DAKOTA PHONE WINS
SAN DIEGO HANDICAP
    Winless in 16 races since November of 2008, Dakota Phone finally made it back to the winner's circle with a come-from-behind triumph in the featured Grade II $200,000 San Diego Handicap under leading jockey Joel Rosario.
     Last in the early stages of the mile and one-sixteenth main track contest, Dakota Phone circled the field on the stretch turn and outfinished 3-1 favored Battle of Hastings to win by a half-length in 1:43.55 for the distance.
     Battle of Hastings, running for the first time in his career on a synthetic track after having success on the grass, battled gamely in the stretch under Joe Talamo to be 2 lengths in front of Enriched who was rated on the lead by Patrick Valenzuela and held on well to be third. Isle of Giant's was fourth in the field of nine horses. Richard's Kid, third in the Cougar II Handicap Friday, was withdrawn from the San Diego line-up.
     Dakota Phone, a five-year-old gelded son of Zavala, is owned by the partnership of John Carver, Halo Farms and George Todaro and trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. His previous victory was in the Forty Niner Stakes at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California November 28, 2008.
     Earning $120,000 with his fifth win in 29 lifetime starts, Dakota Phone returned $11.40, $5.20 and $3.60. His lifetime bankroll is $583,810. Battle of Hastings paid $4.80 and $4.20, while Enriched returned $4.60 to show.
     In the afternoon's supporting feature, the $100,000 Fleet Treat Stakes for California-bred three-year-old fillies, La Nez and jockey Victor Espinoza employed similar last-to-first tactics to win by a half-length over Thisoneforyou, with longshot Tornado Betty third in a field of nine fillies.
     La Nez, owned by Class Racing and trainer Eric Kruljac, stepped seven furlongs in 1:23.45 and paid $14.40 for her upset triumph. It was her third win in eleven races and worth a first prize of $60,000.
     Attendance today was 25,348.

DEL MAR STABLE NOTES
SATURDAY JULY 31

AT LEAST FOUR SEEM SET TO GO IN SATURDAY'S CLEMENT HIRSCH
    Early returns show that Zenyatta, expected for next Saturday's Grade I, $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, will have at least three foes in the 1 1/16-mile race on the main track.
     The 6-year-old daughter of Street Cry will be in search of her third straight victory in the Hirsch. With a win she would join such elite company as Native Diver, Flawlessly and Track Gal as the only horses to accomplish such a feat.
      Zenyatta put in her final tune-up for the Hirsch with a 6-furlong breeze Friday at Hollywood Park. She traveled the three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.60, getting the final quarter in a crisp 24 seconds.
     Committed at this time to tackle the 17-for-17 mare, who is owned by Jerome and Ann Moss and trained by John Shirreffs, are Dance to My Tune, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer for Olympia Star Inc.; Princess Taylor, owned by Dr. Ronan Lambe and trained by Patrick Gallagher, and Rinterval, owned by Jerry Jamgotchian and trained by Eric Reed.
     Still possible for race are the A.C. Avila-trained Made for Magic; Silver Swallow, trained by Bruce Headley; Spring Style, conditioned by Ben Cecil; Will O Way, trained by Vladimir Cerin, and the Bob Baffert-trained Wynning Ride.
     Rinterval has been running at the Chicago area's Arlington Park, but the rest are based locally.
     Dance to My Tune prepped for the race with a 7-furlong workout this morning in 1:27.80.

SIX FILLIES COMMIT EARLY TO FRIDAY'S GRADE III SORRENTO
    Headed by undefeated three-time winners Final Mesa and Lady Giacomo, the field for Friday's Grade III, $150,000 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies is shaping up as a highly competitive group.
     The fillies will race 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track.
     Both of the triple winners will be shipping in from other venues. Final Mesa is trained by Wesley Ward, for many years a West Coast trainer who now calls Florida home base. Her three wins -- all by at least 4-plus lengths -- have come at Keeneland, Delaware Park and Woodbine. 
     Lady Giacomo, from the first crop to race from 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, won all three of her races at Lone Star Park for trainer Allen Milligan.
     The John Sadler-trained Dawnie Macho brings the West Coast challenge as a two-time victor in her only outings, one at Arlington Park and the other -- the Landaluce Stakes -- at Hollywood Park. The daughter of Macho Uno worked 6 furlongs this morning in 1:15.80.
     Also unbeaten in their maiden voyages are A Z Warrior, trained by Bob Baffert, and Wickedly Perfect, from the Doug O'Neill barn. Wickedly Perfect turned in 1:13.60 this morning.   
     Izshelegal, trained by Terry Knight, finished a charging second to Dawnie Macho in the Landaluce, a maiden start for the daughter of Maria's Mon.

