DEL MAR – Formidable Man rallied in the stretch Sunday to win the featured Grade II Del Mar Derby — giving jockey Umberto Rispoli three wins on his return from Kentucky Downs.
But that was the second-best story of an overcast day at the seaside oval in a pair of stakes for 3-year-olds.
Muth, making his first start since winning the Arkansas Derby in March, won the $125,000 Shared Belief Stakes as a probable tune-up for the inaugural, $1 million Grade I California Crown later this month at Santa Anita.
“That’s what we’re looking at,” trainer Bob Baffert said of the Sept. 26 event after Muth, who went off as the 1-5 favorite ($2.40, $2.20, $2.10), won by two lengths over Indispensible with the Baffert-trained Imagination third in the field of seven going a mile on the main track
Muth stalked early leader Pony Express for more than a half mile before taking the lead on the far turn under Juan Hernandez.
“It’s good to see Muth back off the long layoff,” said Baffert. “Now we can point for the California Crown. He’s always been a really smart horse. You can place him wherever you want to. He had to move a little early because my other horse (Imagination) was breathing down his neck. They both ran pretty well. I was looking for a 1-2-3 (Wynstock finished sixth).
“That was a really tough race. There were some good 3-year-olds. It was like a Grade II race.”
“I asked a lot of him today, but he responded,” said Hernandez after his 50th stakes victory at Del Mar. “He showed up. He’s a different horse, because when he started out in his first couple races, he was very fast … he didn’t want to settle. In his last couple of races, he’s really relaxed. He rode very sharp today. He stayed behind the pace just like I asked of him. He is a very special horse.”
The son of Good Magic was a $2 million purchase by Zedan Racing.
“I think all the credit goes to Baffert,” said Hernandez. “They put a lot of work towards Muth.”
Meanwhile, 6-5 favorite Formidable Man was still fourth on the far turn and third at the top of the stretch before rallying to top 9-5 second choice Stay Hot in the 1 1/8-mile turf test that drew a field of six.
“When it’s a small field like that, it’s always tactical,” said Rispoli. “My first thought was to go outside and lead … and I knew at some point I needed to get a jump on Stay Hot. Formidable Man has been improving race by race with credit to (trainer Michael) McCarthy’s team.”
“I wouldn’t say I was confident,” said McCarthy. “I was just very happy with the way the horse had trained. There wasn’t a whole lot separating the first three. I knew Stay Hot would be right off our heels turning up the backside. What I didn’t want to do is make it a sprint for home and that’s what it turned out like.”
With his three wins Sunday — Bullard ($8.80 in the opener), Saltwater Cowboy ($8.80 in the fifth) and Formidable Man ($4.80) — Rispoli moved back into a tie with Antonio Fresu for second in the jockey standings at 27 wins. Fresu finished second in both of Sunday’s stakes and has 35 second-place finishes in the summer meeting.
Two stakes Monday
The Pacific Classic/Labor Day weekend concludes Monday with two, $100,000 stakes races at Del Mar – the one-mile Tranquility Lake for older fillies and mares and the Generous Portion, a six-furlong test for 2-year-old Cal-bred fillies.
Summer meeting leading trainers Baffert and Phil D’Amato will have two of the three favorites among the six entries in the Tranquility Lake. Hector Berrios will ride D’Amato’s 8-5 favorite Super Shine. The Argentine finished behind two top females – Adare Manor and Sweet Azteca in her last two starts – a pair of Grade II stakes.
• Baffert’s Show Card (Hernandez) is 5-2 on the morning line of the Tranquility Lake. Coming off two straight wins, Show Card finished last in her most recent start, the Grade II Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita. Ascendency (Reylu Gutierrez) is coming off a third-place finish in the Osunitas Stakes at Del Mar and is 8-5.
• Cayucos (Kyle Frey, 6-5) and Air Tonight (Tiago Pereira, 7-5) are the morning-line favorites in the Generous Portion – the ninth and final stakes race of the weekend. Cayucos, a daughter of Omaha Beach, went wire-to-wire to win her first race at Del Mar last month, defeating another Generous Portion entry (Hot Girl Walk).
• Air Tonight won the CTBA Stakes at Del Mar with 5¼ lengths with the next two finishers in that race, respectively, Thirsty Mama and Thirsty in Vegas are also in the Generous Portion.
Notable
While attendance Saturday for the Pacific Classic was almost equal to 2023, the handle was lower. Most of the difference came from the Pick Six pool, which was $3.5 million larger last year when there was a mandatory payout. And the 2024 totals didn’t include $5.4 million bet on the last three races from a Hong Kong simulcast.
• Bullard upset the Baffert-trained Kalea Bay – the 2-5 favorite and a $700,000 purchase in 2023 — in the first race of the day, a maiden event.
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