Summer is showtime for precocious California 2-year-olds, and though a handful already won impressively at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos, and Churchill Downs, the elite typically emerge in summer at Del Mar. In the 40-year history of the Breeders’ Cup, some 15 BC Juvenile winners and 12 BC Juvenile Fillies winners made summer starts at Del Mar. During the same period, eight colts who raced as 2-year-olds at Del Mar in summer won the Kentucky Derby the following spring. Is there a star 2-year-old this season at Del Mar? Probably. Candidates include many trained by Bob Baffert, whose 17 wins in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and 10 in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante are records. The seven-furlong Futurity is closing day, Sunday, Sept. 8; the seven-furlong Debutante is Sept. 7. A pair of six-furlong midseason stakes set the stage, fillies first. The Grade 3 Sorrento on Aug. 10 may attract Baffert-trained Nooni, a $1.8 million juvenile who won by more than nine lengths first out. Vodka With a Twist relocated to California after winning the Churchill Downs Debutante for trainer Phil D’Amato. A. Z. Wildcat won her debut for trainer John Sadler; Night Beacon won impressively first out for trainer Ryan Hanson. The complexion of the Grade 3 Best Pal, open to both genders on Aug. 11, is fluid. The field could include debut winner Mischief River, trained by James Glenn; Midland Money, a debut winner trained by Baffert; and Dr. Ruben M, debut turf winner for trainer Doug O’Neill. :: DRF's Del Mar Handicapping Packages: Get everything you need to play the races with confidence. Del Mar’s juvenile program includes four California-bred stakes – CTBA for fillies Aug. 4, Graduation on Aug. 9, Generous Portion for fillies Sept. 2, and I’m Smokin on Sept. 6. The Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf is Sept. 7; the Grade 3 Del Mar Juvenile Turf, won by Endlessly last season, is Sept. 8. Both races are one mile. Twenty percent of summer races at Del Mar are restricted to 2-year-olds (all class levels). This story names select juveniles who could run this summer, beginning with the most expensive 2-year-old stable in California based on sales price. Bob Baffert The total auction price of Baffert’s known juveniles exceeds $30 million, led by an unnamed $4 million yearling by Curlin and produced by Beholder. The colt is not likely to start this summer, nor is his owner Amr Zedan’s unnamed $3.2 million yearling colt by Into Mischief and produced by All American Dream. Baffert-trained juveniles typically fire first out; his three rookies this year ran well. Midland Money, a colt by Shancelot, won by six; Privman, a colt by Justify, raced greenly and finished a promising second; Nooni, by Win Win Win, romped with a 78 Beyer Speed Figure. More will follow; the past five Del Mar summers, Baffert is 27 for 87 (31 percent) with debut 2-year-olds. Getaway Car, a $700,000 yearling Curlin colt produced by a stakes winner, makes his debut Saturday in race 2. Unraced colts trained by Baffert include Emerald Bay, a $700,000 yearling by Nyquist; Authentic Spirit, a $400,000 yearling by first-crop sire Authentic; Cornucopian, a $1.1 million yearling by Into Mischief and sibling to a Grade 1 winner; Gaming, a $250,000 juvenile by first-crop sire Game Winner; Goal Oriented, a $425,000 yearling by Not This Time; Kalea Bay, a $700,000 yearling by Authentic; Lannister, a $400,000 yearling by Not This Time; Madaket Road, a $650,000 yearling by Quality Road produced by a Grade 2 winner; and an unnamed $700,000 juvenile by Justify, from a stakes winner. Filly prospects include Moona Lisa, a $1.9 million juvenile by first-crop sire Tiz the Law; Two Bar, an $85,000 yearling by Lookin At Lucky; Casalu, a $775,000 juvenile by first-crop sire Caracaro; Maysam, a $500,000 juvenile by Game Winner; Non Compliant, a $150,000 juvenile by Tiz the Law; Showers, a $240,000 yearling by Ghostzapper; and Tenma, a $850,000 juvenile by Nyquist. An unnamed $600,000 juvenile Tiz the Law–Animal Appeal filly is working well; Cash Call, a $600,000 juvenile by first-crop sire McKinzie, has worked fast at Los Alamitos. Phil D’Amato Leading trainer at Del Mar the past two summers, D’Amato’s juvenile lineup includes Vodka With a Twist, who will try to give D’Amato his third Sorrento. He won with Elm Drive in 2021 and Spectator in 2017. “I’ve got a lot of nice prospects that will debut early in the meet,” D’Amato said. “I’m top-heavy with nice fillies; two seem exceptional.” Those are Thought Process, by Collected; and Mancuso, by McKinzie. Other fillies include Innovative, by Complexity. Her debut is postponed by a minor setback. Nell’s Legacy is a $325,000 juvenile by Ghostzapper. :: Get Del Mar Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day. Top colt prospects include Uncle Dude, a $320,000 juvenile by first-crop sire Volatile. Uncle Dude is expected to debut early in the meet. Other colt prospects include Arrakis, by Bernardini; Dirty Words, by Thousand Words; and Iron Man Cal, by Collected. D’Amato plans to run a host of unnamed European-bred juveniles this summer along with “some really nice Cal-breds.” Richard Mandella “Lots of fillies who seem pretty nice” is Mandella’s summary of his juvenile roster, led by two unnamed Into Mischief fillies. One was produced by Grade 1 winner Perfect Alibi; the other produced by stakes winner Tap It All. Mandella’s filly roster also