: DMTC News – From the Wire

By Jim Charvat —-


Stable Notes August 2, 2026

CLEMENT L. HIRSCH WINNER EUNOMIA BREEDERS’ CUP BOUND

G1 Clement L. Hirsch winner Eunomia “bounced out good” from Saturday’s race and will now begin preparations for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, which she earned a spot in with her victory in the “Win and You’re In” race at Del Mar.

Eunomia sat off a pace duel between race favorite Seismic Beauty and Simply Joking through the first half of the race. Seismic Beauty, who won the Clement Hirsch last year, was the first to fold her cards, backing out and leaving Eunomia alone with Simply Joking, well ahead of the rest of the field. The winner pounced on the turn and the two dueled into and down the lane. The daughter of Tiz the Law grabbed the lead at the sixteenth pole and then had to hold off a surging Om N Joy late.

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. heaped praise on his jockey Micah Husbands after the race.

“Micah really showed up,” Joseph, Jr. noted. “He’s been winning graded stakes for us all year. He’s a young kid who hasn’t ridden that long but he’s big in these moments.”

The 23-year-old Husbands has won seven graded stakes this year, all for Joseph, Jr., including the G1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park in April. He’s the nephew of Canadian champion rider Patrick Husbands.

As for Joseph, Jr., he got what he came for when he sent Eunomia out west to Del Mar this week.

“It’s a Grade I,” the trainer says. “A Grade I win on the resume is huge.”

He plans to ship Eunomia to his base at Saratoga on Tuesday.

“It depends,” he says of running another prep before the Breeders’ Cup in November. “She’s very fresh but there’s a strong possibility we’ll go straight there. She likes Keeneland.”

As for the runner-up Om N Joy, no one was hanging their heads in the Aggie Ordonez barn Sunday morning. They were all very proud of the way she ran and believe if she had another 50 yards, it could have been a different outcome.

“I felt that,” Ordonez contends. “She was charging late. Especially that last 100 yards she was flying. She just ran out of real estate.”

Ordonez says Om N Joy came out of the race great.

“She looks about the same as she did at this time yesterday,” Ordonez says. “She doesn’t look like she lost any weight. She ate her dinner and she’s dancing in perfect form.”

Ordonez would like to try again to get into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The next “Win and You’re In” for the Distaff division would be the G2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita on September 27.

On the Clement Hirsch undercard, trainer Dean Pederson continues his dominance of the $150,000 California Dreamin’. He’s won it four out of the last five years. Saturday On the Whim took the lead at the start of the race and fought off everyone who tried to take it from him, holding on in a desperate three-way blanket finish to win.

Sunday morning Pederson said On the Whim came out of the race in good order and “ate up everything” last night. The son of Acclamation won the California Dreamin’ two years ago, but missed last year’s race when Pederson turned him out for the summer. Pederson’s other California Dreamin’ wins were back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 with Carmelita’s Man.

“Having the right horse,” Pederson says when asked about any formula for winning the Cal-bred race. “I’ve run two solid, hard trying individuals. I’m not saying they’re the most talented horses on the backstretch, but one thing they do is give you 110 percent.”

It was the second day in a row a horse from the Harris Farms won a stakes race at Del Mar. Friday He’s a Knockout won the Real Good Deal Stakes and, like winning trainer Carla Gaines, Pederson also became a bit emotional after winning a race with a horse from the late John Harris.

“We’re very fortunate and it means a lot,” Pederson claims. “I know Mr. Harris is watching.”

Pederson says he has no immediate plans for On the Whim except to “give him a couple days.”

McCARTHY CONSIDERS MALARCHUK FOR PACIFIC CLASSIC

Trainer Michael McCarthy is thinking about running one of his horses in this year’s G1, $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on August 22. Malarchuk, a 5-year-old son of Nyquist, finished a distant second in the G2 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita in his last start. He was beaten by Forged Steel by 9 ½ lengths.

“I thought he ran okay,” McCarthy says. “Beaten a fair ways. I thought it was a respectable performance.”

Malarchuk did beat Mc Vay, by a nose, and Subsanador in the Gold Cup, two other horses being considered for the Pacific Classic.

“We’re going to give it a thought,” McCarthy states. “We’ll nominate him to a couple of spots. He’ll work again one more time and then we’ll come up with a game plan for (owners) Mr. (Paul) Reddam and Eric Johnson. Sort of feel our way out and see what happens with the competition.”

McCarthy has run a horse in the Pacific Classic four times with his best finish coming last year with Journalism, who ran second to Fierceness.

“It would be great (to win),” McCarthy notes. “It’s a marquee race in California. It’s on the list.”

Malarchuk brings the number of horses “possible” for the 36th running of the Pacific Classic to nine. The others, in no particular order, are Nysos, Knightsbridge, Forged Steel, Mc Vay, Subsanador, Full Serrano, Finger and The Goat.

BAFFERT LOADS UP FOR DEFENSE OF TRAINING CROWN AT DEL MAR

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is back for another season at Del Mar. He missed opening weekend for the first time in years while tending to business back in Kentucky. That’s not to say he didn’t run horses at Del Mar. He had a winner in Holmby, a promising 2-year-old filly by first year sire Corniche, who handily took down a maiden special weight on July 18.

“It’s good to be here,” Baffert says. “We’ve got some nice horses here.”

Baffert is defending back-to-back training titles at Del Mar’s summer meet. He won in 2024 with 23 wins and then topped his nearest competitor by six wins with 24 victories in 2025. He’s won 10 Del Mar training titles in all, seven in a row between 1997 and 2003. Baffert continues to set the pace for most wins by a trainer all-time at Del Mar with 688 and for the most stakes wins with 190. Many of his victories over the past two years have been by his 2-year-olds and he believes he has another strong crop this year.

