DEL MAR — Skinner, returning from a year-long break, powered to a one-length victory over Tarantino in the Grade III Native Diver Stakes for older horses over 1 1/8 miles on Saturday.
The 4-year-old son of Curlin rallied from fifth on the far turn to pass Tarantino and Pacific Classic winner Mixto in the stretch – giving jockey Hector Berrios a second straight win on the day. Tarantino rallied to finish a head in front of Mixto.
Favorite Ultra Power finished fourth, nearly 7½ lengths behind the winner, as trainer Bob Baffert’s rare fall meeting slump continued. Baffert was shut out in last weekend’s two stakes for 2-year-olds and Saturday saw his entries finish fourth and last (Mirahmadi) in a failed effort to win a fourth straight Native Diver.
Skinner’s last major action came in a second-place finish behind Mr. Fisk in the 2023 Native Diver. After that race, Shirreffs gave Skinner almost a year off to recover from a knee injury. Skinner returned Nov. 1 and finished second in an allowance race on the Breeders’ Cup undercard.
“Berrios did a great job,” said trainer John Shirreffs of the jockey who had ridden Skinner once before – finishing fifth in the 2023 Pacific Classic.
“When you looked at the past performances, there was a lot of speed in this race,” Shirreffs continued. “He didn’t let him drop back too far. He hustled a little bit out of the gate then got a nice position and waited. He crept up, then he went to riding Skinner.”
“The last time I worked Skinner, I felt very, very good,” said Berrios. “I noticed a different horse. Now that I know the horse, I asked him to respond and he moved. I liked it today. I tried to wait for the middle of the race.
“He moved straight and he responded. When we got to the front, he was looking around a little … he was watching the other horses. But he is much better. Maybe he is finally feeling more comfortable.”
Tarantino (Edwin Maldonado) broke on top and held a narrow lead on Mixto (Antonio Fresu) into the far turn. Mixto took the lead from Tarantino at the head of the stretch. But Skinner was coming fast on the outside.
In the day’s finale, a victory by 35-1 long shot Call Sign Seven (Kyle Frey, $75.80) scrambled the Pick 5 and Pick Six competitions. The Pick Five paid $43,509.50 while there was no winner in the Pick Six with a $88,557 carryover.
Grass is green
The season-ending Turf Festival officially begins Sunday with the Grade III Red Carpet Stakes — a 1 3/8-mile test for older fillies and mares.
The Red Carpet was formerly run on Thanksgiving Day. But Del Mar won’t be open on Thanksgiving this year, ending a Southern California tradition that dates back to 1981 and the first fall meeting at Hollywood Park.
The morning-line favorite for the Red Carpet is Forever After All – the first of many horses that will ship in from eastern tracks to compete in the seven graded stakes of the Turf Festival.
Forever After All is one of three “shippers” entered in the Red Carpet. Also coming in from Keeneland are the Graham Motion-trained Marksman Queen (Umberto Rispoli) and the Jonathan Thomas-trained Mrs. Astor (Vincent Cheminaud).
Hernandez will be aboard Brendan Walsh’s Forever After All, a 5-year-old daughter of Connect, who finished second in her last start – the Grade III Dowager Stakes on Oct. 20 at Keeneland.
“She did everything but win,” Walsh said of Forever After All’s last race. “She finished second to a really good filly (Chop Chop). It was a very good run and we weren’t surprised.”
Hernandez previously was on Forever After All last May 27 when she ventured west for the first time to finish third in the Grade I Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita (won by Anisette, Del Mar’s Filly of the Meet for the 2023 summer meeting).
Marksman Queen ran second in her most recent start in an allowance race at Keeneland on Oct. 13 and is the second favorite Sunday. Mrs. Astor, who ran fourth in the Dowager, is the third favorite.
The Turf Festival resumes Friday with the Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup. There will be three graded stakes on the grass next Saturday — the Grade I Hollywood Derby, the Grade II Seabiscuit and the Grade III Jimmy Durante. The fall meeting and Turf Festival ends next Sunday (Dec. 1) with the Grade I Matriarch, the Grade III Cecil B. DeMille and the $100,000 Stormy Liberal.
The 129 nominees for the eight Turf Festival races includes 24 horses being shipped in from eastern tracks.
Notable
Cheminaud, who regularly rides at Churchill Downs and Woodbine, scored the first Del Mar win of his career Saturday in his first race ever at the track aboard the John Sadler-trained Certitude ($7.60) in the third race.