Del Mar: Top turf mares clash in Grade 1 Matriarch

The final grade one race for older horses of 2025 is set to be run Sunday, closing day at Del Mar. The Grade 1 Matriarch pits 10 top female grass horses going one mile on the Jimmy Durante turf course and brings a close to the Del Mar fall turf festival. 

Heredia returns to the scene of her Yellow Ribbon (G2) win this summer. The England-bred took them wire-to-wire as the post time favorite that day in August. She followed up the Yellow Ribbon with a sixth-place run in the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland in October.

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“I think it was one of those kind of muddling type of races,” Alice Clapham, assistant to trainer Graham Motion, said of the Keeneland effort. “She ran a good race but just had a lot of ground to make up and just couldn’t quite get there.”

Clapham is expecting a big run out the 6-year-old mare on Sunday.

“She shipped in the other day,” Clapham states. “She looks great and is doing well. I think she’s moved forward after every race she’s run in this year.”

She’ll have to move forward to beat Ag Bullet, runner-up to Shisospicy in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Ag Bullet, a daughter of Twirling Candy, beat the boys in a Grade 1 when she took the Jaipur at Saratoga and with a placing in the Matriarch would surpass the $3 million mark in career earnings.

“She’s ready to run,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “She came out of the Breeders’ Cup race good. She ran good that day. The other horse just got away from us and ran real fast. Ran 55.1 (seconds).”

Ag Bullet will be stretching back out to the mile. The last time she ran two turns was in last year’s Matriarch when she ran third. She won the 2024 Osunitas at Del Mar and is 5: 2-0-1 at the distance.

Trainer Chad Brown entered Juddmonte Farm’s Segesta in the Matriarch. The 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper was runner-up in her last two races after winning the Matchmaker (G3) at Monmouth Park in July. She ran second to Special Wan in the Ladies Turf (G3) at Kentucky Downs then just missed to Simply in Front in the First Lady last out. 

“She’s a very consistent horse, “Brown said. “We’ve always thought she was top class and capable of winning a grade one. She’s been knocking on the door a bit. She’s been grade one-placed more than one time. We’re just looking for the right set up for her to get that grade one under her belt. It looks to be a fair opportunity to do it.”

Brown has shipped horses out to Del Mar and won six of the last eight runnings of the Matriarch.

Trainer Miguel Clement shipped in a couple of talented runners. Ozara is an Ireland-bred filly who won twice at Saratoga this summer including the Ballston Spa (G2). She’s coming off of a disappointing performance at Keeneland where she finished eighth in the First Lady.

“She was a bit unlucky,” Clement said. “She got checked at a pivotal moment in the stretch and yet she was only beaten by four lengths. She’s a better filly than that. She just had no racing luck whatsoever.”      

Clement’s other horse, Breath Away, went up to Canada and took down the Dance Smartly (G2) before coming to Del Mar and running second in the Goldikova (G3) on Breeders’ Cup Day. She was recently sold at the Keeneland auction so she’ll be running for the first time for her new connections, Qatar Racing.

“She’s been a mare on the improve,” Clement said. “In her last three starts she won a stakes at Monmouth, replicated that performance in a grade two in Canada then ran a gallant second here in the Goldikova, so she’s very consistent. She’s honest and so we’ll take a swing at some grade one black type.” 

Another shipper of note is In Our Time from the Saffie Joseph, Jr. barn. She ran second in the Franklin (G2) at Keeneland her last time out.

This will be the 45th running of the Matriarch. It goes off as Race 7 on the nine race Sunday card. Post time is 6:30 p.m. EST.