BEST PAL STAKES SHAPING UP AS SOLID SEVEN, MAYBE MORE
    Two-time stakes winner J P's Gusto heads a potential field of seven heading for the Grade II, $150,000 Best Pal Stakes for 2-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track Sunday, August 8.
     J P's Gusto polished off Hollywood Park's Willard Proctor Memorial Stakes in his second try at breaking his maiden and then returned to win the Grade III Hollywood Juvenile Championship, in which he beat Best Pal commitment Western Mood by a nose.
     J P's Gusto is trained by David Hofmans and will be ridden for the third straight time by Joe Talamo. The Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Western Mood gets Joel Rosario in the irons. The colt worked 6 furlongs this morning in 1:13.80.
     Recent Del Mar winners Comma to the Top, trained by Peter Miller, and Myung Kwan Cho's Premier Pegasus join the fray, along with Bob Baffert's Smash and Jeff Bonde's Sway Away, both winners at first asking.
     Rounding out the seven early commitments is Terry Knight's maiden Minutesandtouches, winless in three outings.

IF YOU BLINK, YOU COULD MISS THE SPEEDY BING CROSBY STAKES
    If form holds, the 65th running of Sunday's Grade I, $250,000 Bing Crosby Stakes should prove to be a wing-ding of an affair where the super speedy Cost of Freedom will make the lead and the stalking horses will get their spots and let the chips fall where they may.
     Trainer John Sadler has expressed confidence that his Cost of Freedom will fly out of the gate and get the position he is used to. Since the cost of trying to stay up with him early could be disastrous, potent's My Summer Slew, winner of Hollywood's Robert Kerlan Memorial Handicap, and the Jeff Bonde-trained Smiling Tiger will likely find their places and wait to pounce.
     Smiling Tiger actually could be a forward factor even against the swift Cost of Freedom, who captured Hollywood Park's Los Angeles Handicap in 1:08.49 and was third in a blanket finish in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Bonde charger was a scintillating winner of Hollywood Park's 7-furlong Laz Barrera Memorial in 1:21.34 on May 22 and fired a bullet half-mile at Del Mar in 47.40 July 18.
     Expected to come from off the pace are El Brujo, making his first start for Baffert; Sky Cape, unraced since July of last year, and Scenic Blast, making his second start in the United States for trainer John Shirreffs after being crowned Australia's Horse of the Year for 2009. 

11 CAL-BREDS READY FOR 'GRADUATION' CEREMONIES
    Single winners and maidens make up the field of 11 for Wednesday's 59th version of the Graduation Stakes for California-breds going 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track.
     Here's how they'll line up from the rail, with weights and riders: Leon Ayala, 120, Luis Medina; Offlee Wild Boys, 118, Martin Garcia; Joy Boy, 118, Corey Nakatani; Blingboy, 118, Patrick Valenzuela; Bruno B, 118, Felipe Valdez; Edgewick Road, 120, Christian Santiago Reyes; Bench Points, 120 Rafael Bejarano; Woodmans Luck, 118, Joe Talamo;  Lucky Mr. K, 120, Victor Espinoza; J J Minister, 118, Julio Garcia, and Stormin Rae, 120, Joel Rosario.

NINE IN SAN DIEGO VIE FOR SPOT IN THE BREEDERS' CUP DIRT MILE
    A possible spot in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile awaits the winner of today's Grade II, $200,000 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.
     The scratch of original morning-line favorite Richard's Kid, who finished third in Friday's Grade III Cougar Handicap, reduced the field to nine and passed favoritism on to Dakota Phone at 7-2.
     The field: Enriched, with Patrick Valenzuela; Isle of Giant's, Alonso Quinonez; Deal Breaker, Rafael Bejarano; Tres Borrachos, David Flores; Sangaree, Martin Pedroza; Red Eye Express, Victor Espinoza; Battle of Hastings, Joe Talamo; Mythical Power, Martin Garcia, and Dakota Phone, Joel Rosario.
     The San Diego is carded as the eighth of 10 races on the day.

