By Sam Turner
Adare Manor defended her Clement L Hirsch Stakes crown in style with a repeat victory in the fillies and mares Grade 1 feature at Del Mar.
Trained by Bob Baffert, the daughter of Uncle Mo landed the marquee event 12 months ago by a length, but was even more dominant a year on, kicking clear under Juan Hernandez at the 200m marker to put two-and-three-quarters between herself and William Mott trainee Scylla in the colours of Juddmonte.
Hernandex labelled Adare Manor “one of the best fillies I’ve ever ridden” post race, adding: “She broke good and relaxed, so I was happy. This wasn’t a perfect trip for her, but it was fine.
“I rode her with a lot of confidence and she was running with a lot of confidence. We made our way through the little bit of trouble we had and she was off and running. She is one of the best fillies I’ve ever ridden.”
There was a measure of compensation for Mott who still enjoyed Grade 1 success, this time at Saratoga where Arthur’s Ride made short work of his rivals in the hands of Junior Alvarado to take the Whitney Stakes.
A front-running two-and-a-quarter length defeat of Dubai World Cup contender Crupi was achieved in style with the drop to 1800m on a muddy track appearing to suit the son of Tapit ideally.
“It is a very important race. It is a Grade 1 and probably one of the top two or three races that they run in Saratoga; it is really nice,” enthused Mott.
“I must say everybody has done a great job with this horse. He was on a long layup last year. (Florida horseman) Barry Eisaman had him at his farm and he did a tremendous job getting him back to us in good shape.”
Earlier on the card, Chad Brown trainee Ways And Means was another to dominate proceedings from the front when making all under Flavien Prat to take the Grade 1 Test Stakes for three-year-old fillies.
