An impressive winner of his first two starts, Prince of Monaco headlines a field of seven juvenile males entered in Sunday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity.
One of two for trainer Bob Baffert, who has won this race an amazing 16 times, the son of Speightstown was a $950,000 yearling purchase last summer.
He broke his maiden by eight lengths at Los Alamitos two months ago in his debut before running away with the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar last time by better than four lengths.
The other Baffert in the 7-furlong test is the Into Mischief colt Mirahmadi. A $1,050,000 yearling purchase, he has yet to find the winner’s circle in three tries but had a troubled trip last time.
Chief among the rivals to yet another Baffert score in the Del Mar Futurity will be the Tim Yakteen-trained Rothschild.
A son of Uncle Mo, he was a $700,000 yearling purchased last summer at Keeneland. After finishing fifth in his debut, he bounced back to break his maiden by more than five lengths 16 days ago at Del Mar.
Raging Torrent, from the barn of Doug O’Neill, should also garner some support on Sunday. A debut winner at Del Mar, he finished third behind the favorite last out in the Best Pal.
Del Mar Futurity Predictions and Race Analysis
Prince of Monaco
An expensive yearling purchase, this son of Speightstown is already living up to the cost. He began his career for trainer Bob Baffert with an eight-length maiden romp going 5-furlongs at Los Alamitos two months ago.
He followed that with a good-looking 4 1/4-length victory over a much-hyped stablemate in the Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar five weeks later.
With an impressive stakes win over the track, and the ability to stalk and then power by his opponents, he looks like a very likely winner in his first Grade 1 test. He is the top pick.
Rothschild
From the same ownership group as Prince of Monaco, this son of Uncle Mo didn’t run poorly in his debut, but could never get really going and finished nearly five lengths behind the winner Raging Torrent.
A $700,000 yearling purchase, he showed solid improvement last time, dominating a Del Mar maiden field from gate to wire, just over two weeks ago.
That one seemed like an easier field, however, and will need to prove himself against good horses. He is still clearly one of the biggest threats to the top choice.
Raging Torrent
Trained by Doug O’Neill, this son of Maximus Mischief has run two good races to begin his career. In his debut, he won nicely over Mirahmadi, a decisive 2 1/4-length winner in July.
After that, he tested the graded stakes waters in the Best Pal. After stalking the early pace, he had no answer for the powerful performance of Prince Of Monaco and finished third.
It’s hard to like his chances to turn the tables here, but of the rest, his credentials stack up well and she should be strongly considered to do one better this time out.
Mirahmadi
The expensive yearling purchase has been unable to live up to the hype so far in three career starts. He debuted in a stakes race at Santa Anita and finished a well-beaten second.
Next a troubled beginning saw the Into Mischief colt upset again, this time in a Del Mar maiden race. Last out, he was stretched to a mile and looked like a sure winner at the top of the lane, but ran erratically down the stretch to get beat.
He has talent, but clearly still needs to figure things out. If he does on Sunday, he could be the biggest danger to his stablemate.
Next Level
A son of Vino Rosso, this one is still a maiden after two starts. Having said that, he has shown some potential.
After debuting in a stakes race, in which he broke slowly and trailed, the Keith Desormeaux trainee bounced back with a nice effort in a fast maiden race at Del Mar last time.
Showing good speed, he led into the stretch and was a stubborn foe until late. Another step forward on Sunday could make him a dangerous runner in this one.
Mary’s Bolt Boy
While Mirahmadi struggled down the stretch of that one-mile maiden race last time, this Mick Ruis homebred got up to win by a nose at odds of 50/1.
The son of Bolt d'Oro had only one race before that and broke slowly and never showed much in the maiden race won by Raging Torrent.
Having shown big improvement in his second career start, this colt should be looked at here, although he must not fall too far out of it early.
Valiant Knight
By far the most experienced horse in the field, the son of Uncle Mo has been competing strictly in the state of Wyoming to date.
A winner of 3-of-6 so far, he has competed at the minor league tracks Energy Downs, Wyoming Downs, and Sweetwater Downs.
The Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity is likely to prove considerably tougher than when he won races like the Big Horn Futurity and Sweetwater Futurity. He is a deserving long shot in this one.
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