Hot List Graded Stakes Review: Del Mar Futurity
Image:
Description:
American Pharoah wins thet 2014 Del Mar Futurity at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. (Photo by Benoit Photo)
By Shawn Rychling
The 2014 edition of the Del Mar Futurity – the traditional closing day feature at Del Mar – was over shortly after it started.
American Pharoah, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Victor Espinoza, grabbed a clear lead in the opening furlong and never looked back on his way to a convincing win by nearly 5 lengths and stamp himself as horse to watch for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and perhaps even next year’s Kentucky Derby.
After a mediocre try in a maiden race on August 9, Baffert trained up his 2-year-old by Pioneerof the Nile and he came back with more speed and stamina. After leading through a brisk half-mile in 45.23 seconds, American Pharoah began to widen his advantage and kicked away inside the quarter pole, cruising to the wire from there. In the betting he took a heavy dose of late money and dropped from 7-1 to 4-1 in the final four minutes of wagering to earn a ‘C’ from the Hot List.
Calculator ran a deceivingly strong second at 15-1 as he was up close to the pace and moved at the quarter pole when the leader took off. While no match for the winner, Calculator widened substantially on the rest of the field to run second by 9 lengths and earn a ‘B.’
Iron Fist beat the ‘Pharoah’ in their first meeting, but lost all chance when he was shuffled back to last at the start of this one. He rallied beginning at the 3/8th pole and swung nearly 5-wide on the turn before getting up for the show at 4-1 odds. We’ll give him a ‘B’ even though he is a maiden, as this Tapit colt has run very well and may improve greatly when trying dirt for the first time.
Host List horses: American Pharoah (C), Calculator (B), Iron Fist (B)
Del Mar Futurity Late Wagering Report
Horse No.
Name
Odds – 4 min. to post
Final Odds
1
American Pharoah
7
3
2
Oh Newman
15
19
3
Inexcess Time
27
39
4
Calculator
13
15
5
Iron Fist
3
4
6
Henry’s Holiday
8
7
7
Red Button
15
17
8
Holiday Camp
5
5
9
Skyway
9-5
2
The Hot List, founded by turf writer/handicapper Bob Ehalt in 2011, blends a detailed analysis of a race with late wagering trends to pick out the horses with the best chance of running a winning race in their next start. Hot List horses are rated in four lettered categories:
A : A preferred horse to watch off his effort in the race B : A secondary horse to watch off his effort in the race *C: Went down 2 or more betting notches in the final minutes of wagering and finished 1st through 3rd *D: Went down 2 or more betting notches in the final minutes of wagering and finished 4th or worse * - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.
For questions on the Hot List, email: nyhotlist@gmail.com