Desert Gate on cruise control under Juan Hernandez. (Benoit Photo)
Del Mar Press
DEL MAR, Calif.—Pegram, Watson and Weitman’s Desert Gate, the 1/5 favorite in a field of five 2-year-olds, broke well, volleyed for the lead until the stretch and then simply pulled far away at the finish of the $150,000 Best Pal Stakes Saturday at Del Mar.
The colt by Omaha Beach, a $260,000 purchase at a 2-year-old in-training sale in Florida this past March, ran the six furlongs in 1:10.37 and merely cruised home by eight and three-quarter lengths in the Grade III feature. He was handled by the meet’s leading rider, Juan Hernandez, and gave trainer Bob Baffert his 12th victory in the 55th edition of the juvenile offering.
“This horse is usually pretty quiet. But today he was on it. He was feeling good in the paddock. He came away from there good and he was running comfortably all the way,” said Hernandez. “At the three-eighths (pole) he wanted to go, but I got him to wait. Then we took off in the stretch and he was the best.”
Desert Gate returned $2.40 for $2 to his backers in the weekend gathering. He paid the minimum $2.10 to place and there was no show betting allowed in the short field.
Finishing second in the dash was Reddam Racing’s homebred Pavlovian, who has a length on third-place finisher Brigante, owned and bred by Calumet Farm.
“It’s nice to see these horses develop like this. He’s been kind of quiet down here, but he broke well and that’s the most important part of these 2-year-old races is that they come out clean,” Baffert said. “This horse is very professional since day one. It’s nice to have these horses. That’s what we’re in the business for. We just got to keep him healthy and sound.”
Desert Gate had scored by two and a quarter length in his racing debut in June at Santa Anita against straight maidens. The chestnut earned a first prize of $90,000 for his Del Mar efforts and now shows earnings of $126,000.
Fractions were a zippy opener of :22.26, :45.31, :57.78 with a final time of 1:10.37.
The stakes win was the fourth of the meet for rider Hernandez and his third in the Best Pal. He and trainer Baffert won last year’s running with Getaway Car. Hernandez now has 56 stakes wins at Del Mar.
The winning owners are Mike Pegram of Del Mar, California with Karl Watson and Paul Weitman of Tucson, Arizona.