CAL-BRED FILLIES TO TEST THEIR METTLE IN FLEET TREAT STAKES
     Nine 3-year-old Cal-bred fillies will battle for supremacy in today's $100,000 Fleet Treat Stakes at 7 furlongs over Del Mar's main track.
     Camille C, trained by Marcelo Polanco and ridden by Rafael Bejarano rates as the lukewarm morning-line favorite.
     Joining Camille C are Salty Fries, with Alonso Quinonez; Thisoneforyou, Joel Rosario; Lazered, Martin Pedroza; Downhill Diva, Brice Blanc; Excellent News, Martin Garcia; La Nez, Victor Espinoza; Tornado Betty, Patrick Valenzuela, and Repo, Corey Nakatani.

GAINES, TALAMO MOVE UP WITH THREE WINS EACH ON FRIDAY
    It was leapfrog day for trainer Carla Gaines and jockey Joe Talamo. They each scored three victories to move past several contenders on the trainer and jockey lists.
     Gaines won the fifth race with Cee's Pryme, the Cougar Handicap (7th) with Temple City and the eighth with No Stadium.
     Talamo won the second with Raetodandty, the fourth with Dee Dee's Legacy and then teamed with Gaines to win the Cougar.
     The win triple gave Gaines four for the meet and put her in a tie for second on the trainer list with Jerry Hollendorfer and Jim Cassidy.
     Talamo jumped into a second-place tie with Rafael Bejarano at eight wins apiece. Leading rider Joel Rosario posted two wins to run his total to 13.   
 
TWO CHARITY EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR AREA GOLFERS
    Two charity golf tournaments take the spotlight in the North County area over the next couple of weeks -- one benefiting the California Equine Retirement Foundation (C.E.R.F.) and the other Ciudad de los Ninos in Tijuana.
     C.E.R.F., joined by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, presents its Ninth Annual Celebrity Golf Classic on Tuesday, August 3, at the Del Mar Country Club. The day starts with registration from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a shotgun start to the golf classic at 12:30. Lunch will be served on the course.
     An awards dinner will begin at 6 p.m., accompanied by a silent and live auction and raffle prizes. Trevor Denman will be master of ceremonies.
     On the following Tuesday, August 10, the 13th annual David Flores Golf Tournament will hold sway at the Encinitas Golf Course beginning at 1 p.m. The tournament will be conducted on an open four-player scramble format with a shotgun start at 1. Following the day's action, an awards dinner and reception will begin at about 6 p.m.

SHORE LINES -- Patrick Valenzuela won his first race since his return to Southern California action this week when he booted home Warren's Jitterbug in Friday's sixth race. "It felt really good," Valenzuela said this morning. Trainer Jorge Gutierrez said his owner Benjamin Warren said to give Valenzuela a chance to ride the 3-year-old filly and, Gutierrez said, "He rode her perfect." ... Jeff Bloom was back at his regular weekend morning gig as the answer and patter man for Daybreak at Del Mar after a very scary episode Friday morning that left him with two broken left ribs. He was unseated when his 2-year-old mount spooked as he prepared to go into a workout. Bloom was treated and x-rayed at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla before being discharged. It could have been much worse, he says ... Former trainer Leonard Dorfman is recovering well from a recent stroke and is at an assisted living facility in San Dimas.

TRAKUS FACTS -- Sat., July 30 -- Peak Speed: Race 8 (Polytrack) -- Dave's Ruler -- 47.3 mph (first 1/2 mile); Race 2 (Turf) -- Basile Premier -- 43.4 mph (first 1/4); Fastest Late Stretch Run: Race 1 (Polytrack) -- Dana Dynamo -- 37.4 mph (final 1 1/16); Race 2 (Turf) -- Pico Pico -- 40.7 mph (final 1/16).