“We always bring 2-year-olds out here to get ready,” Baffert contends. “A few are in Kentucky but a majority of them are here. Hopefully by the end of the meet we’ll get some races into them. Those I can’t get in, I’ll ship back to Kentucky.”

Two of his juveniles were on display last Saturday (7-25). Domus and Nayar ran one-two in a maiden special weight. Baffert has such a large number of 2-year-olds in his stable it’s not uncommon for him to run them against each other.

“We’re on an island here,” Baffert explains referring to California racing. “It’s getting tougher to find races for dirt horses here in California. Everybody is leaning toward turf. It’s not the fault of the racing management it’s just the way it is. The owners like turf racing and the Cal-bred program and I don’t have any Cal-breds.”

The ultimate goal is to get his top juveniles to the Breeders’ Cup and a major steppingstone to reaching that goal is the G1 Del Mar Debutante on September 5 or the G1 Del Mar Futurity on September 6. Baffert seems to have the winning touch in both races. He’s won the Debutante 12 times and the Futurity 19 times.

One of the big news stories of opening week was provided by Baffert when he announced Nysos was pointing to next month’s Pacific Classic. The son of Nyquist and last out winner of the G1 Met Mile arrived on the grounds a week and a half ago and worked a scintillating four furlongs in :47.60 last Saturday (7-25) in his first work at the seaside oval.

“He looks great,” Baffert says. “It was always my plan (to run in the Pacific Classic). The timing is good and I want to support Del Mar. He’s training well and if all goes well, we’ll see.”

The G1, $1 million Pacific Classic will be run on August 22.

Baffert also has Nevada Beach at Del Mar this summer. The winner of the G3 Native Diver at Del Mar last fall has put in three works at the seaside oval, the latest on Friday when he breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 (17/38).

Imagination and Desert Gate arrived at Del Mar a week ago. Imagination was runner-up to Bentornato in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last year at Del Mar and Desert Gate won the 2025 G3 Best Pal before running second in the Futurity.

2-YEAR-OLD GRADED STAKES HIGHLIGHT NEXT WEEK’S RACING ACTION

Another stakes-packed weekend is planned for next week at Del Mar, week four of the eight-week summer meet. Three of the four stakes races are graded and two of those are the first graded stakes for juveniles this season.

It all starts Friday with the $100,000 Graduation Stakes for 2-year-old Cal-breds going 5 ½ furlongs on the main track. Eight colts and geldings are entered in the race including Net Par, a very impressive maiden winner on opening weekend for trainer Antonio Garcia. The son of Pavel won by seven widening lengths.

A stakes doubleheader is on tap for Saturday with the first of the meet’s juvenile graded stakes. The G3 Best Pal pits some of the more promising 2-year-olds on the grounds. Trainer Bob Baffert has his colt Hughes eyeing a run in the Best Pal. The son of Into Mischief broke his maiden at first asking by six lengths at Los Alamitos in June.

Nine 2-year-olds, including two fillies from trainer Wesley Ward’s barn, have been nominated for the 56th running of the Best Pal. The six-furlong sprint on the main track is considered the local prep for the G1, $300,000 Del Mar Futurity on September 6.

The lone stake race for older horses next weekend is the G2 Yellow Ribbon on Saturday. Fillies and mares will go a mile and a sixteenth on the Jimmy Durante turf course. Thought Process, winner of last year’s G2 San Clemente at Del Mar and this year’s G1 Gamely at Santa Anita, leads the 22 nominations that include shippers from the barns of H. Graham Motion, Michael Maker, Vicki Oliver and Jose D’Angelo.

Sunday’s feature is the G3 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. It’s the local prep for the G1, $300,000 Del Mar Debutant on September 5. The 12 nominations for the six-furlong sprint on the main track include Holmby, a first-time winner on opening weekend for Baffert.

Racing will be conducted Thursday through Sunday. First post daily is 2 p.m.

COOLING OUT: The percentage of favorites winning races at Del Mar continues to plummet. Saturday only one favorite, Keepsmesane, made it to the winner’s circle. With one day left in Week Three of racing, only 17 favorites have won out of 97 races, a rate of 17.53%…We have an update on the travel plans for the Japanese horse, Finger, who’s planning to run in this year’s Pacific Classic. He will arrive at LAX on Friday, August 14 where he will go into quarantine at Jet Pets near the airport. He will stay there for a couple of days before moving to Del Mar on Sunday, August 16. He goes back to Japan on August 24…Jockey Joel Rosario is on a heater. He won two more races Saturday making it five wins in the past two days. Four of those have come in collaboration with trainer John Sadler…Notable works on Sunday – Dirt – Sumter (3f, :35.20); Iron Man Cal (4f, :49.00); Shea Brennan (4f, :48.80); Full Serrano (5f, :59.40); Holmby (5f, 1:00.20); Inshallah (5f, 1:00.20), and Vodka Vodka (5f, :59.80). Turf – Freedom’s Not Free (4f, :50.80); King of Gosford (4f, :50.80); Mirahmadi (4f, :49.40); Motorious (4f, :51.60; Take A Breath (4f, :49.80); Thought Process (4f, :52.40); Unconquerable Keen (4f, :49.60), and Ag Bullet (5f, 1:03.00). A total of 206 horses put in official works on the main track Sunday, 31 on the Jimmy Durante turf course.