Del Mar: Adare Manor, Pretty Mischievous line up in Hirsch
Adare Manor, who won the race last year, and Pretty Mischievous, a reigning division champion, bring their combined five top-level victories into Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar.
The 1 1/16-mile race for eight fillies and mares will qualify the winner for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, which will be run at 1 1/8 miles over the same main track Nov. 2.
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Adare Manor, who is owned by Michael Lund Petersen and trained by Bob Baffert, arrives at the Hirsch off back-to-back wins by open lengths in the Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) on April 13 at Oaklawn and the Santa Margarita (G2) on May 26 at Santa Anita. The 5-year-old Uncle Mo mare who has earned $1,856,600 will start from post 2 with her regular jockey Juan Hernández.
With $2,104,560, Pretty Mischievous brings the biggest bankroll into Saturday’s race, but she is looking for her first win as a 4-year-old. Last summer at this time she was in the middle of a streak of three consecutive Grade 1 wins that led her to the Eclipse Award as the top 3-year-old filly. This year, the Godolphin homebred daughter of Into Mischief finished third in the May 3 La Troienne (G1) at Churchill Downs and third in the Ogden Phipps (G1) at Saratoga. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Pretty Mischievous will carry Umberto Rispoli from post 8.
Scylla is the hottest entrant in the Hirsch. Never out of the money in seven starts, the Juddmonte homebred 4-year-old by Tapit has won three consecutive races, all at Churchill Downs. They included a one-mile allowance on the May 4 Kentucky Derby undercard, the Shawnee (G3) on June 1 and the Fleur de Lis (G2) on June 29. Mike Smith will ride for trainer Bill Mott out of post 3.
Desert Dawn is back to try to do more than just scare Adare Manor the way she did when she fought to a second-place finish by one length in last year’s Hirsch. The 5-year-old Cupid mare owned by H & E Ranch started 2024 with a victory in the La Cañada (G3). She was a distant fourth to Sweet Azteca in the Beholder Mile (G1), a race in which Adare Manor placed second. Desert Dawn wound up a close third last out April 21 in the Santa Maria (G2). Racing for the first time this year away from Santa Anita, she will be ridden for Phil D’Amato by Antonio Fresu.
The Clement L. Hirsch, named for the late horse owner and creator of the Oak Tree Racing Association, will be the 10th of 11 races Saturday at Del Mar. It will start after 9:30 p.m. EDT.