DEL MAR – A pair of seven-furlong, $100,000 stakes races on the dirt for older California-bred horses are the featured events for the second weekend of Del Mar’s 12th fall meeting.
Man O Rose won Saturday’s The Chosen Vron to complete a rare triple while Grand Slam Smile and Sneaker meet in a rematch Sunday in the Betty Grable for fillies and mares.
Running to the outside of longshot Drop Um throughout the race, Man O Rose, ridden by Edwin Maldonado, was off the lead only briefly Saturday as he won by 1 ½ lengths over Drop Um (Kyle Frey). Armando Ayuso rallied second-favorite Shea Brennan late to finish third in the seven-horse feature.
“I didn’t want to press the button on him too soon,” Maldonado said of his strategy. “I just wanted to make it to the top of the stretch.
“I was very confident. I mean, I knew I had a lot of horse coming down the stretch. And he’s comfortable on the outside. He needs to be on the outside. And he has been on the lead most of his career.”
“If he’s on the inside, he gets a little weird,” trainer Jeff Mullins said of Man O Rose. “Maldonado knows him well.”
Man O Rose is favored to be the Cal-Bred of the Year for 2025. He has three stakes wins in three starts this year – with one win apiece at Southern California’s three tracks: Del Mar, Santa Anita and Los Alamitos. And while Saturday’s win was the second on the dirt, his Oct. 11 triumph at Santa Anita was on the turf.
Formerly the Cary Grant Stakes, Saturday’s race was renamed The Chosen Vron in honor of the two-time Cal-bred Horse of the Year who was retired earlier this year.
“It’s kind of nice to have The Chosen Vron gone,” said Mullins. “I loved that horse, but he was tough to beat.”
The Grable will be a rubber match for Grand Slam Smile and Sneaker, who will be meeting for the third time since Aug. 17.
Grand Slam Smile won by a half-length over Sneaker in the $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes on Aug. 17 during Del Mar’s summer meeting. Sneaker got even on Oct. 12 at Santa Anita, finishing a head ahead of Grand Slam Smile to win the $100,000 California Distaff.
Grand Slam Smile, a 4-year-old daughter of Smiling Tiger, was the 2024 champion among 3-year-old Cal-bred fillies. She has never finished out of the money in 15 career starts, earning $626,120 on eight wins, six seconds and a third. Jockey William Antongeorgi III will be aboard the Sean McCarthy-trained Grand Slam Smile Sunday.
Trained by George Papaprodromou, Sneaker will have Antonio Fresu aboard for the first time Sunday. Umberto Rispoli was aboard when Sneaker upset Grand Slam Smile in the California Distaff. Sneaker, a 4-year-old daughter of Oscar Performance, has earned $290,948 in 17 career starts with four wins, four seconds and three thirds.
Grand Slam Smile is the 7-5 morning line favorite in the field of seven for the Betty Grable. Sneaker is list as 3-1 with No Cap (Rispoli) and Issa Court (Hector Berrios) both at 5-1.
Rispoli to Hong Kong
Rispoli, who is the early leader of the fall jockey standings, will return to Hong Kong following the end of the Del Mar season on Nov. 30.
Rispoli has been invited to compete in the four-race International Jockeys Challenge on Dec. 10 at Happy Valley Racecourse. While it is Rispoli’s first time in the 12-jockey IJC, he’s no stranger to Hong Kong. Rispoli spent six years riding in Hong Kong before coming to the United States in 2020. His wife is a native of Hong Kong.
Rispoli had two winners Saturday – My Perfect Wave ($5.80) in the first and Hey Demps ($10.00) in the seventh – to give him seven wins for the meeting. Hector Berrios is second in the jockey standings with five wins. John Sadler leads the trainer standings with five wins. Sadler and Berrios combined to win the fourth race Saturday with favorite Capitvator ($3.80) in the fourth.
Notable
Jockey Mirco Demuro also scored two wins Saturday with Harcyn ($13.00) in the third and longshot Princess Moche ($40.80) in the fifth.
