Trainer Keith Desormeaux doesn’t waste words when it comes to 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion Texas Red.
“Texas Red changed my life,” Desormeaux said Friday at Del Mar.
He didn’t say that once. He didn’t say it twice. He said it three times ... each time with a bit more emphasis.
Now a daughter of Texas Red could provide the trainer with another “life-changing” horse.
My Girl Red, with Flavien Prat aboard, won the Grade II Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies in her Del Mar debut.
“That was pretty impressive, but it is still early,” said Desormeaux of the win in the 6-furlong, $150,000 sprint that points My Girl Red toward the Grade I Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 6.
Taking the lead shortly after the start, My Girl Red finished 43/4 lengths ahead of first-time starter Get on the Bus. Long shot Exchange Vows was third, another five lengths back.
“She showed speed away from the (start), then we got a nice breather on the far turn,” said Prat, who scored his seventh stakes win of Del Mar’s summer meeting. “From there she just went on and won in hand.”
“I know the time (1:12.12) is average,” said Desormeaux. “But I think she can go quicker. She has shown signs of class and attributes of a good horse. It’s nice to see her duplicate in the afternoon what we see in the mornings.
“Flavien was telling me how she was looking around and kind of losing interest the last eighth (of a mile).”
My Girl Red also won her first race by more than four lengths. But that was back on June 14 at Santa Anita.
“I didn’t have any special instructions, just ‘ride her with confidence,’<TH>” said Prat of the 4-5 favorite.
More stakes action
The Wesley Ward-trained Roderick, who flew in from Keeneland, will lead a seven-horse field into today’s Grade II Best Pal Stakes — the male side of the weekend’s two 6-furlong sprints for 2-year-olds.
Roderick made his racing debut on June 21 at Belmont Park with an 81/4-length win. Ward then returned him to Lexington, Ky., and had also entered the Into Mischief colt in Friday’s $150,000 Saratoga Special before shipping him to Del Mar. He arrived here on Monday.
Ward has saddled eight previous stakes winners at Del Mar. Prat will be aboard Roderick.
Trainer Peter Miller’s Herd Immunity returns to the West Coast after running third in the Bashford Manor Stakes on June 27 shortly after winning a maiden race at Santa Anita. The Best Pal Stakes is the sixth race on the card.
There will be two, $150,000 Grade II stakes races — the Best Pal and Yellow Ribbon Handicap — today plus the Grade III La Jolla Handicap set for Sunday.
Beau Recall, a 6-year-old, Irish-bred mare, will start as the defending champion in the Yellow Ribbon, which goes off as the ninth race. Morning-line favorite Jolie Olimpica was scratched, leaving a field of seven of older fillies and mares going 11/16-miles on the turf. After winning three races with three runner-up finishes in 2019, Beau Recall finished ninth of 14 in the May 30 Mint Julep at Churchill Downs and second in the Grade I Just a Game Stakes at Belmont Park on June 27. Umberto Rispoli will be aboard Beau Recall.
Notable
Prat and Rispoli each won two races Friday with Prat, the defending meet jockey champion, maintaining a two-win lead over the newcomer (20-18).
Center is a freelance writer.
August 08, 2020 at 12:19PM
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/horse-racing/story/2020-08-07/red-is-trainers-favorite-color-on-track
Red is trainer's favorite color on track - The San Diego Union-Tribune
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment