After winning four straight training titles at Del Mar, Phil D’Amato has seen just about everything — including a 1-2-3-4 sweep in the Eddie Read Stakes last summer.
But he experienced a “first” Saturday during the featured Kathryn Crosby Stakes.
Flavien Prat rode Dolce Zel to victory after the French-bred favorite broke through the starting gate the first time the nine-horse field was in the gate for the 1-mile turf test for older fillies and mares.
“That’s the first time I’ve had a horse break through the gate and win,” said D’Amato. “I give credit to Prat for catching her really quickly out there. He did a masterful job of saving her and giving her a beautiful ride after that.”
Dolce Zel was racing for the first time under D’Amato and the first time since placing sixth in the Grade I Matriarch Stakes here last December for trainer Chad Brown.
Dolce Zel broke through from the No. 5 gate immediately after Ganadora broke through from the No. 6 gate. Prat quickly got Dolce Zel under control while Ganadora headed farther up the main straight under Juan Hernandez. Both horses returned to the gate and restarted.
“When the horse next to me went through the gate early, Dolce Zel thought it was time to go,” said Prat. “But we got back, settled and everything went OK after that. When I squeezed her, she accelerated nicely.”
Dolce Zel was the 8-to-5 favorite before breaking through the gate. She went to 5-to-2 before the start.
Ganadora led after three-quarters of a mile. Dolce Zel took the lead coming out of the far turn and finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Yerwanthere, who had Umberto Rispoli aboard.
Rispoli finished the day with three wins and a second-place finish in the feature. The grass guru, who won Friday’s Let It Ride Stakes on the turf with Dandy Man Shines, stretched his grass winning streak to three straight races by winning the first (Hedwig, $3.80) and third (Mocha Grande, $11.80) races. Rispoli added a third win with Oviatt Class ($15.40) in the eighth race.
For the second straight day, a Bob Baffert trained 2-year-old triumphed in a maiden special race. Pilot Commander, a son of Justify and a $700,000 purchase, won his debut under Juan Hernandez – finishing ahead of another Baffert horse, Imagination (a son of Into Mischief who was a $1.15 purchase).
Notable
Other Saturday winners:
Fourth race: Flatterwithjewels (Giovani Franco, $30.40); Fifth race: Kissed By Fire (Mike Smith, $3.20); Sixth race: Habeas (Diego Herrera, $3.00); Ninth race: Mastermind (Kyle Frey, $24.00).
• The feature on Sunday’s nine-race card is the $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes for older fillies and mares born or sired in California. The 5-2 morning line favorite in the seven-furlong test on the main track is Chancery Way, a 4-year-old daughter of Mr. Big out of the barn of Northern California trainer Jamey Thomas.
Chancery Way finished third in the $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar during the summer meeting after setting the early pace. That race followed a win in the $75,000 Governor’s Cup at Sacramento. Antonio Fresu will be aboard Chancery Way.
• After notifying the stewards Friday morning that he had stepped on a nail, Kent Desormeaux was replaced by Edwin Maldonado on his mounts for the first two days of the fall meeting. Maldonado won Friday’s fifth race on St. Ignacio while subbing for Desormeaux.
• Jockey Joe Bravo, 52, has returned to his native Florida after riding the past four years in Southern California. “I loved racing in California,” said Bravo. “I just got a little homesick and wanted to be closer to my family.”
