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 Flavien Prat aboard Segesta after winning the Matriarch Stakes |
The feature race on closing day of the Bing Crosby fall meeting at Del Mar was the $300,000 Matriarch Stakes (G1) for older fillies and mares going 1 mile on the Jimmy Durante turf course. Conditions were typical for late November at the seaside oval, with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50's for the 3,281 fans in attendance, the main track rated fast and the turf going firm. A field of 9 went to post with Segesta sent off as the 8-5 favorite off close second place finishes in the Ladies Turf (G3) at Kentucky Downs and the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland. In to challenge her included 3-1 second choice Ag Bullet, second in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1), and 7-2 third choice Medoro, third in the Goldikova (G3) after finishing second in the John C. Mabee (G2).
 Down the stretch in the Matriarch Stakes |
Jockey Javier Castellano sent 29-1 In Our Time to the lead first time by through fractions of 23.65, 48.06, and 1:12.49 while pressed by Ag Bullet and stalked by 20-1 Vibez. Turning for home, favorite Segesta, 4th early under Flavien Prat, came out 2 wide for room and took over through 7f in 1:24.03. Kept to task by Prat, Segesta drew off to win by 2 1/4 lengths over In Our Time in 1:35.60. It was another 3/4 length back to Ag Bullet third.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 9 Segesta Prat 5.40 4.00 3.00 10 In Our Time Castellano 20.40 11.00 8 Ag Bullet Velazquez 4.20 Winning Time: 1:35.60 $1 Exacta 9-10 53.30 $2 Quinella 9-10 61.20 $1 Trifecta 9-10-8 202.40 $1 Superfecta 9-10-8-2 1,693.50Results Chart |
Left: Segesta in the winner's circle. Jose Hernandez,assistant to trainer Chad Brown said, "She deserved to win this race. She's been knocking on the door so many times. She trained so well here. A nice, nice filly. The first part (of the race) was a little quick but you can take her back and (Prat) got her in a good position. Chad is really good with grass horses. All of his horses develop and are in good condition when they come in from far away, the east coast. Segesta showed up this time."
Right: Segesta in the paddock before the race. Winning jockey Flavien Prat said, "She was a bit on her toes. She was there for every step of the way today, Chad (Brown) thought she might be a Grade I winner. I don't think the pace was crazy, and there were two horses in front, so I came out. She has a tendency of getting by those horses and kind of waiting. So I was trying to keep her up and keep her busy. She gave me a first class trip. She was there every step of the way."
Left: Second place finisher In Our Time in the paddock before the race. Jockey Javier Castellano said, "She really sprinted out of the gate. My job was to dictate the pace and slow it down. She finished really well, but the winner was best. It was a good second place."
Right: Third place finisher Ag Bullet in the paddock. The Richard Baltas trainee improved her record to 8 wins, 1 second, and 3 thirds in 17 starts, earning $2,977,228 for owners Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran.
Kicking off the Sunday stakes quartet, a field of 7 two-year-olds contested the $100,000 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes (G3) also at 1 mile on the turf. Del Mar Juvenile Turf (G3) winner Hey Nay Nay was sent off as the 1-2 favorite off his 10th place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). In to challenge him included 7-2 second choice Proton, second in the TAA Stakes after winning the Laurel Futurity, and 11-2 third choice Unrivaled Time off his maiden win at second asking.
Jockey Juan Hernandez sent Proton to the lead first time by through fractions of 22.97, 47.52, and 1:12.16 while pressed by 38-1 Track Tiger and stalked by Unrivaled time. Turning for home, Proton continued to lead through 7f in 1:24.43 before tiring. Unrivaled Time, confidently ridden by Diego Herrera, came out 3 wide for room and rallied to win by 3/4 length over late-running 10-1 Iriseach in 1:36.42. It was a neck back to favorite Hey Nay Nay third. There was a stewards' inquiry into the stretch run where Unrivaled Time shifted out as Hey Nay Nay lugged inward. The incident was ruled to not warrant a change in placings.
Full results chart from DRF
Left: Unrivaled Time in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Leonard Powell said, "I was very happy with our position early on and very happy with how the race unfolded. He let a couple of speed horses go for it and settled then came with one run like he did when he broke his maiden. He broke his maiden against Cal-breds and the question mark was he good enough to step up and the answer is 'yes'."
Right: Unrivaled Time in the post parade. Winning jockey Diego Herrera said, "He just kept showing signs of improvement over the summer. I just wanted to make sure he was in a good comfortable rhythm. The horse on the outside was coming in, you know, he bumped me a little bit coming into the stretch and I was just trying to keep my horse as straight as possible. The sky is the limit for him, He just wants to get out there a run. You know, today he showed a lot of maturing. We had a couple of horses moving from inside to outside."
