One of Del Mar's leading trainers is looking forward to a busy next couple of weeks at the seaside oval. Philip D'Amato has a few of his big-name horses geared up for the FanDuel Racing Turf Festival at the end of the month.
Fan favorite and four-time winner of the G2 Del Mar Handicap Gold Phoenix is being pointed to the G2 Hollywood Turf Cup on Friday, November 27. There had been speculation that the 8-year-old gelding might go to Hong Kong to race in December after it was revealed he had been nominated for one of their marquee races overseas.
"That's not the case," D'Amato insists. "We will be in full force for the Hollywood Turf Cup."
This will be Gold Phoenix' first run in the Turf Cup. Over the past four years the Irish-bred has run in the Breeders' Cup Turf, marking the end of his annual campaigns. But this year they bypassed the Breeders' Cup after a fourth-place finish in the Del Mar Handicap.
D'Amato has won seven trainer's titles at Del Mar over the years, three during the fall. He says he plans to run Motorious, a three-time winner of the G2 Green Flash.
"It's looking like Motorious will definitely be a participant in the Stormy Liberal," D'Amato says.
The $100,000 turf sprint will be run on closing day, Sunday November 29.
This year's G2 Green Flash winner Sorrento Sky may also show up in the Stormy Liberal. He went also scored in the G2 Eddie D at Santa Anita before running seventh in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland.
"We'll see," D'Amato states. "Possibly we'll make the Stormy Liberal but maybe more likely just wait for Santa Anita."
D'Amato's G2 Del Mar Mile and $100,000 Wickerr Stakes winner this past summer is also slated to run this fall.
"King of Gosford will run in the Seabiscuit," D'Amato notes.
That's another of the FanDuel Racing Turf Festival races that will be run on Saturday, November 28.
2-YEAR-OLDS SQUARE OFF
The Juveniles grab the spotlight in next weekend's stakes action at Del Mar. The girls are on tap Saturday, November 14 in the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes. Then the boys are featured in the G3 $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes on Sunday the 15th.
Seven fillies were nominated for the Desi Arnaz, three from the Bob Baffert barn including Holmby, winner of this summer's G3 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar and runner-up in the G2 Oak Leaf at Santa Anita last month.
Trainer Peter Miller has nominated a Cal-bred by Stanford. Palo Alto Baby was a maiden winner by nine lengths at Del Mar her first time out. She followed with a stakes win in the $175,000 Golden State Juvenile on Halloween at Santa Anita.
Another filly who won her first time out been nominated to the Desi Arnaz. Mo Chuisle, a daughter of Omaha Beach, is trained by Michael McCarthy.
This will be the 39th running of the Desi Arnaz. The first 27 years was run at Hollywood Park as the Moccasin Stakes. Past winners include Justique, Nothing Like You, and Dream Tree.
On Sunday the G3 Bob Hope Stakes pits some of the top 3-year-olds in Southern California going seven furlongs on the main track. Eleven colts have been nominated to the race, six by trainer Doug O'Neill.
Phone Booth is one of them. O'Neill trains the Cal-bred son of Pavel for Reddam Racing. He was runner-up to Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Hughes in both the G3 Best Pal and G1 Del Mar Futurity this summer.
Baffert nominated three horses to the Bob Hope. Hughes is not one of them. Instead, he's thinking of running a couple of Uncle Mo's. Domus and Emancipate both broke their maidens at Del Mar during the summer meet.
Ala Sawab, from the John Sadler barn, was nominated but instead has been entered in the first race on Friday. He stumbled and dropped the rider at the start of his debut at Del Mar in August. He's a son of Flightline.
This will be the 45th running of the Bob Hope, formerly known as the Hollywood Prevue Stakes. Past winners include Nysos, Mucho Gusto and Mastery.
Entries for the Desi Arnaz will be drawn today and for the Bob Hope on Wednesday.
