Baffert Wants Credit for Cougar II Trifecta
Did anybody else note that the first three finishers in Friday’s Cougar II Handicap were previously or presently trained by Bob Baffert? He did.
“It was a Baffert trifecta,” the Hall of Famer said Saturday morning.
Cougar II winner Richard’s Kid was Baffert’s charge through two Pacific Classic wins, but changed ownership and went to the barn of Doug O’Neill just before the 2012 Classic. Baffert-trained Sky Kingdom, the even-money favorite, was second all the way around. Blueskiesnrainbows, who went from Baffert to Jerry Hollendorfer following his 2012 campaign, led to the last quarter-mile of the 1 ½-mile race, and held on for third.
The ex-and-present Baffert $1 trifecta paid $72.40.
New Old Pueblo Stirs Memories Of ‘57
Old Pueblo worked 5 furlongs on Saturday morning in 1:02.00 for trainer Leonard Powell. If the name struck a bell, you’ve either been coming to Del Mar for a long time or have a photographic memory of track history.
A previous Old Pueblo, trained by Bob Wheeler, won the 1957 Del Mar Futurity, the 10th running of an event set for its 66th edition on September 4.
Old Pueblo’s jockey was the legendary Eddie Arcaro. It was the only stakes victory Arcaro would register at Del Mar and quite possibly the only time he ever rode at Del Mar.
Trakus Facts For Thursday And Friday Races
Bench
Beauty rallied from well off the pace to be a clear third in Thursday’s
fifth race at boxcar odds. Under Joe Steiner, Bench Beauty ran the
final quarter in 24.73 seconds and a final furlong in 12.66 seconds,
easily the fastest in this claiming event. The next fastest splits came
from winner Sugar Spice, who was 0.89 seconds slower in the final two
furlongs based off the Trakus tracking.
In Friday’s second race, Circa’sgoldengear missed the start and was 6 ½ lengths behind winner Distinctiv Passion with a quarter mile to run. He managed those last two furlongs in 21.99 seconds, and a final eighth in 10.99 seconds, becoming the third horse this meet to run a sub-11-second final furlong, finishing fourth with the late flourish.