DEL MAR — Sometimes, even for trainer Bob Baffert, the best-laid plans go awry.
Case in point: Saturday’s featured $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes.
A week ago, there was a question if the Arnaz would even draw the needed five entries to be a race, leading Baffert to quip: “Where are all the 2-year-olds?”
Only eight 2-year-old fillies were nominated for the seven-furlong run on the dirt. Six of those were from Baffert’s stable. Then, four of the five official entrants were trained by Baffert — his investment saving the race from being scratched from the program.
Then on Saturday morning, Baffert scratched Del Mar Debutante winner Tenma. The number of starters was reduced to four. Baffert still had three of them — led by 1-2 favorite Silent Law and second-favorite Mawu.
And the winner was Practical Dream, the only filly in the field not trained by Baffert, whose fillies ran 2-3-4.
Trained by Tim Yakteen, Practical Dream, ridden by Antonio Fresu, finished 1¼ lengths ahead of Silent Law (Juan Hernandez) with Mawu (Kazushi Kimura) third. Both Practical Dream (stumbled slightly) and Silent Law (veered inside into Two Bar) had problems leaving the gate but were quickly 1-2 with Practical Dream ($10.60) taking the lead for good around a quarter-mile into the race.
“Our filly was sharp today and she’s only going to improve with distance,” said Yakteen, Baffert’s close friend and former top aide. “She obviously showed up today.”
“In her last race at Santa Anita, she broke a little slow and I had to steady her,” Fresu said of his runner-up finish to Silent Dream on Oct. 25 in the Anoakia Stakes. “Today, she recovered quickly after stumbling and traveled well from there. She ran her race today.”
The win was the first of two Saturday for Fresu, boosting him into the lead of the jockey standings for the fall meeting. He has eight wins, two more than five jockeys tied for second — Hernandez, Kimura, Umberto Rispoli, Hector Berrios and Tiago Pereira.
Sunday’s feature will be the Bob Hope Stakes — the male half of the paired seven-furlong, $100,000 stakes for 2-year-olds. The narrow, 8-5 morning line favorite in the field of six colts is Bullard, a son of Gun Runner. Rispoli will again be aboard the Michael McCarthy-trained Bullard, who won his debut Sept. 1 at Del Mar.
Baffert will have two horses in the field in early second-favorite Kalea Bay (Hernandez) and Madaket Road (Fresu). A son of Authentic, Kalea Bay scored his first win in three starts by 8½ lengths over six furlongs at Santa Anita on Sept. 28. Maraket Road, a son of Quality Road, is making his debut.
Kalea Bay was a $700,000 purchase. Bullard drew $675,000 and Maraket Road $650,000.
The most successful entrant to date in the field is McKinzie Street (Kimura). The Yakteen-trained son of McKinzie ran second to Gaming in the Grade I Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 8 then finished third in the Grade I American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 5. McKinzie Street, the early second favorite, finished four lengths ahead of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion Citizen Bull over the Del Mar surface in the Futurity.
Training fatality
Elector, a 6-year-old gelding trained by Sean Williams, was euthanized Saturday morning after suffering an inoperable right front ankle injury in training. Elector had made 17 career starts with three wins, a second and a third.
