Saturday's Best Bet: Bellabel tallies again in Del Mar Oaks
Saturday’s eighth race from Del Mar is the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks for 3-year-old fillies and mares traveling 1 1/8 miles on the turf course. Post time is 8:34 p.m. EDT.
Click here for Del Mar entries and results.
No. 2 Bellabel (5-1) captured her last three flat mile turf starts including the local San Clemente (G2). Umberto Rispoli sticks with Phil D’Amato’s sharp filly and she figures to save ground while within striking range throughout.
No. 11 Spendarella (8-5) won all three turf routes in this country last year and shipped to Great Britain and landed the place in the Coronation (G1) at Ascot June 17. Graham Motion saddled Friday’s turf stakes winner at Del Mar.
No. 9 Txope (5-1) won the German One Thousand Guineas (G2) when last seen June 12. John Sadler has her now and she shows a trio of local works for this.
No. 5 Cairo Memories (3-1) is 4-for-5 in Southern California turf routes. She captured her turf route bow at Del Mar last summer and won the Providencia (G3) and Honeymoon (G3) at this distance at Santa Anita earlier this year.
No. 12 Ballet Dancing (20-1) is interesting at a big price. She finished in the top three in all four starts and earned a decent late pace rating in a runner-up finish July 24. They paid $800k for this one and she reconnects with her winning rider Drayden Van Dyke.
Get my expert Del Mar full card picks for Aug. 20 (available now).
Wagers:
No. 2 to win
Exacta 2-11/2-11-12
Trifecta 2-5-9-11/2-5-9-11/12
Recent Best Bet winners
Aug. 5 – Ready to Purrform ($9.80), trifecta ($469.00)
Aug. 6 – Nations Pride/Annapolis exacta ($29.20)
Aug. 7 – With the Moonlight ($4.30), exacta ($7.50)
Aug. 8 – Loyalty ($7.00), exacta ($23.80)
Last Wednesday – Running Bee ($6.70)
Friday – Bankit/Sea Foam/Brooklyn Strong trifecta ($378.00)
Sunday – Slew's Tiz Whiz ($8.80)
Wednesday – Legends Can't Die/Mackillop/Mo Rewards trifecta ($480.48)