DEL MAR STABLE NOTES
FRIDAY, JULY 30

BOLD CHIEFTAIN TO START NEW CAREER AS CALIFORNIA STALLION
    Bold Chieftain, California-bred two-time winner of Del Mar's California Dreamin' Handicap and career earner of $1.5 million, has been retired from racing and will pursue a new career as a California stallion, co-breeder, co-owner and trainer William Morey Jr. said Friday morning.
     "We're letting him down now," Morey said, adding that he will be sent off to stud soon. Morey said the horse would be shipped to Applebite Farms near Stockton to await final plans for a stud career. "They have shown a lot of interest in him, so we're sending him there now," Morey said. "There has been other interest shown but a final decision hasn't been made."
     Of the 7-year-old son of Chief Seattle, out of Hooked on Seattle, Morey said, "He's been a wonderful horse for us. He's never left California."
     Morey's owner/breeder partners are Duane Hall, Langbein Trust and Ken Robinson. Morey has been fond of saying, "When he wins, we hit a homerun," meaning the partners take the owner's share of the purse and any California breeders' money.
     Bold Chieftain's career record shows 17 wins, seven seconds and four thirds from 38 starts. In his last race -- the California Dreamin' Handicap on Sunday -- he finished last of six. Morey said the horse retired sound, but he had been bleeding some in recent races and "a heavy dose of bleeder medication made him drop his head a bit." Even so, he had a string of three victories and a second in races leading up Sunday's finale.
     He ranks 17th on the list of top-earning Cal-breds, right behind Brother Derek.
     "He always did his job," Morey said, "and we hope he enjoys Phase Two of his life." The trainer said the partnership is still open to offers from other breeding farms. "We're not interested in standing him ourselves, but we'd like to have a couple of breeding rights for our own mares."

ZENYATTA WORKS EASY 6 FURLONGS FOR HIRSCH STAKES
     In what figures to be her final tune-up for a planned start in next Saturday's Grade I, $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar, Zenyatta breezed an easy 6 furlongs in 1:13.60 Friday morning at Hollywood Park.
     Her regular jockey, Mike Smith, handled the workout for trainer John Shirreffs. The move was the fourth fastest among 13 horses at that distance and followed a bullet 1:12.40 in her previous workout last Thursday, July 22.
     The unbeaten Zenyatta, who set a North American record of 17 straight victories in Hollywood Park's Vanity Handicap in her most recent outing June 13, has won the Hirsch the past two years.

EX-JOCKEY JEFF BLOOM INJURED IN FALL FROM 2-YEAR-OLD
     Former jockey Jeff Bloom, who had been training toward a one-race comeback at Del Mar, suffered two broken ribs Friday morning when a 2-year-old he was getting ready to work apparently got spooked and unseated him.
     Bloom was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla for treatment and x-rays. He was released before noon and returned to his home in Oceanside. Craig Dollase, for whom Bloom has been galloping horses, trains the 2-year-old.
     Bloom is vice president in charge of West Coast operations for West Point Thoroughbreds.

TOP PAIR FROM 2009 RACE RENEW RIVALRY IN COUGAR II HANDICAP
     The winner and runner-up from the 2009 Cougar II Handicap will renew their brief rivalry today in the 2010 version of the handicap at 1 1/2 miles on Del Mar’s main track.
     Unusual Suspect grabbed the brass ring by a nose over Richard's Kid in last year's edition. Richard's Kid then went on to win the Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic.
     Richard's Kid, trained by Bob Baffert, has been made the morning-line favorite at 8-5. The original field of seven was reduced to five with the late scratches of Rendezvous and Princess Taylor.
     The winner in the field of long-distance runners will have an automatic ride into the Breeders' Cup Marathon at Churchill Downs on Friday, November 5, as a part of the Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" program.

RUSSELL HUDAK: HE'S GOT THE LINE ON ALL THE HORSES
     Now in his second season as Del Mar's morning-line maker and timer, Russell Hudak is making himself quite at home "where the turf meets the surf."
     He replaced longtime Del Mar line-maker Jeff Tufts in the second week of the 2009 season, when Tufts retired and moved to Oregon.
     Hudak, a native of New Jersey, got his first taste of quoting odds on horses while working as a clocker at Santa Fe Downs in New Mexico in 1976 and '77. He was schooled by "Sport" Barrett, who was a steward at the track and previously had trained horses at Agua Caliente.
     Hudak was in New Mexico on an independent-study class as a student at Rutgers on Indian land rights. "It turns out, I participated in a larger study," Hudak joked, indicating his love of horseracing. Even so, he earned his bachelor's degree from Rutgers in 1975.
     He headed west after that and wound up as a clocker and timer at Hollywood Park beginning in 1981. He took over as morning-line maker at the Inglewood racetrack in 1985, a position he still holds.
     Hudak and his wife, Diana, who works in the Hollywood Park racing office, have been married since 1991.

