Eden’s Moon fires in San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar
Bob Baffert’s experiment of running Eden's Moon on turf turned to be a successful move, as the 3-year-old grabbed the first prize in the $150,000, San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar on Sunday, July 22nd.
Owned by Kaleem Shah Inc, the bay filly returned to action after nearly a month. She did not face any trouble to outsmart the entire opposition, as she dominated the proceedings all the way through.
In the hands of Rafael Bejarano, she came out of her lean patch in a great fashion, notching up the top rank by one and a quarter lengths. Eric J. Guillot’s charge, Open Water, tried hard to take the glory away from the leading filly, but failed terribly.
The daughter of Malibu Moon, the 9-10 pick, stopped the clock in 1:34.38 over one-mile to ensure a comprehensive victory. Enormously delighted over the filly’s tremendous effort on hard surface, Baffert stated:
“I didn’t know what to do with her down here, but we worked her on the turf and she liked it. She likes a firmer surface, turf or dirt, and now we know we have options with her. We have the (Del Mar) Oaks here, so we can think about that.”
The $300,000, Del Mar Oaks is scheduled to be held over nine furlongs on August 18th. The filly had been going through an unlucky spell since clinching two back-to-back triumphs at Santa Anita earlier this season.
After grabbing the first position in the Maiden Special Weight, she stepped up to the graded event, and continued her good form. In the Grade 1 Las Virgenes Stakes, the maverick filly defeated the likes of Reneesgotzip and Open Water to secure the top status. In her penultimate trip, she was runner-up behind Potesta in the Grade 2 Hollywood Oaks.
Bejarano was also surprised to see Eden’s Moon taking a wonderful start, adding that the filly went to the front row with plenty of ease. He added:
“She was comfortable. I thought maybe we’re going a little fast, but she was doing it so well I just let her run. She’s a nice filly; there’s no doubt about that. And she likes the grass. We know that now, too.”
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