Del Mar – Doug O’Neill and Bob Baffert locked and loaded for the Del Futurity Stakes with their juveniles outweighing each other
Trainers, Doug O’Neill and Bob Baffert, head to Del Mar with their heavy contingent of two-year-olds to test their mettle under immense pressure from their upcoming rivals.
Both trainers have had top horses to contribute to their success in the previous Del Mar meets.
Bob Baffert holds a record for the most $250,000 Grade 1 Del Mar futurity wins, nine to be exact and seven of those came in consecutive years.
He is also coming off a good run in the Hollywood Park meet, where purses are good and the tracks evens better.
Baffert won his first spring/summer meet at Hollywood Park when he won the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup with two of his horses, First Dude and Game on Dude, the one-two finishers.
The widely recognised and the most successful trainer, now moves on to a much familiar place where he has won nine times since 1996.
He will come to Del Mar with a large brigade and even though he has no fillies to run in the opening race day, Baffert ensured that 23rd July onwards he will run his 2-year-old in every other two-year-old's race of the meet.
Dreamcaster, a Bernardini filly also comes from Bob Baffert’s barn and looks like a good finisher from her past racing endeavours.
The two-year-old colts, the ones to look out from Bob Baffert’s barn Gun Boat and Stirred up, but he has yet to decide on the order he will be running his colts at Del Mar.
There is a Lawyer Ron colt whose name is still not approved, another one to look out for.
Bob Baffert is still high on the two, second and third place finishers Night Tide and Brigand in the Hollywood Juvenile, who ran behind Majestic City at the Hollywood Park.
Doug O’Neill who won the Del Mar Futurity once in 2005 with Stevie Wonderboy, is also headed to Del Mar, loaded with juveniles he believe in order to shine at Del Mar, the horses have to usurp Majestic City who recently won the Hollywood Juvenile.
Another cause for alarm for everyone at Del Mar except trainer Mike Harrington is his own colt Creative Cause, who dazzled everyone on his debut winning a maiden race at Hollywood Park.
Doug O’Neill will be aiming at the Grade 2 $150,000 Best Pal Stakes on 7 August, for his powerful colt I’ll Have Another.
Peter Miller’s Majestic City might be tempted to run in the Best Pal Stakes, but he might overlook all possibilities until the Grade 1 $250,000 Del Mar Futurity on 7 September.
There will be a lot of first timers at the Del Mar, like Peter Miller’s Punch Drunk and Mike Machowsky’s Love My Way.
The West Coast, seaside country has to offer some intriguing meets with the upcoming talent ready to bust out on the scene.
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