Havnameltdown improves to 3-for-4 with Bob Hope win

Odds-on favorite Havnameltdown walked his beat Sunday at Del Mar in the Grade 3, $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes and came away a 1 1/4-length winner in the feature for 2-year-olds at seven furlongs run Sunday at Del Mar.

The husky colt by the Florida sire Uncaptured continued his fine performances at the seaside oval as he registered his third win in four starts at the shore this year. Two of those victories were stakes and his only loss was a second-place finish to stablemate Cave Rock in the Del Mar Futurity (G1).

Havnameltdown is owned by the trio of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. He’s trained by Del Mar kingpin and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and was handled by the track’s leading rider, Juan Hernandez. He ran the seven panels in 1:21.68. The stakes victory was Baffert’s 154th at Del Mar, adding to his record total that has him 69 winners ahead of his next closest pursuer.

“He broke nice and easy today," Hernandez said. "Before in his races he was slingshotting out of there. Today he was more professional. Our other horse (Baffert’s Hard to Figure) inside of us on the rail was trying to get out into us, but my horse took it well. He’s learning how to run. After we cleared that other horse, I had a nice trip from there.”

Finishing second in the juvenile sprint was Newgate, and Practical Move was third.

The winner picked up a check for $60,000 for his efforts and increased his earnings to $288,000.

Havnameltdown, the 9-10 favorite, paid $3.80, $2.20 and $2.10 across the board. Newgate returned $2.40 and $2.10, and Practical Move paid $2.60 to show in the five-horse field.

Racing will next happen at Del Mar on Thanksgiving Thursday, when the track will hold an early eight-race program starting at 2 p.m. EST.