It’s Fathers’ Day as The Padre Wins Del Mar Derby

It’s Father’s Day as The Padre wins Del Mar Derby

DEL MAR — The Padre took over in the stretch under Umberto Rispoli Sunday afternoon to win the Grade II Del Mar Derby and give trainer Phil D’Amato three stakes wins over the weekend. Amato scored two wins on Saturday’s undercard to the Pacific Classic with record-setting Gold Phoenix taking the Grade II Del Mar Handicap for an unprecedented fourth straight year and Motorious winning the Grade III Green Flash for a third straight year (via disqu…

It’s Fathers’ Day as The Padre wins Del Mar Derby

DEL MAR — The Padre took over in the stretch under Umberto Rispoli Sunday afternoon to win the Grade II Del Mar Derby and give trainer Phil D’Amato three stakes wins over the weekend. Amato scored two wins on Saturday’s undercard to the Pacific Classic with record-setting Gold Phoenix taking the Grade II Del Mar Handicap for an unprecedented fourth straight year and Motorious winning the Grade III Green Flash for a third straight year (via disqu…

The Padre delivers against reduced field in Del Mar Derby

Originally expected to be the other Phil D’Amato horse in the 1 1/8-mile turf race, The Padre overpowered rivals racing in front of him. He stormed into the lead in the homestretch Sunday en route to a one-length win in the Grade 2, $300,000 Del Mar Derby for just five 3-year-olds. Sent off as the top betting choice, The Padre (3-5) had his path cleared before the race when his stablemate Iron Man Cal, the morning-line favorite, was scratched. C…

The Padre Runs Down Freedom's Not Free to Win Del Mar Derby

It was a glacial pace in front of him, but it didn't make a difference for The Padre (Ire) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}) as the Philip D'Amato trainee rolled home to pick up his first graded victory in the GII Del Mar Derby. While the field broke well, Freedom's Not Free (Omaha Beach) controlled the pace coming out of the shoot, posting an opening quarter in :25 flat and continued the pedestrian pace with a half in :49.67. Positions were largely unchanged f…