Bottle of Rouge gave trainer Bob Baffert his 12th Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1) win and jockey Mike Smith his fourth—but their first together. Apparently, it took Jill Baffert, Bob's wife and the filly's owner, to make that happen.
"She insisted that Bob put me on her, and she wouldn't stop on him until he did," Smith said.
When Baffert has two horses in a race and the longer price wins, bettors call it the "other" Baffert. With three in the Sept. 6 Debutante, Bottle of Rouge became the "other, other" Baffert.
The pair bettors preferred were odds-on Explora, an impressive 4 3/4-length winner in her debut, and 5-2 Himika, winner of the Sorrento Stakes (G3). Bottle of Rouge went off as the 9-1 third choice in the seven-furlong Debutante, but she had credentials, having broken her maiden by 6 3/4 lengths in her second start.
When the gate opened, Bottle of Rouge broke inward.
"About 100-150 yards out of there she lost her back end," Smith said. "I don't know if someone kind of stepped on her or pushed her in behind. But she got right back up and got balanced out and ran huge."
Bottle of Rouge raced in fourth and had to go four wide in the turn. Explora took the early lead, completing the first quarter-mile in :22.05. By the time the favorite clocked a half-mile in :44.62, Himika had moved into second to make it look like the expected match between the two more favored Baffert trainees.
The "other, other" Baffert had more to say, however. Bottle of Rouge challenged Explora in the stretch while Himika began to fade. As the finish line approached, Bottle of Rouge took over, scoring by a length in 1:23.05. Explora ran second by a half-length over closer La Wally, followed by Himika, Bourbon and Ginger, Grandma Mary, and Fourlynnes.
Baffert dominates Del Mar's signature 2-year-old races—he has four in the Sept. 7 Del Mar Futurity (G1)—but he often has to miss the races because of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale schedule. Jill wasn't about to skip the Debutante, though.
"I'm so excited," Jill said. "I knew she was going to be up against it today because those are all really nice fillies. I just told Mike, 'Ride her like you own her and maybe we can make some magic,' and he did."
Smith, elected to the Hall of Fame in 2003, previously won the Debutante in 2023 with Tamara for trainer Richard Mandella, 2015 with Songbird for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, and 2008 with Stardom Bound for trainer Christopher Paasch. Baffert not only has won the Debutante 12 times, he has taken five of the last seven runnings.
While Explora cost $350,000 and Himika $900,000 as 2-year-olds in training, Bottle of Rouge went for a much more modest $100,000 as a 2024 Keeneland yearling sale graduate. Kathie Maybee bred her in Kentucky from the Bluegrass Cat mare Blues Corner, a New York-bred who started only five times, her best finish a third. Blues Corner is a half sister to graded winner San Pablo and graded stakes-placed Slider, the latter a hard-knocking runner who started 66 times and raced from 2-9.
Bottle of Rouge, Avana, Sol Tan Bonita, and The Wine Steward are 2025 stakes winners sired by Vino Rosso . Winner of four stakes, including the 2019 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Vino Rosso was voted champion older dirt male that season. He stood for a 2025 stud fee of $12,500 at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington.
