Defunded Among Half Dozen For Native Diver At Del Mar

SKINNER SEEKS FIRST GRADED STAKES WIN IN SUNDAY'S NATIVE DIVER The Del Mar Turf Festival takes a day off Sunday but the stakes action continues with arguably the most intriguing race of the holiday weekend. The G3 Native Diver, run at a mile and an eighth on the main track, has attracted seven runners including a horse that nearly ran in the…

Invariably, if there is a 2-year-old stakes race at Del Mar, trainer Bob Baffert is going to be the guy you have to deal with, usually sooner rather than later. Sunday at the shore oval it is very much sooner as the Hall of Fame conditioner runs three of the five juveniles in the feature, the Grade III, $100000 Bob Hope Stakes at seven…

Geaux Rocket Ride © Benoti Photo Eleven runners will go to the post Saturday in Del Mar's showcase offering - the $1-Million FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic - highlighting a stellar 11-race card that offers five Graded stakes and more than $2.3-million in purses. This 33rd edition of the Grade I Pacific Classic will feature a trio of 3-year-olds…

Pacific Classic Trophy © Benoit Photo G1 FANDUEL RACING PACIFIC CLASSIC TAKES SHAPE ONE WEEK OUT Full fields have been commonplace during the summer meet so it's only fitting that Del Mar's marquee race would have a full field or close to it. Nominations closed Thursday for the 33 running of the G1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic at Del Mar…

Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings: Forte Is Still a Force (Forte / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Breeders' Cup Media Team: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 3-year-old Forte held onto the No. 1 position for the second straight week in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, while the first five spots in the poll remained the same. The…

Forte (outside #2) and Saudi Crown battle for The Jim Dandy. (Chelsea Durand) Breeders' Cup Press Release LEXINGTON, Ky. - Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 3-year-old Forte is the new king of the hill in the latest Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, while the dominant victory by White Abarrio in last Saturday's Whitney Stakes (G1) earned…

Forte winning the Jim Dandy. (Susie Raisher) Breedes' Cup Press Release LEXINGTON, Ky. - Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 3-year-old Forte, winner of last Saturday's Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course, has moved into second place behind Cody's Wish in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings. The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic…

DEL MAR, Calif.-Del Mar will present a dandy doubleheader of stakes offerings Saturday featuring the $400000, Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes and the $300000, Grade II San Diego Handicap. They will go as Race 10 and Race 8, respectively, on an 11-race program that has drawn 128 runners. The Crosby, named, of course, in honor of the track's founder, has…

Del Mar will present a dandy doubleheader of stakes offerings Saturday featuring the $400000, Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes and the $300000, Grade II San Diego Handicap. They will go as Race 10 and Race 8, respectively, on an 11-race program that has drawn 128 runners. The Crosby, named, of course, in honor of the track's founder, has drawn 12 fast…

One of Defunded's owners, Michael Pegram, had perhaps the line of the day Monday after the 5-year-old gelded son of Dialed In went gate to wire under Juan Hernandez to win the $400000 Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita. The victory made trainer Bob Baffert king of the Gold Cup, winning the historic race for a record ninth time while breaking…

Caught late and forced to settle for second when racing for Sean McCarthy in last year's GI Hollywood Gold Cup, Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman's Defunded (Dialed In) wrested command of the 2023 iteration soon after the start and led past every pole to give trainer Bob Baffert a ninth victory in the event, breaking a tie with the…

Defunded. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire) Santa Anita Press Box ARCADIA, Calif.-An odds-on multiple stakes winner that was expected to be on the lead in Saturday's Grade II, $200000 Californian Stakes at Santa Anita, Defunded took a crow-hop leaving the gate and instead of being in front, found himself last in a field of six, four lengths off the…

Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 8:52 pm |Back to: Top News Stilleto Boy (middle) bests Proxy (outside) and Defunded (inside) | Benoit Stilleto Boy (Shackleford), so often a major player in graded races but seldom a winner, finally got the big one, winning the GI Santa Anita H. Saturday at the Great Race Place. He was third in last year's Big'Cap, had…

With Bob Baffert in search of his sixth Big Cap victory and upstart Phil D'Amato aiming for his first ever win in one of North America's signature showdowns for older horses, Defunded and Newgrange head a field of 11 older horses going a mile and one quarter in the 86 running of the Grade I, $500000 Santa Anita Handicap, presented by Yaamava'…

Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman's Havnameltdown set all the fractions and held stablemate and co-favorite Faustin at bay to the wire to win the GII San Vicente S. by 1 1 /2 lengths at Santa Anita Sunday. Off a tad awkwardly from his inside post, Havnameltdown recovered quickly to pull himself to the early lead and was in control after a…

Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife is scheduled to make the final start of his racing career Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where the multiple Grade 1 stakes winner has been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by Baccarat at Sunday's post-position draw. The Pegasus World Cup will…

Peter Brant's grand racemare Regal Glory Matriarch Stakes on closing day Sunday of the fall meet. The 6-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom raced to a 5 1/4-length victory in the turf mile, and she ran it in 1:33.60, the second-fastest time for the headliner since it was shifted from Hollywood Park to Del Mar nine years ago. Regal Glory was handled…

Sunday, Del Mar NATIVE DIVER S.-GIII, $150500, Del Mar, 11-27, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:50.12, ft. 1- DEFUNDED, 125, g, 4, by Dialed In 1st Dam: Wind Caper (MSP, $194286), by Touch Gold 2nd Dam: Wind Tunnel, by Summer Squall 3rd Dam: Tivli, by Mt. Livermore ($210000 Ylg'19 KEESEP). O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman; B-Athens Woods LLC (KY);…

DEL MAR, Calif.- Tizamagician will try again to get back in the winner's circle when the stakes action at Del Mar shifts to the main track Sunday for the mile and an eighth, G3 Native Diver. The son of Tiznow heads up a six-pack of horses, 3-year-olds and up. He hasn't had his picture taken after a race since winning the G3 Cougar II during the…

TIZAMAGICIAN LOOKS TO END YEAR-LONG DROUGHT IN NATIVE DIVER Tizamagician will try again to get back in the winner's circle when the stakes action at Del Mar shifts to the main track Sunday for the mile and an eighth, G3 Native Diver. The son of Tiznow heads up a six-pack of horses, 3-year-olds and up. He hasn't had his picture taken after a race…

Odds-on favorite Cave Rock lived up the billing when rolling to a dominant front-running victory in the Grade 1, $300000 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday. The son of Arrogate, who improved to 3-for-3 while locking up a bid in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile, led a sweep of the superfecta by colts trained by Bob Baffert. Cave…

Two very different, but very interesting, stakes races will highlight the Sunday Labor Day Weekend card at Del Mar. The first test brings out 3-year-old fillies, seven of them in fact, for the 45th edition of the Torrey Pines Stakes, a Grade III offering that carries a purse of $125000 and goes at a mile on the main track. The second is for…

Two very different, but very interesting, stakes races will highlight the Sunday Labor Day Weekend card at Del Mar. The first test brings out 3-year-old fillies, seven of them in fact, for the 45th edition of the Torrey Pines Stakes, a Grade III offering that carries a purse of $125000 and goes at a mile on the main track. The second is for…