Conducted makes every pole a winning one in the $200,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes. (Benoit Photo)
Future Stars Friday Undercard
Del Mar Press
DEL MAR, Calif.—With a massive 10-race card underway Friday at Del Mar, for the 42nd annual Breeders’ Cup, Conducted with Hector Berrios took the lead and never looked back in winning the 4th running of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes at Del Mar by 1 ½ lengths.
Conducted was off as the 8-5 second choice in a field of eight two-year-old colts. With Proton (6-1) and Johnny Velazquez settling behind the leader, it was just a chase to the finish line as Conducted kicked clear on the turn for home. After setting fractions of 23.69, 48.77,1:13.15 and 1:24.79, reaching the finish line in 1:36.53. Post time favorite Plutarch 4-5 for Bob Baffert overcame some bumping from fourth place finisher Dr. Agne past the eighth pole to beat that rival by a head.
“He broke sharply today, just like he did last time, and he relaxed well on the lead. I thought he would improve off his win at Santa Anita and he really did.” Said Berrios. “I wasn’t worried about the closers because he was so comfortable on the lead. We didn’t really feel Proton (runner-up) trying to catch us. He just kicked on when I asked him to.”
Running fifth after a troubled trip in the Grade 3, Del Mar Juvenile Turf Conducted came back with an impressive six and a quarter length score earlier this month at Santa Anita, Conducted looks to be an improving colt for trainer O. J. Jauregui.
“I let Hector (Berrios) do whatever he wants to do. If there were a lot of horses going for the lead, he was going to let the other ones go and if nobody goes, he goes. It looked like everybody was walking there and he went on with it. The horse is getting better. (Early on) He wasn’t focused yet.” Said Jauregui. “We wanted to run him in a maiden, but he couldn’t get in, so I ended up going in the stake (Del Mar Juvenile Turf) and it turned out to be a race he learned a lot from.”
Owned by Danny Eplin, Julia Iavarone, Michael and Aurther Spencer, the Mendelssohn colt improved his record to 4-2-0-0 with earnings of $159,600.
Conducted returned $5.40, $3.40 and $2.20, Second place finisher for trainer Graham Motion paid $6.00, and $3.00.
