Del Mar 2022: Hot and cold trainers entering the homestretch
Only three weeks and 12 racing days remain in what by all accounts has been a banner meet at Del Mar this summer.
As the finish line comes into sight, Phil D’Amato continues to lead the trainers standings both in earnings ($1,517,790) and wins with 13, which is one more than runner-up Bob Baffert. Interestingly, D’Amato, who has had a meet-high 85 starters, has no horses entered on Saturday’s 10-race card, which features four events for California-breds.
Baffert continued his hot hand in the last two weeks when going 6-for-22, a 27.3 percent strike rate. On Friday, Baffert will saddle the 2-year-olds Hard to Figure and Carmel Road in a maiden special weight event carded as the third race. On Saturday, he has Laurel River and Defunded entered in the Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2).
The table below shows the top 15 trainers at Del Mar, based on wins entering Thursday’s action.
| Trainer | Record | Win % | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phil D'Amato | 85: 13-16-19 | 15% | $1,517,790 |
| Bob Baffert | 43: 12-8-10 | 28% | $920,550 |
| Peter Miller | 76: 10-13-10 | 13% | $891,112 |
| George Papaprodromou | 65: 10-8-7 | 15% | $823,100 |
| Doug O'Neill | 85: 10-10-8 | 12% | $796,772 |
| John Sadler | 57: 9-11-7 | 16% | $610,792 |
| Mark Glatt | 47: 8-11-8 | 17% | $577,696 |
| Andy Mathis | 26: 7-2-2 | 27% | $306,908 |
| Michael McCarthy | 42: 5-5-4 | 12% | $523,020 |
| Steve Knapp | 36: 5-4-2 | 14% | $217,740 |
| Jonathan Wong | 33: 5-4-5 | 15% | $206,120 |
| Luis Mendez | 14: 4-2-3 | 29% | $246,680 |
| Jeff Mullins | 29: 4-3-3 | 14% | $244,880 |
| Carla Gaines | 18: 4-1-3 | 22% | $243,096 |
| Peter Eurton | 29: 4-2-3 | 14% | $239,060 |
The table above reflects the entirety of the meet, but there have been a handful of trainers in the last two weeks who have been notably "hot" or "cold." Take a closer look.
Hot trainers
Luis Mendez. He is best known for his work with young horses, and it has been no different at this meet. Of his four winners from 14 starters at the stand, three were maidens and the other is 2-year-old The Big Wham in the Aug. 12 Graduation Stakes. Mendez’s roster is limited, which is reflected this week with only one starter, though Sunday’s card is still to be drawn. That starter is debuting 2-year-old Meta Girl, a son of Jimmy Creed who is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the second race on Thursday.
Andy Mathis. The Northern California-based trainer has sent a string south to Del Mar the last several summers but never has had this type of success. Over the last two weeks, Mathis won at a 25 percent clip (4-for-16) to propel him into the top 10 in wins. Last summer at Del Mar, he finished in a tie for 21st with four wins from 28 starts.
Mathis will look to keep the good times going with two starters on Saturday, both in allowance/optional claiming events.
Mark Glatt. Two weeks ago, Glatt made the cold list after a 1-for-17 start to the meet. Things have gotten considerably better since as he has won with seven of his last 30 starters, a 23.3 percent success rate, to vault into the top 10 of the trainer’s standings. Additionally, Glatt looks to have a Del Mar Futurity (G1) prospect on his hand after Agency ran a good second to Bob Baffert-trained Havnameltdown in last week’s Best Pal Stakes (G3).
Glatt this week has four starters entered on Thursday and three more on Saturday, including Howbeit, who drops into an allowance race after finishing off the board in the Bing Crosby (G1).
George Papaprodromou. It has been a summer, and a season, to remember for the 46-year-old native of Cyprus in the Greek isles. He is on pace to set new personal bests in both wins and earnings for a single year, and last month at Del Mar, he collected his first Grade 1 win when American Theorem prevailed in the Bing Crosby.
Papaprodromou has won with seven of his last 36 starters (19.4 percent) to move into a tie for fourth in the trainers standings with 10 wins overall. He has also compiled $823,100 in purse earnings. Last summer at Del Mar, Papaprodromou was 3-for-28 with $134,540 in earnings.
He has six horses entered this week, including American Theorem, who will look to earn a graded-stakes double at the meet in Saturday’s Pat O’Brien.
Cold trainers
There are 12 trainers with at least 10 starters at the meet who remain winless. Among those are Walther Solis, who does his best work with early-season 2-year-olds this time of year. He is 0-for-23. Ryan Hanson, who during the Santa Anita winter-spring meet hit at a solid 14 percent clip, is 0-for-22 at Del Mar.
Other trainers with at least 10 starters at Del Mar who are winless are Val Brinkerhoff (0-for-17), Jack Sisterson (0-for-15), Bill McLean (0-for-15), Neil Drysdale (0-for-14), Jeff Engler (0-for-12), Lorenzo Ruiz (0-for-11), Kristin Mulhall (0-for-10) Ed Moger Jr. (0-for-10) and Alfredo Marquez (0-for-10).
A trio of other notable trainers also have stalled in the last two weeks.
Michael McCarthy. He started the meet hitting at a 19 percent clip (16: 3-2-3) with half of his starters finishing in the money. Since then he’s gone 2-for-26. McCarthy has only three starters this week, with Sunday’s card still to be drawn. They include the unraced 2-year-olds Bye Bye Buggsy on Thursday and Secret Treasure on Friday.
Brian Koriner. Last summer at Del Mar, he won at a 14 percent rate (5-for-35) and tied for 13th in the trainer’s standings. Well past the midway point of this season, the barn has struggled to a mark of 2-for-27 (7 percent). Koriner has six horses entered from Thursday through Saturday at Del Mar, including four maidens.
Leonard Powell. He was a top 15 trainer at Del Mar last summer but has yet to gain much traction this season. Powell’s only win came the second day of the meet, though it was a stakes score with Avenue de France in the $100,000 Osunitas Stakes. This week he has one horse entered on Thursday and one on Saturday: Woodbine Way, who has leading rider Juan Hernandez in the irons in an allowance/optional claimer.