PAPAPRODROMOU EYES A REPEAT
Trainer George Papaprodromou has come a long way from his roots in Cyprus. The 50-year-old conditioner just finished running a horse in the Breeders' Cup and is now setting out to defend his title as Top Trainer of the Del Mar fall meet.
Last year Papaprodromou won 11 races during the Bing Crosby Season, enough to capture his first trainers title in Southern California, 22 years after he took over his father's stable and went out on his own.
"Winning this title helps me to get up in the mornings," Papaprodromou admits. "Coming from the islands in Cyprus and winning titles in America with all the best trainers and jockeys and horses, it was a good accomplishment. It's been good for business and it's a big thing for the staff as well. It makes them look good and they all get pumped up. It was good for everybody, my clients, for everything."
He's grateful for the recognition and support but has one regret.
"I wish my father could have been here," Papaprodromou says of the man who helped him get started training horses in the U.S. "He's passed and it would have been nice for him to see what we've accomplished so far."
What he's accomplished is a thriving barn that has surpassed the $2 million mark in earnings five years running. He's made over $2.6 million this year. Papaprodromou attributes his success to hard work, which his father drilled into him growing up.
"You have to be here every day working in the mornings," Papaprodromou states. "I've got a good team behind me as well. They all work hard. It's all about teamwork pretty much."
A walk by Papaprodromou's barn on the Del Mar backside reveals the trainer's hands-on approach, be it from checking the legs of his runners to helping ice a horse after a workout.
"Eventually you need to have good horses as well," Papaprodromou concedes. "I don't have the kind of horses like Bob (Baffert) has and all those guys with stakes and allowance horses. But we do okay with what we have."
That's not to say Papaprodromou has not had his share of good horses in recent years. He saddled his first Breeders' Cup entry in the 2014 Classic. Imperative ran ninth of 14 horses. It took him eight years to get back to the Breeders' Cup but he's had four horses run in the championships in the past five years. They were American Theorem in the 2022 Sprint; Balladeer in the 2023 Turf; Noble Reflection in the 2023 Turf Sprint, and Cabo Spirit in the 2024 Turf here at Del Mar.
Papaprodromou and Cabo Spirit returned to the Breeders' Cup this year, this time in the Mile. He ran second to last after drifting badly on the backstretch. The son of Pioneerof the Nile has been the star in Papaprodromou's barn for the past couple of years.
"He looks great, he came out it good," Papaprodromou says.
As for the 7-year-old gelding coming back next year.
"Probably, I don't see why not," Papaprodromou notes. "We'll see how he finishes this year and go from there. I don't know yet (if he'll run again this year). There are a few options we have. We'll wait and see."
Papaprodromou has been a Top Ten trainer at Del Mar in recent meets and he finished second to Doug O'Neill at the recently concluded Autumn Meet at Santa Anita. He's hoping to parlay that into a repeat at Del Mar this fall.
"Everybody's dream is to win the big races, the Derby, the Breeders' Cup," Papaprodromou says when asked what goals he has left to accomplish. "That's what we're here for. I just do what we're doing every day and keep going."
COOLING OUT
Jockey Drayden Van Dyke got stuck in the traffic jam on Freeway 5 Saturday and missed his mount in the first race. Van Dyke, like a lot of riders here at Del Mar, drove up to Arcadia to work horses in the morning with the plan of returning to Del Mar for the races. Jockey Juan Hernandez filled in for Van Dyke on Muscled and they won the race. Van Dyke did make back to Del Mar in time for his next mount Peppermint Dash in the ninth race and won...Mr. Disrespectful came out of his upset win in the The Chosen Vron in good order according to trainer Craig Dollase. He says there are no immediate plans for the Cal-bred son of Smiling Tiger...No tickets hit the Pick 6 Saturday, thanks in large part by Mr. Disrepectful's win at 35-1. There's a carryover today of $45,175...This morning was the first opportunity for grass horses to train on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. The most notable worker was Atitlan from the Richard Mandella barn. The runner-up in the G2 Del Mar Handicap and winner of the John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita worked seven furlongs in 1:29.60.
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