TRAINER SAYS POPULAR LAVA MAN NOT READY FOR PARADE DUTY
     Lava Man, winner of the 2006 Pacific Classic, is not quite ready for prime time, his former trainer Doug O'Neill said Friday morning.
That means he wouldn't be a candidate to lead the parade to the post for the 2010 Pacific Classic on Saturday, August 28, at Del Mar. O'Neill declined an offer for Lava Man to lead the parade to the post for the Hollywood Gold Cup, citing the same reason.
     "He's making progress every day," O'Neill said of the old warrior's new life as a stable pony, but he still shows his competitive spirit often. "When he breaks off a worker, he always acts like he wants to go, too. He's still very competitive, and that might not go well as leader of a post parade."
     Lava Man is third-leading earner among Cal-breds with $5.2 million in purse money on a record of 17 victories, eight seconds and five thirds in 47 career starts. He won the Gold Cup three times and the Santa Anita Handicap twice to go along with his Pacific Classic victory. In 2006, he won all three, becoming the only horse to capture all three in the same year.

SHORE LINES -- Awesome Gem, winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup and a candidate for Del Mar's Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic, will breeze for the first time since the Gold Cup on Tuesday at Del Mar for trainer Craig Dollase. The Pacific Classic is scheduled for Saturday, August 28 ... The annual charity fund-raiser, reception, silent and live auctions and dinner will be held by After the Finish Line, a group working to help finance organizations that work with rescued horses. The event will be held from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, August 5 at the Hilton Hotel across from the racetrack. Ticket information is available by calling Dawn Mellen at (858) 945-1371 or at dawn@afterthefinishline.org ... There is a carryover of $103,938 going into today's Pick Six wager. Tickets with five of six winners paid $840.40 ... A free sweatshirt giveaway is available to paid admissions on Saturday.

TRAKUS FACTS -- Thurs., July 29 -- Peak Speed: Race 5 (Polytrack) -- Melon Up -- 43.8 mph (first 3/16); Race 2 (Turf) -- Maui Mark -- 43.9 mph (first 3/16); Fastest Late Stretch Run: Race 7 (Polytrack) -- Heartless Vixen -- 37.4 mph (final 1 1/16); Race 2 (Turf) -- Maui Mark -- 41.5 mph (final 1/16).

EVENING JEWEL WINS
SAN CLEMENTE HANDICAP
    Ultra consistent Evening Jewel, worst than second only once in an eleven-race career, asserted her superiority in the stretch to win the featured Grade II $150,000 San Clemente Handicap for three-year-old fillies today at Del Mar.
     With Victor Espinoza in the saddle, the California-bred daughter of Northern Afleet rallied to the lead in the upper stretch and went on to score by three-quarters of a length over City to City, with 27-1 longshot Weekend Magic another length away in third place. Crisp, troubled by traffic, rallied to be fourth in the field ten fillies.
     Evening Jewel, owned by Braly Family Trust, capped a big weekend for Espinoza and trainer Jim Cassidy who also combined with another California-bred runner, The Usual Q.T., to win Saturday's Grade I Eddie Read Stakes.
     Evening Jewel, highweighted at 123 pounds, went postward the 8-5 favorite and returned $5.40, $3.20 and $3.60 after running the mile on the infield turf course in 1:35.36 for her fifth victory. First money of $90,000 increased her earnings to $696,943.
     Previously, this year she won the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland, was beaten a nose by division leader Blind Luck in the prestigious Kentucky Oaks and won the Honeymoon Handicap at Hollywood Park.
     City to City, who was piloted by Rafael Bejarano, paid $7.20 and $5.40, while third-place Weekend Magic returned $10 to show.
     The San Clemente Handicap is a prelude to the Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Oaks on Saturday, August 21, and Evening Jewel figures to be a solid favorite to add that race to her list of successes.
     In a supporting feature on the nine-race program, talented Bruce's Dream scored his fifth win in six starts with a come-from-behind triumph in the $100,000 California Dreamin Handicap for older horses.
     Bruce's Dream, piloted by Joe Talamo, won by a head over 19-1 outsider Colgan's Chip, who was nipped in the final stride. Cayambe was third. Veteran stakes campaigner Bold Chieftain, a two-time winner of the stakes, was a disappointing sixth and last as the 6-5 favorite under Russell Baze.
     Bruce's Dream, a son of Atticus owned by Corwin Racing and trained by Mike Puype, ran a mile and one-sixteenth over the grass and paid $5.80 as second choice.
     With a one-day carryover of $184,880, $1,337,008 was wagered today for a grand total in the Pick Six pool of $1,521,888. There were four perfect Pick Six tickets and each was worth $231,784.
     Today's attendance was 23,277. Racing resumes Wednesday with the first race at 2 p.m.