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Same old song and dance in Del Mar’s winner’s circle

Flavien Prat and Bob Baffert team up to win another stakes race

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For Messier, winning the Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar on Sunday afternoon was more like a house call than a commitment.

The son of Empire Maker awoke in his barn at Santa Anita on Sunday morning, placed in a van for the 115-mile ride to Del Mar and walked onto the track surface for the first time some 15 minutes before the running of the 7-furlong sprint for 2-year-old colts.

In fact, Messier had never before stepped on the dirt at Del Mar — one of several firsts.

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“He didn’t train here during the summer and had never been here,” said Bob Baffert after Messier gave the trainer and jockey Flavien Prat a not-very-surprising weekend sweep of two $100,000 juvenile stakes races.

“It was his first time in a trailer. It was the first time he’d seen Del Mar and he walked into the paddock like he owned it.”

Messier’s win over three other colts in the Grade III Hope came a day after Eda won the 6-furlong Desi Arnaz Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

Honestly, if it hadn’t been for Baffert’s horses, the weekend’s features might not have been run. Baffert had two of the five horses in Saturday’s race and three of the four runners Sunday.

And Eda and Messier dominated.

Eda won by 4½ lengths. Messier triumphed by 3½ lengths over the Richard Mandella-trained Forbidden Kingdom, the only non-Baffert starter in Sunday’s field.

Messier was slightly off the very fast pace set by Forbidden Kingdom before flying past the leader at the top of the stretch.

“We were in a good spot,” Prat said of Messier. “There was plenty of pace in the race and that was to our advantage. When I asked, he was there. I think this horse will be fine.

“Speed carried this time and they were rolling.”

Messier paid $4.40 to win. There was no show betting. Forbidden Kingdom, with Juan Hernandez aboard, hung on for second. Baffert’s Winning Map, the second-favorite with Mike Smith up, finished third after bumping Kamui leaving the starting gate.

Although he placed second in the feature, Hernandez scored three wins Sunday for the second straight day — Professor’s Pride ($5.20) in the second race, Over Attracted ($11.40) in the fifth and Agreetodisagree ($10.40) in the ninth — to give him six wins for the weekend, boosting him into a tied for second with Umberto Rispoli in the jockey race.

Rispoli and Prat each had two wins Sunday.

Prat now has 11 wins for the meeting. Rispoli and Hernandez each has eight. But Prat will miss next weekend while serving a three-day suspension.

Ladies double

Jessica Pyfer scored a win Sunday during her first day as a “journeyman” jockey. Pyfer won the seventh race aboard Greg’s Diva ($7.20), a horse trained by her step-father, Phil D’Amato.

Earlier in the day, Emily Ellingwood carried on the apprentice banner by winning the fourth race aboard Back Ring Luck ($6.40), finishing 8¾ lengths ahead of Prat on favored Rookie Year. The win was the first of the fall meeting for the 27-year-old Ellingwood. She also had a win with four seconds and seven thirds in 40 mounts during Del Mar’s summer season. Sunday’s win was the 23rd of her career.

Notable

Ninety members of Honor Flight San Diego visited the track upon their return from Washington, the nation’s capital. In the winner’s circle following the feature were Royce Williams (a fighter pilot who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam), Tom Rice (a paratrooper who jumped into France on D-Day and recently celebrated his 100th birthday) and Ruth Gunther (102, who served in the WAVES during World War II). All three were greeted by Prat and Baffert after Saturday’s feature.

Racing resumes Friday. First post is 12:30 p.m.

Center is a freelance writer.

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