Left: Second place finisher Iriseach in the paddock before the race. The Phil D'Amato trainee improved his record to 1 win, 1 second, and 0 thirds in 4 starts, earning $58,369 for owners Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Strand Beach LLC, and Michael Nentwig.
Right: Third place finisher and beaten favorite Hey Nay Nay in the walking ring before the race. Jockey Flavien Prat said, "I thought my horse caused his own trouble. I had trouble keeping him on a straight path."
Closing out the 2025 Del Mar stakes schedule was the $100,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) for older fillies and mares going 1 mile on the dirt. Ballerina (G1) winner and defending champ Hope Road was sent off as the 2-5 favorite in the field of 8 off her third place finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1). In to challenge her included 9-2 second choice Simply Joking off her disappointing 9th place finish in the Raven Run (G2), and 6-1 third choice Warming, winner of the Autumn Miss (G3).
Jockey Flavien Prat sent Simply Joking to the lead first time by through fractions of 23.15 and 47.32 while pressed by Hope Road and stalked by 19-1 Jane Austen. On the far turn Hope Road took over the lead through 3/4 in 1:11.46. Kept to task by Juan Hernandez, Hope Road drew off to win by 6 1/2 lengths over Simply Joking in 1:36.38. It was another 2 3/4 lengths back to late-running 28-1 Mahina third.
Full results chart from DRF
Left: Hope Road in the winner's circle. Jimmy Barnes, assistant to winning trainer Bob Baffert said, "She had already gone two turns before and she handled the two turns again. I think it depends on the level of the competition. Maybe it's Del Mar she likes. She ran just how we expected her to run."
Right: Hope Road in the paddock before the race. Winning jockey Juan Hernandez said, "She is really good out of the gate. She broke running, when I asked her to go, she listened. She relaxed very good. Bob (Baffert) was working on her to relax. He did a really good job, and you know, all the credit goes to the filly, because she relaxed and was tracking the horse in front of me just waiting for me to shake the reins. We had a great trip."
Left: Second place finisher Simply Joking heads out to the track before the race. The Mike McCarthy trainee improved her record to 2 wins, 2 seconds, and 0 thirds in 6 starts, earning $326,750 for owners Berkels0813 LLC, CMNWLTH LLC, Grantley Acres, and Ryan Conner.
Right: Third place finisher Mahina in the paddock before the race. The Patrick Gallagher trainee improved her record to 4 wins, 5 seconds, and 4 thirds in 25 starts, earning $238,640 for owners U.S. Equine, Walter Burke, Aaron Sones, and Harry Wilson.
The $100,000 Stormy Liberal Stakes featured a field of 10 older horses sprinting five furlongs on the turf. Jockey Edwin Maldonado sent 41-1 longest shot Ballyvaughan Gig to the lead through an opening quarter of 21.66 pressed by 13-2 Book Smart and stalked by 19-1 Zio Jo. Turning for home Ballyvaughan Gig continued to lead through a half in 44.22 before tiring badly to finish last. 10-1 Unconquerable Keen, 8th early under Umberto Rispoli, came through between horses to win by a neck over Zio Jo in 56.10. It was a head back to 5-1 second choice Sorrento Sky third, while 9-5 favorite Yellow Card checked in 5th beaten just 1 length. This is the third straight Stormy Liberal Stakes win for Unconquerable Keen.
Full results chart from DRF
Winning jockey Umberto Rispoli, also celebrating his first riding title at a U.S. track, said, "He's a nice horse to ride. He used to be a really run off horse. We spent a lot of time to teach him how to settle and relax. I won this race last year with him, coming way back like today. And he is the kind of horse where you see more encouragement in him when he is behind horses and he likes to split. He gives you the opportunity to ride a stalking race. When the rail is down (the turf) is always a beautiful place to ride. He's that type of horse you can ride in whatever you wants. It was good for us to have pace on, I told Phil (D'Amato) that I was going to ride him exactly like I did last year. He gets a lot of encouragement when he is behind horses, that's the way he can finish strong."
Trainer Phil D'Amato added, "Weaving in and out in between horses, that's Umberto's move. He loved this horse and he gave him the right trip and got the job done. We shipped him around earlier on in the year and after that Kentucky stake he needed a little time off. He came back really well. These horses are cool and if we manage him the right way maybe we can do it again next year."
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