        |
|
 |
Del Mar Futurity Day Del Mar Debutante Day Pat O'Brien Stakes Pacific Classic Day Rancho Bernardo Stakes |
|
|
 Juan Hernandez celebrates aboard Hughes after winning the 2026 Del Mar Futurity |
The feature race on the last Sunday of the Del Mar summer meeting is the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity (G1) for 2-year-olds sprinting 7 furlongs on the main track. It was unusually warm at the seaside oval for early September with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 80's for the 10,509 fans in attendance. Hughes was sent off as the 1-5 favorite in the field of 5, undefeated in 2 starts including the Best Pal Stakes (G3). In to challenge him included 3-1 second choice Domus off his debut win on July 25 by 5 1/2 lengths, and 11-1 third choice Phone Booth off his second place finish in the Best Pal.
 Hughes draws away in the stretch |
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 4 Hughes Hernandez 2.20 2.10 2.10 1 Phone Booth Rispoli 3.40 3.00 3 Dang Son Jaramillo 4.00 Winning Time: 1:22.57 $1 Exacta 4-1 6.30 $2 Quinella 4-1 14.00 $1 Trifecta 4-1-3 35.30Results Chart |
Left: Hughes in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Bob Baffert, celebrating his sixth straight Del Mar Futurity win said, "He sat off the speed horse. We knew the inside horse was really fast. Juan (Hernandez) said if he had gone to the lead they would have gone faster so he relaxed. We're still learning about these horses. He's the kind of horse who does most of his running at the end which is what you like to see and he was taking off at the end. It's very exciting to win this race. It all started with Silver Charm. It's crazy. It's a long way from Prescott Downs."
Right: Hughes in the paddock before the race. Winning jockey Juan Hernandez said, "I was aware that this was 7/8 and I know that can sometimes be a tough one for a young horse. So I had (High Pronto) inside me, but I didn't want to push on my horse too early. He was handling it all well. I never hit him. When we straightened out, he was lugging in just a bit, so I tapped him on the left side and we were fine. He did his job today."
Left: Second place finisher Phone Booth in the walking ring before the race. The Doug O'Neill trainee improved his record to 1 win and 2 seconds in 3 starts, earning $138,000 for owner-breeder Reddam Racing.
Right: Third place finisher Dang Son heads out to the track before the race. The Doug O'Neill trainee improved his record to 1 win, 0 seconds and 1 third in 3 starts, earning $84,500 for owner Calumet Farm.
 Vanta wins the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes |
Jockey Hector Berrios sent 15-1 Less Please to the lead first time by through fractions of 22.92 and 47.85 while pressed by 40-1 Confetti Rain and stalked by 56-1 longest shot Blockade. On the far tun Blockade gained a short lead through 3/4 in 1:12.85 and led into the stretch through 7f in 1:24.79. Favorite Vanta, 7th early under Umberto Rispoli, came out wide for room and rallied to win going away by 2 1/2 lengths over Blockade in 1:36.30. It was a length back to Ogle third
Vanta in the winner's circle. Winning jockey Umberto Rispoli said, "She's a press-button filly. She's impressive. I had so much underneath. She could be anything possible. So far, she does everything right. Honestly, I had a big smile coming to the quarter-pole. I thought this is going to be easy."
 Desert Gate wins the Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes |
Jockey Victor Espinoza sent 33-1 longest shot Mo Koko to the lead first time by through fractions of 22.54 and 46.42 while pressed by Decisive Win and stalked by Desert Gate. On the far turn, Desert Gate came through on the rail to lead through 3/4 in 1:11.47. Kept to task by Juan Hernandez, Desert Gate drew off to win by 5 1/2 lengths over Mo Koko in 1:36.25. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back to 16-1 Start the Ride third.
Desert Gate in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Bob Baffert said, "This horse likes to run on the lead. They were going so fast but he was lucky to cut the corner and relax. He was doing really great coming into this race. It's fun to see him come back. He's a fun horse to have. We can pick our spots with him. It's been a fun day."
Winning jockey Juan Hernandez said, "This horse has some speed and Bob and I thought we might be on the lead. But he said if you're not, don't worry about it. He can finish. Those other two horses (Mo Koko and Decisive Win) outbroke me, but I wasn't worried. I was happy with my spot. He finished strong."
Back to Horse-Races.Net main page
| Search Horse-Races.Net: |