includes Amorita, by Liam’s Map; fast-working Casalu, by Caracaro; Madame Secretary, a $900,000 yearling by Constitution; an unnamed Authentic-Inspired by Grace filly; and an Into Mischief–Mother Mother filly. Colts include Power Play, by Authentic, and an unnamed Into Mischief colt produced by Grade 1 winner Bast. Mandella temporarily backed off Tamino, by Candy Ride. Mandella, referring to summer 2-year-olds in general: “The ones that run are sound enough, some might shin buck, or chip an ankle. You find the weaknesses early, try to clean them up, get them over it, and let them grow up a little bit. Or, they’re naturals.” Last summer’s Mandella natural was Tamara, who crushed the Del Mar Debutante. Michael McCarthy Surprisingly, McCarthy won more 2-year-old races (eight) last summer at Del Mar than Baffert (seven). McCarthy’s juveniles won short, long, turf, dirt; five debut winners included subsequent stakes winner Endlessly. McCarthy said he currently has “about 20” juveniles in training. “We’re a little bit behind. They’ll be second book, middle of the meet,” McCarthy said. “A lot of them didn’t seem like five-eighths types, but there are a handful of pretty nice horses.” The past two years at Del Mar, including fall, McCarthy juveniles at all levels went a combined 16 for 72. McCarthy’s colt prospects include an unnamed City of Light–Majestic Bonnie; an unnamed Nyquist–Silver Dollar Diva; Brummell, a $1.05 million yearling by Not This Time; Bullard, a $675,000 yearling by Gun Runner; Cultural, a $155,000 juvenile by Volatile; and Journalism, a $825,000 Curlin yearling produced by a Grade 2 winner. Fillies include Auntie, by Uncle Mo; and Mac and Cheese, by McKinzie. Mona Again, by Global Campaign, can improve next out. Peter Miller Twirling Light, a $600,000 juvenile filly by Twirling Candy, ranks among Miller’s prospects. Miller’s colts include Brother Tony, by Unified; Curvino, a Vino Rosso colt who finished third in his debut; Kale’s Angel, by red-hot first-crop sire Complexity; and stakes-placed R Heisman. Miller’s filly roster also includes debut fourth Caitlin Fever; and Ready to Dare, by Daredevil. Doug O’Neill Tiz Happy and Dr. Ruben M, one-two in a Santa Anita maiden turf sprint, are among 2-year-olds O’Neill will run at Del Mar. Dr. Ruben M entered race 2 on Saturday, along with O’Neill-trained first-time starter Rank, by first-crop sire Honor A. P. Additional juveniles trained by O’Neill include Brother Brother, by Complexity; Cano for the Win, by Omaha Beach; stakes-placed maiden Ivan the Great; and stakes-placed maiden filly So There She Was. Dean Pederson The first summer entrant for Pederson is Thorne House in race 10 on Saturday. Pederson will take 16 runners to Del Mar, including a pair of unraced juvenile fillies for late in the meet. Severe Clear is a California-bred by Vronsky who Pederson said “probably wants long on grass.” Our Moonlight is a Tapit filly who recovered from a foot issue and resumed working this month. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “If everything goes right, [Our Moonlight] will run the last couple weeks of the meet,” Pederson said. Jorge Periban Bodacious, by Smokem, earned an 84 Beyer in his Santa Anita debut, highest this year by a California 2-year-old. Favored in the Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs, Bodacious finished sixth after an imperfect start and blistering pace. “He came back good. We’re ready for Cal-breds” Periban said. Bodacious would be a contender Aug. 9 in the Graduation Stakes. Celtica is an Upstart filly nearing her debut for Periban. John Sadler Stakes-bound A. Z. Wildcat, by Munnings, tops the eclectic list of 2-year-olds trained by Sadler. He is heavy with fillies. Oveta’s Hobby, by Army Mule, will debut early on dirt; Supa Speed, by Justify, will debut early on turf. “We’re trying to buy for dirt, but inevitably you end up with some grass horses,” Sadler said. “You have more dual sires now, and probably first on the list would be Justify.” Sadler also trains Lady Chic, a Tapit filly produced by a Grade 1-placed dam. Colts nearing debuts include Latitude, by Candy Ride, and Cajun Gold, by Cajun Breeze. The slower-developing Unique Power is an Into Mischief colt produced by Grade 1 winner Unique Bella. California-bred colts close to a start include Johnson’s Magic, by Mr. Big; and Cali Cat, by American Pharoah. A minor setback has postponed the debut of Miles Finch, a well-regarded Vronsky sibling to stakes winner Kings River Knight. John Shirreffs CRK Stable owners Lee and Susan Searing this year opened a Kentucky division with several juveniles trained by Peter Eurton. But many top CRK prospects remain in California with Shirreffs, who expects to take 10 juveniles to Del Mar. Baeza is a $1.2 million yearling McKinzie colt who is a sibling to Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Belmont winner Dornoch. Baeza had only four works as of early July; Shirreffs described him as “very good.” Post Game, a $550,000 Nyquist colt, could debut early. “He needs to start,” Shirreffs said, hinting the colt wants farther than a sprint. Silent Way, a $700,000 McKinzie colt, is in training. Westwood, by Authentic, could be an early starter. Shirreffs-trained and CRK-owned fillies include Into the Hall, an $875,000 Into Mischief yearling; and Misleading, a $550,000 yearling by Not This Time and sibling to talented maiden Gate to Paradise. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.