Bob Baffert used $300k DRILL to drive home dominance in G.I Del Mar Futurity

The Hall of Fame conditioner notched his ever-increasing record 10th win in the juvenile showcase with DRILL where the turf meets the surf; David Flores used a strong left hand which gave the stewards ‘CAUSE to disqualify his mount.



If this is what Bob Baffert does to his competitors when he doesn’t like the main track surface, imagine what his runners would accomplish if Del Mar ever jettisoned Polytrack in favor of dirt? No need to guess, from 1996 to 2002, he won a remarkable seven straight Del Mar Futuritys…all on dirt!

Here’s the list of his Del Mar Futurity winners:

2011 DRILL Martin Garcia
2009 LOOKIN AT LUCKY Garrett Gomez
2008 MIDSHIPMAN Tyler Baze
2002 ICECOLDBEERATREDS David Flores
2001 OFFICER Victor Espinoza
2000 FLAME THROWER Jerry Bailey
1999 FOREST CAMP David Flores
1998 WORLDLY MANNER Kent Desormeaux
1997 SOUVENIR COPY Chris McCarron
1996 SILVER CHARM Gary Stevens

Of the 10 scores, three colts went forward to be named champions in their careers (SILVER CHARM, MIDSHIPMAN, and LOOKIN AT LUCKY). Where will DRILL rank with the Baffert juveniles of the past? Two turns in the G.I Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita’s Autumn meeting should clarify his status among the best in his barn, determine if he’s tops at the SoCal tracks, and legitimize his contender status for the G.I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs.

DRILL got so much out of this race, it’s not difficult to argue that he was lengths better than his classmates on this day. He raced a close 4th most of the backstretch, allowed Martin Garcia to shuffle him back to 5th, leaving the turn many lengths in arrears, then rallied strongly in the middle of the track under another patented Garcia ride.


DRILL in his maiden win, 13Aug11.

CREATIVE CAUSE wasn’t the brilliant colt we’d seen in his first two starts, both wins that included a score in the G.II Best Pal Stakes earlier in the Del Mar meeting. The strength of those two wins made him the decisive 4-5 favorite. Racing in the clear for the first six furlongs, about the only excuse the son of GIANT’S CAUSEWAY had was that he was 3 wide on the turn.

MAJESTIC CITY created a severe bumping incident, lugging out badly in the final 50 yards while under stout left handed whipping from David Flores. If CREATIVE CAUSE was the dominant colt his odds suggested, he’d have driven clear of the incident. I consider his 2nd place finish a lucky event…he was on his way to third when the trouble happened.

MAJESTIC CITY ran his eyeballs out and created a rather vicious bumping incident in the shadow of the wire. If Flores’s assessment is true, that fatigue caused his mount to make a right hand turn under the left handed stick, MAJESTIC CITY is not a candidate to stretch out. However, if ever there was a 2y.o. made for the new Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint, MAJESTIC CITY is the one.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Type at ya’ soon!

P.S. If you have time and the inclination to vote, I’d love to know which Labor Day weekend performance was the top graded stakes run. Right now, it’s HAVRE DE GRACE in a landslide with 10 of the 14 votes.