DEL MAR, Calif. – Motorious returns Saturday to Del Mar, where the turf sprinter will aim for his second win in the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap as the top entrant trained by Phil D’Amato. D’Amato finished 1-3-4 in last year’s Green Flash, led by Motorious. D’Amato this year entered four of the 12 runners in the five-furlong race, a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint scheduled for Nov. 2 at Del Mar. The Green Flash, race 9, and Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes, race 4, are undercard stakes on a Del Mar program that includes the Grade 1 Pacific Classic and a pair of Grade 2s on turf. The Torrey Pines, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on dirt, includes a front-runner who ranks among the most probable winners on the card: Hope Road looks tough to catch. D’Amato looks tough to beat in the Green Flash. In addition to 123-pound highweight Motorious, D’Amato entered Turn On The Jets, Connie Swingle, and Unconquerable Keen. All four D’Amato entrants have won turf-sprint stakes at Del Mar. :: DRF's Del Mar Handicapping Packages: Get everything you need to play the races with confidence. Late-running Motorious is 2 for 2 in Del Mar turf sprints, but his 2024 form is uncertain. He finished seventh in a Grade 2 at Churchill Downs in May, and fourth in an allowance at Santa Anita in June. “I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt,” D’Amato said, citing circumstances for both losses. “His first race back at Churchill, he got into a world of trouble. He got bounced around and nobody could make up any ground that day on the turf. “Last race, closing weekend at Santa Anita, the turf course was an absolute freeway, same deal,” he added. “This time, this is a turf course he’s done well at and he’s training up a storm. I’m not gonna give him any excuses here. Hopefully he’ll have a nice pace to run at.” Wish granted. The Green Flash is loaded with speed including Fast Buck, Mo Gold, Sassy Nature, and Noble Reflection. Motorious and jockey Antonio Fresu will have plenty of pace to run at. A victory in the Green Flash would move Motorious toward a chance at redemption in the BC Turf Sprint. He finished seventh as the favorite in the 2023 BC Turf Sprint at Santa Anita. Turn On The Jets, a stakes winner who is 3 for 5 in Del Mar turf sprints, makes his second start of the year. “We specifically made it a point to have him fresh and run his best race in this stake, and he runs well fresh,” D’Amato said. “We decided not run him in any allowance races, just run him straight into the stake.” Kazushi Kimura rides Turn On The Jets. Connie Swingle is a mare against the boys, but her smashing comeback in the Mizdirection Stakes for filly and mare turf sprinters stamps her a contender. D’Amato was surprised at the dominant victory by Connie Swingle, who was making her first start in 21 months. “I was expecting a good effort, but I thought maybe she’d need one,” D’Amato said. “In the past, when she does get a race into her, she tends to improve. The spacing is good, she’s trained well and had some nice breezes post-race.” Connie Swingle was entered in an allowance race early this week that did not fill. Kyle Frey rides Connie Swingle. Unconquerable Keen is the fourth D’Amato starter. He has repeatedly finished in front of stablemate Turn On The Jets, but the only start this year by Unconquerable Keen in June at Santa Anita produced a lackluster third as the favorite. Hector Berrios rides Unconquerable Keen. Others in the Green Flash include Star Racer, Noble Reflection, shipper No Nay Hudson, and Johnny Podres. Torrey Pines The first stakes on Saturday is the Torrey Pines, a dirt mile in which Hope Road will try to win in wire-to-wire fashion. Trained by Bob Baffert, Hope Road stretches out after runaway sprint wins in maiden and allowance sprints. Baffert nominated Hope Road to the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap last weekend, but skipped it due to the presence of Sweet Azteca. Baffert said the Torrey Pines “is a good spot to [try a] two-turn [race]. She’s training really well, and we’ll find out if she can [route].” Hope Road, a Quality Road filly produced by multiple sprint stakes winner Marley’s Freedom, is likely to set the pace under Juan Hernandez. Favorites have won the Torrey Pines 10 of the last 15 years. Baffert also entered Nothing Like You, a two-time Grade 2 route winner whose rider is Kimura. Grand Slam Smile, a four-time stakes winner whose eight starts have produced five wins and three seconds, stretches out from a runner-up finish in a sprint stakes. Steve Specht trains Grand Slam Smile, who will be ridden by Frank Alvarado. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.