Spectacular Nooni to Meet Six in Del Mar Debutante

By virtually any metric, Nooni  stands out within the Sept. 7 Del Mar Debutante (G1). She is way and away the highest-priced teen offered to this point by freshman stallion Win Win Win  , and her subsequent daylight triumphs have corroborated that worth.

Nooni additionally hails from the Bob Baffert barn, the place 2-year-olds often win such races because the Debutante. Baffert has taken the race a file 10 instances, courting again to Batroyale  in 1995. Most just lately, he had three in a row from 2019-21 with Bast , Princess Noor , and Grace Adler .

At Del Mar within the six-furlong Sorrento Stakes (G3) Aug. 10, Nooni held off closing Vodka With a Twist  by 1 1/2 lengths because the 1-2 favourite.

Since then, Baffert has labored Nooni 5 furlongs at Del Mar in 1:00 Aug. 24 and 6 furlongs in 1:11 4/5 Aug. 31. Hernandez is slated to return from publish 2.

Vodka With a Twist, a daughter of freshman stallion Thousand Phrases  , has gotten nearer to Nooni than anybody. She additionally has essentially the most expertise of the seven within the Debutante. She gained twice in three begins in Kentucky, together with within the six-furlong Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs within the mud. Phil D’Amato took over her coaching from Jason McCutchen after her first two outings following a change in possession. She now races for homeowners Medallion Racing, Omar Aldabbagh and Invoice Strauss.

Mike Smith, who piloted Vodka With a Twist within the Sorrento, will journey from publish 4.

Baffert has a second Debutante entrant in Tenma , a daughter of Nyquist  . Baoma Corp., which owned Bast, purchased Tenma for $850,000 at this 12 months’s OBS Spring Sale of 2-Yr-Olds in Coaching. In her solely begin, Tenma broke her maiden by a neck Aug. 18 at Del Mar for jockey Kazushi Kimura, who will journey her within the Debutante from publish 6.

So There She Was , educated by Doug O’Neill, ran second to Vodka With a Twist at Churchill within the Debutante whereas racing as a maiden. It was her second begin, and he or she returned at Del Mar Aug. 10 to graduate from the maiden ranks by 1 3/4 lengths. O’Neill has given the decision to common pilot Antonio Fresu, and the daughter of Munnings   drew publish 3.

Proud Starlet  and Jack’s Magic Woman  come off debut maiden wins, whereas Night time Beacon  broke her maiden first out after which ran fourth within the Sorrento.