Trainer Bob Baffert and Jockey Juan Hernandez are an excellent team, especially in Del Mar’s Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes presented by Oak Tree Racing Association. For the third consecutive year, Baffert and Hernandez worked together to win the race, twice with Adare Manor over the past two years and this time with Seismic beauty.
The Clement Hirsch of 2 August $ 400,000 is a “victory and you are in” Race that will offer seismic beauty an automatic paid access to the Longines Fokers Cup Distaff this fall in del Mar in del Mar. The latter presented the race as part of Del Mar’s Day of Tribute To Oak Tree, who has collected and distributed money for decades for many worthy horse causes.
The seismic beauty pulled the rail, broke sharp and went straight forward for Hernandez, while Royal Spa, a winner of Churchill Downs, tried to stay close to fractions of: 22.85 and: 46.63. When Royal Spa faded, it was up to Kopion, a triple winner of the bet since the end of last year for trainer Richard Mandella, to try to make it a race. The last of six early, Kopion moved in the second turn, closed the ground in the piece, while four wide, but could not catch the winning mandriffen of Baffert.
Seismic beauty defeated Kopion with 1 1/2 lengths and put the timer in 1: 42.33. Kopion was 3 1/2 lengths for third place Richi, one of the two others also trained by Baffert. Royal Spa was fourth.
“She makes it look like it’s easy, but she goes very fast,” said Baffert.
Coming from the popular ownership of Myracehorse in collaboration with Peter Leidel, Seismic Beauty won for the third consecutive race in a three-race piece where she never let another horse lead her after the start.
After a victory of 10 length in an optional claim of April 18 and a five-length victory in the grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes on 25 May in Santa Anita, Seismic beauty went off as the 11-10 favorite in the 1/16-MIJL Clement Hirsch.
“She is a big mandrow and she just had to grow in herself,” said Baffert. “Those big mares like that, you have to wait a bit for them. She is still mature and I think she will still improve that.”
This was Baffert’s fourth victory in the Clement Hirsch. He also won the race in 2020 with Fighting Mad.
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