DEL MAR, Calif. – Adare Manor, an amazon mare who almost always benefits from a perfect trip setting or pressing an easy pace, did not get her normal trip Saturday at Del Mar. It did not matter, she won anyway. Adare Manor scored her 10th career victory, winning the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch for the second straight year to cement her reputation as one of the country’s top older females and a leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. Scylla finished 2 3/4 lengths back in second, two lengths in front of third-place finisher Flying Connection.  The order of finish was completed by Desert Dawn, Pretty Mischievous, Sugar Fish, Coffee in Bed and Olivia Twist. Juan Hernandez rode Adare Manor ($3.20) for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Michael Lund Petersen. On paper, it looked like Adare Manor would be the controlling speed, or at least pressing the pace from second in the 1 1/6-mile race. :: DRF's Del Mar Handicapping Packages: Get everything you need to play the races with confidence. When the gates opened, Hernandez was forced to go to Plan B. “I wish I could have an easy trip, but this is horse racing, it’s never like that,” Hernandez said. “I saw a couple guys trying to get the lead. I’m not going with them.” Hernandez and Adare Manor tucked third or fourth on the rail, and waited. Bettors who backed the 5-year-old mare at odds-on may have felt queasy, but not Adare Manor. “She was travelling really well the whole race, the kickback didn’t bother her,” Hernandez said.” So Hernandez waited as Olivia Twist set the pace while hounded by Scylla, the second betting choice. Scylla and jockey Mike Smith were getting the type of perfect trip Adare Manor usually gets. Smith liked his position on Scylla. “Position-wise I did, but body language-wise, she was very, very keen,” Smith said. “She was pulling very hard.” Smith tried to maintain position two-wide for as long as possible, knowing that Adare Manor was buried inside and would be coming after Scylla. “If I could have, I would have kept (Adare Manor) in there. “But I couldn’t. She was pulling me too hard.” Scylla went the half-mile in 46.52 and three-quarters in 1:10.97. Scylla led into the lane, but Adare Manor was rolling. Hernandez said “I was just waiting for the quarter-pole or around the turn, and I saw a gap.” Adare Manor took it, went after Scylla and won going away in a solid 1:43.29. Adare Manor earned a fees-paid berth in the BC Distaff for her 10th win from 18 starts. She is 3 for 4 this year, and has improved since she finished seventh in the BC Distaff a year ago. “She’s one of the best fillies I’ve ever ridden,” Hernandez said. Desert Dawn ran well to finish fourth, in her first start since late April. The disappointment in the Hirsch was Pretty Mischievous, who lost ground throughout and finished more than 10 lengths behind the winner. Saturday at Del Mar, it was all about Adare Manor. She still has speed to often get a perfect trip. But on Saturday at Del Mar, she showed she can win even under less-than-ideal circumstances. On to the BC Distaff, though it was not immediately clear if Baffert would train her up or give her one final prep. The most recent Hirsch winner to win the BC Distaff the same year was Zenyatta in 2008. Zenyatta won the Hirsch in 2009 and the BC Classic that year. Beholder won the Hirsch in 2015 and BC Distaff in 2016. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.