aug. 31 Pacific Classic — the Grade 1 premier race of the summer meeting.
Dr. Venkman, who won the San Diego Handicap while going two turns for the first time worked six furlongs in 1:12.40 on the main track Saturday and appears headed to the Pacific Classic with San Diego runnerup Katonah and third-place finisher Express Train. Midnight Mammoth stretched his winning streak to three straight races in the Cougar II.
Trainer Doug O’Neill could have both Katonah and Mixto in the Pacific Classic.
Notable
Two heavily-favored youngsters trained by Bob Baffert were upset in maiden races Sunday. Mirahmadi, a 1-to-5 favorite under Juan Hernandez and a $1.05 million purchase, ran second to Wayne the Brain in a 6 ½-furlong maiden sprint. And one Baffert-trained, two-year-old filly defeated another in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight. Tenma, a 2-year-old daughter of Nyquist and a $850,000 purchase owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, won under Kazushi Kimura; Mancuso (Fresu) second. Baffert’s Usha, a daughter of Tiz The Law, went off as the 3-to-5 favorite.
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