Hector Berrios (Benoit Photo)
Arabian Knight, Defunded Pointing To Pacific Classic
Stable Notes By Jim Charvat
DEL MAR, Calif.—Jockey Hector Berrios put together back-to-back riding triples last weekend to climb into a first-place tie with defending riding champion Juan Hernandez in the Del Mar jockey standings. Berrios came into last Saturday with five victories and by the time the final race was in the books Sunday night he had 11 wins. Two of those were stakes victories onboard The Chosen Vron in the G1 Bing Crosby and Gold Phoenix in the G2 Eddie Read.
Hernandez started last week with four wins, one back of first week leader Umberto Rispoli. He had a win each on Thursday and Friday, two on Saturday and then scored a riding triple of his own on Sunday. Rispoli is next in the standings with eight wins followed by Antonio Fresu, who is riding at Del Mar for the first time, with six. Edwin Maldonado rounds out the Top 5 with five victories.
In the trainer standings, Phil D’Amato is back in a familiar spot at #1. He has eight wins, two more than Doug O’Neill and Bob Baffert who are tied with six each. D’Amato notched four victories last week, including trips to the winner’s circle in the Daisycutter Handicap and G2 Eddie Read. First week leader Doug O’Neill posted one victory in the second week of racing.
The field sizes at Del Mar continue to be robust, keeping in line with last year’s impressive numbers. There have been 70 races through the first seven days of racing. The average field size is 9.70, a tick above 2022. There have been 30 races run on the turf with an AFS of 10.67. As for the 40 races run on the dirt, the AFS has been 8.98. 65 of the 70 races thus far have had a field size of seven or more.
69 ‘Ship and Win’ starters have debuted at Del Mar in the first two weeks, down slightly from last year. Six have ended up in the winner’s circle.
38 different trainers and 20 different jockeys have won a race at the meet so far.
Arabian Knight, Defunded Pointing To Pacific Classic
Trainer Bob Baffert says Arabian Knight will be pointed to the G1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic on September 2. The $2.3 million purchase as a 2-year-old was an early favorite for this year’s Kentucky Derby after a dominating victory in the G3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in January. But instead of heading down the Triple Crown trail the son of Uncle Mo took some time off and returned to the races last month. He most recently ran third behind Geaux Rocket Ride and Mage in the G1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.
Baffert also plans to run his charge Defunded in the Classic. The son of Dialed In was a disappointing fourth as the favorite in the G2 San Diego last weekend.
COOLING OUT
Jockey Kyle Frey is taking a break from the action. “I’m just going to take some much needed down time and family time,” Frey says. He figures to be gone for about a month and plans to return by the end of the meet. He says he hasn’t taken any time off since he arrived in Southern California two years ago…
Trainer Philip D’Amato says all of his top four finishers in the G2 Eddie Read have come back in good order. The winner, Gold Phoenix, will be pointed to a defense of his title in the G1 Del Mar Handicap September 2. Balnikhov and Count Again will point to the G2 Del Mar Mile also on Sept. 2 and Masteroffoxhounds may go in the same race with Gold Phoenix…
Notable works this week, all on dirt: Monday – Faiza (3f, :36.60); Justique (5f, :59.80) and National Treasure (5f, 1:00.60). Tuesday – Mirahmadi (4f, :48.80) and Hudson Ridge (6f, 1:11.80). Wednesday – Warrens Candy Girl (5f, 1:02.20); Thursday – Eddie’s New Dream (3f, :38.60); Offlee Naughty (4f, :49.20, and Window Shopping (5f, 1:00.80).
Del Mar Statistics
Jockey Standings
(Current Through July 30, 2023 Inclusive)
| Jockey | Mts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Win% | In-money% | Money Won |
| Hector Berrios | 48 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 23% | 38% | $903,600 |
| Juan Hernandez | 46 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 24% | 46% | $768,644 |
| Umberto Rispoli | 47 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 17% | 66% | $781,848 |
| Antonio Fresu | 38 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16% | 42% | $432,460 |
| Edwin Maldonado | 41 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 12% | 34% | $353,840 |
| Ramon Vazquez | 57 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 7% | 28% | $438,690 |
| Tiago Pereira | 42 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7% | 31% | $307,504 |
| Kent Desormeaux | 34 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9% | 21% | $242,880 |
| Joe Bravo | 30 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10% | 20% | $191,040 |
| Mike Smith | 17 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 18% | 41% | $177,940 |
Trainer Standings
(Current Through July 30, 2023, Inclusive)
| Trainer | Sts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Win% | In-money% | Money Won |
| Philip D’Amato | 50 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 16% | 50% | $778,104 |
| Doug F. O’Neill | 40 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 15% | 45% | $539,480 |
| Bob Baffert | 16 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 38% | 63% | $376,520 |
| Peter Miller | 28 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14% | 36% | $212,100 |
| Robert B. Hess, Jr. | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 18% | 29% | $136,800 |
| Mark Glatt | 24 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 13% | 46% | $280,360 |
| Leonard Powell | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 20% | 27% | $240,940 |
| John W. Sadler | 24 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8% | 38% | $197,540 |
| Peter Eurton | 14 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 14% | 50% | $145,280 |
| Ryan Hanson | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18% | 36% | $91,020 |
Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through July 30, 2023, Inclusive)
Winning favorites — 19 out of 70 — 27.14%
Winning favorites on dirt — 12 out of 40 — 30.00%
Winning favorites on turf — 7 out of 30 — 23.33%
Winning odds-on favorites — 2 out of 6 — 33.33%
In-the-Money favorites — 40 out of 70 — 57.14%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites — 4 out of 6 — 66.67%
