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DEL MAR — They were flying aboriginal successful Sunday’s $300,000 Grade I Del Mar Debutante, mounting up the 7-furlong contention beautifully for jockey Flavien Prat and Grace Adler.
With Elm Drive and Eda zipping on successful 21.78 seconds for the opening 4th and 44.37 for the fractional mile, Prat sat comfortably successful sixth place, biding his clip until it was clip to zoom home.
Grace Adler, the 9-2 4th prime successful the betting, made a wide, sweeping determination turning for location and ran distant from the different 7 2-year-old fillies. The Curlin filly won by 11 1/4 lengths.
It was Baffert’s 3rd consecutive triumph successful the contention and his grounds 10th overall. The victor ran the region successful 1:23.76.
“It was benignant of acceptable up,” Baffert said. “When they are going that accelerated … this track, you can’t spell that fast. But this is simply a truly bully filly.”
Grace Adler, named for the quality successful the deed tv bid “Will and Grace,” won her debut by three-quarters of a magnitude successful a 5 1/2-furlong maiden peculiar value connected July 31 astatine Del Mar. She outgo her owners, Willow Grace Farm and Michael Lund Petersen, $700,000.
When the aboriginal leaders sped distant early, Baffert had the close jockey connected his filly. Prat won 4 much races Sunday and is connected his mode to different Del Mar riding rubric with 44 victories heading into today’s closing day.
“He’s truly smart, and helium truly studies the contention similar each the apical riders,” Baffert said. “You don’t person to springiness him instructions. He knew what helium had to do. He’s beauteous cool, too. He doesn’t panic oregon anything.”
Baffert besides had the 6-5 favorite, Eda, who is inactive looking for her archetypal triumph aft losing photograph finishes successful her archetypal 2 starts and finishing 5th Sunday. John Velazquez had the riding assignment.
“He (Velazquez) was telling maine that they ne'er gave her a breather, and helium rides Gamine (another speedy Baffert filly),” the trainer said. “He said they conscionable stayed connected him the full time. When she drew the 2 hole, I knew she was compromised there.”
Said Prat: “Bob conscionable told maine that she wasn’t arsenic accelerated arsenic the different fillies, but that she’d travel running. He was surely right. It mightiness person looked similar I moved excessively aboriginal with her, but it was much a lawsuit of them coming backmost to me. We were going guardant and they were coming back.”
Baffert said the $200,000 Grade II Chandelier Stakes, a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” contention connected opening time of Santa Anita’s autumn conscionable Oct. 1, could beryllium the adjacent duty for Grace Adler.
“Then if she’s doing well, we’ll bring her backmost down present (for the Breeders’ Cup connected Nov. 5-6),” helium said.
Dance to the Music, the 3-1 2nd prime trained by Mark Glatt and ridden by Abel Cedillo, finished second, 2 3/4 lengths successful beforehand of 28-1 longshot Bicameral with Mario Gutierrez aboard.The 31-day conscionable wraps up Monday with the $300,000 Grade I Del Mar Futurity and a mandatory Rainbow Pick Six payout (races 5-10).
FLIGHTLINE WOWS ‘EM
John Sadler’s Flightline, who hadn’t been seen since his 13 1/4-length debut triumph astatine Santa Anita connected April 24 due to the fact that of a ft abscess, turned successful the show of the conscionable successful Sunday’s eighth race.
This clip the 3-year-old Tapit colt bushed 5 rivals by 12 3/4-lengths arsenic the 1-5 favorite, moving the 6 furlongs successful an insanely accelerated 1:08.05 considering this hasn’t been a accelerated main way astir of the meet.Sadler said they’re pointing Flightline, ridden by Prat, to the Grade I Malibu Stakes astatine Santa Anita connected Dec. 26 if each goes well.
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