Prospect Watch: 10 juveniles you can’t miss at Del Mar, Saratoga
In case you haven’t noticed, Saturday is an action-packed day at Del Mar and Saratoga. Grade 1 races are slated to take place at both tracks, but just as interesting are the high-quality maiden special weights for juveniles on the agenda.
The fields are so deep, it’s possible we could see multiple future Grade 1 winners take the stage. Here is a review of 10 of the most expensive and best-bred names in the entries.
Saratoga Race 1: Maiden special weight (6 1/2 furlongs, 1:05 p.m. EDT)
#2 Gilded Age
Pedigree: Medaglia d’Oro – Angela Renee, by Bernardini
Purchase price: $600,000
Trainer: Bill Mott
Medaglia d’Oro is a noted stamina influence, and Angela Renee won the Chandelier Stakes (G1) racing 1 1/16 miles as a juvenile, so it is safe to say Gilded Age boasts a gilded pedigree. He has put together a lengthy work tab at Saratoga and looks like the type who could develop into a Kentucky Derby contender.
#4 Union Lights
Pedigree: Union Rags – By the Light, by Malibu Moon
Purchase price: N/A
Trainer: Michelle Nevin
The Grade 1-placed sprinter By the Light won nine stakes and previously foaled multiple Grade 1-winning sprinter/miler By the Moon, so there’s definitely speed and class in Union Lights’ female family. Union Lights also might receive speed and early-maturing bloodlines from Union Rags, a Grade 1-winning juvenile who later won the Belmont Stakes. Suffice to say, this is a classy pedigree.
#6 Triple Elvis
Pedigree: Into Mischief – Night and Day, by Unbridled’s Song
Purchase price: $700,000
Trainer: Chad Brown
A son of two-time leading sire Into Mischief, Triple Elvis is a half-brother to Made You Look, a multiple graded-stakes winner running long on turf. It’s hard to say what conditions will suit Triple Elvis best, but he has shown speed in the mornings at Saratoga and should give a respectable account of himself under three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.
#9 Raymond
Pedigree: Into Mischief – Teen Pauline, by Tapit
Purchase price: $1,000,000
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
In 2012, Teen Pauline won her debut as a juvenile at Saratoga before placing in the Spinaway (G1). She later won the Top Flight Handicap (G2) as a 4-year-old and is now in the midst of a productive broodmare career, with Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Cambria her best foal to date. In short, Raymond has the pedigree to win from an early age for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who has gone 11-for-32 (34 percent) debuting juveniles over the Saratoga main track since 2019.
Saratoga Race 7: Maiden special weight (6 1/2 furlongs, 4:29 p.m. EDT)
#2 My Prankster
Pedigree: Into Mischief – My Wandy’s Girl, by Flower Alley
Purchase price: $600,000
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
My Prankster has been clocking fast workouts at Saratoga, which is not surprising since he’s a son of Into Mischief (often considered a speed influence) out of the graded stakes-winning sprinter My Wandy’s Girl. A half mile from the starting gate in 47 seconds on Aug. 8 suggests My Prankster has the talent to factor on debut.
#5 Bellinger
Pedigree: Super Saver – Nicole’s Dream, by Northern Trend
Purchase price: $100,000
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
It’s a little surprising that Bellinger sold for only $100,000 as a yearling, considering that Super Saver won the Kentucky Derby and Nicole’s Dream won 24 of her 53 starts (including 11 stakes) before foaling a pair of stakes winners, led by Grade 3 hero Phat Man. If Bellinger runs to his workouts – which include a half mile from the Saratoga starting gate in 47 2/5 seconds – his purchase price might start to look like a bargain.
Del Mar Race 4: Maiden special weight (5 1/2 furlongs, 6:30 p.m. EDT)
#1 Rhetoric
Pedigree: Quality Road – Hard Not to Like, by Hard Spun
Purchase price: $600,000
Trainer: Bob Baffert
It’s hard not to like the pedigree of Rhetoric, whose dam, Hard Not to Like, was a Kentucky Oaks veteran who won a trio of Grade 1 stakes running long on turf. We might not see Rhetoric’s best until he stretches out in distance, though he has flashed speed in the mornings for hot trainer Bob Baffert, who wins at a 38 percent rate with runners debuting in maiden special weights.
Pedigree: American Pharoah – Just Louise, by Five Star Day
Purchase price: $300,000
Trainer: Richard Mandella
American Pharoah was a champion 2-year-old, and Just Louise won her first two starts as a juvenile, including the Debutante Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. Surely Forbidden Kingdom will show similar promise right out of the gate? He has been training swiftly at Del Mar and should give an encouraging account of himself on debut.
#4 Kamui
Pedigree: Quality Road – Chiding, by Blame
Purchase price: $400,000
Trainer: Bob Baffert
The second Baffert trainee has been cranking out fast workouts like clockwork at Del Mar, including a half mile in 46 4/5 seconds and five furlongs from the starting gate in 59 1/5. With acclaimed jockey Joel Rosario in the saddle, Kamui can vie for victory on debut, even though his pedigree suggests running long will be his true forte.
#6 Portsmouth
Pedigree: Twirling Candy – Unique Ride, by Tale of the Cat
Purchase price: $150,000
Trainer: Bob Baffert
The third and final Baffert runner hasn’t been quite as swift as Kamui in the mornings, though a half mile from the starting gate in 47 1/5 seconds and five furlongs from the gate in 59 1/5 suggest there is plenty of talent here. Jockey Abel Cedillo (a 31 percent winner when teaming up with Baffert in the last two months) is named to ride, so even though Portsmouth cost less than half as much as Kamui, don’t count him out of the mix.