DEL MAR — Leading jockey Juan Hernandez won both ends of Del Mar’s stakes doubleheader Saturday afternoon on a pair of favorites.
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First, Hernandez scored in the $150,000, Grade III Best Pal Stakes with a wire-to-wire romp on the Bob Baffert-trained Hughes ($5), pulling away in the stretch to win by 73/4 lengths over longshot Phone Booth (Umberto Rispoli) in the 6-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds eyeing the Grade I Del Mar Futurity.
Then Hernandez rallied shipper Warming ($5.60) in the stretch to overtake front-running longshot Princesa Moche (Joe Bravo) to win the $200,000, 11/16-mile Grade II Yellow Ribbon Stakes for older fillies and mares on the turf for trainer Graham Motion.
The victories were the fourth and fifth stakes wins of the summer meeting for Hernandez and brought the seven-time Del Mar riding champion’s total to 70 stakes wins.
Hernandez, who scored three wins Saturday to up this season’s leading total to 18 wins, and Baffert will team again in today’s feature – the Grade III Sorrento Stakes, a 6-furlong test on the dirt for 2-year-old fillies, with Holmby.
Although Warming shipped in from the east for the Yellow Ribbon, Hernandez had won before on the 4-year-old daughter of Global Campaign in the Grade III Autumn Miss Stakes last Oct. 26 at Santa Anita.
“I knew what to expect today,” said Hernandez. “She broke a step slow, so I saved all the ground I could. They were going slow up front and that was OK for me. She has a really good turn of foot and showed that today. I was told to ride her with confidence.”
Warming was still last in the seven-horse field at the three-quarter pole and fourth at the top of the stretch. But she finished a neck ahead of Princesa Moche, with Take A Breath another neck back in third.
While Hughes’ win in the Best Pal was Baffert’s first stakes win at Del Mar this summer, it was his record 191st overall at the track – as well as 12th overall in the Best Pal and fifth straight in the race. He immediately pointed Hughes in the direction of the Del Mar Futurity.
“It was beautiful,” Baffert said of Hughes’ dominating victory, his second in as many career starts.
“Juan got him into a good groove, a good flow,” said Baffert, who was at Saratoga. “Hughes has always shown he was special. The second time out is always important. He had been training well and we knew he had a lot of speed. I’m happy for this group at Del Mar. We love Del Mar.”
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“I worked this horse up at Los Alamitos and I really liked him,” said Hernandez. “Bob didn’t give me any instructions with him. He just left it up to me. I like it like that. The horse made it easy for me. He broke so well out of there. And when another horse (You Want Some) came up on our outside at the three-eighths pole, Hughes took it up another notch. He’s a good one.”
Inside knowledge
Hernandez had a choice between the two near co-favorites in Sunday’s Sorrento — Ruiva and Holmby. Hernandez is the only jockey to have been aboard either horse in a race. When given an opportunity to ride either in the Sorrento, Hernandez opted to ride Holmby.
Ruiva, a daughter of Munnings, is the 7-5 morning line favorite in the Sorrento. The Baffert-trained Holmby is listed as 8-5.
Hernandez was aboard Ruiva when she won her debut at Churchill Downs by seven lengths. Trainer Wesley Ward then opted to fly Ruiva to England for the June 17 Grade II Queen Mary Stakes. The 30-horse field was split into two groups and Ruiva finished third overall.
Ruiva arrived at Del Mar last week and will be ridden in the Sorrento by Hall of Fame veteran Mike Smith. She is also switching from the turf to dirt for the first time.
“I think she’s better on the dirt,” said Ward assistant Blake Heap. “She’s very talented. She handled the grass OK, but she does it easy on the dirt.”
Holmby, a daughter of Corniche, won her debut on July 18 by 21/4 lengths with Hernandez aboard.
The Sorrento, which will be the sixth of nine races, has drawn six fillies. Former Del Mar training champion Peter Miller will have a third of the field – Belleza Latina (Emisael Jaramillo) and Crazy Hot Mess (Assael Espinoza).
Classic updates
Two days after saying Forged Steel would run in Saturday’s Whitney Stakes at Saratoga and pass on the Pacific Classic, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. scratched Forged Steel from the Whitney just hours before the race and said the son of Verdomo is again being pointed toward the Aug. 22 Pacific Classic at Del Mar.
Two other trainers whose horses are listed as probable for the Pacific Classic said Saturday morning they are actually on the fence. Trainer Richard Baltas said he is 50-50 about running British Isles. Trainer Jose D’Angelo is undecided about running his recently acquired Bartholdy in the Pacific Classic or the Grade II Pat O’Brien Stakes a week later.
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