Clement L. Hirsch Stakes 2024:
Automatic entry into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is on the line this week in the G1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar. Eight strong fillies and mares are expected to hit the starting gate in the 10th of 11 races scheduled for Saturday at the California track, with a post time of 9:30 p.m. ET.
Reigning champ Adare Manor is looking to hold on to her crown, but a good field of challengers headlined by Pretty Mischievous and Scylla will look to ride into the winner’s circle.
Here are the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes entries, odds, jockeys, and trainers:
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Flying Connection | R. Atras | J. Talamo | 20-1 |
| 2 | Adare Manor | B. Baffert | J. Hernandez | 3-5 |
| 3 | Scylla | W. Mott | M. Smith | 6-1 |
| 4 | Coffee In Bed | R. Mandella | K. Kimura | 15-1 |
| 5 | Desert Dawn | P. D’Amato | A. Fresu | 10-1 |
| 6 | Sugar Fish | J. Mullins | T. Baze | 12-1 |
| 7 | Olivia Twist | T. Fincher | R. Gutierrez | 30-1 |
| 8 | Pretty Mischievous | B. Walsh | U. Rispoli | 8-1 |
This will be 1 1/16 miles around the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club track, a distance that all of these horses have run at in the past, though some have more experience with distance than others. This race is for 3-year-olds and up, but the only 3-year-old is in the field in Sugar Fish.
Here are some notes on the horses:
1. Flying Connection (20-1; Atras/Talamo): Rob Atras is the trainer of record for Flying Connection after he worked with Todd Fincher to get her ready for the Bed o’ Roses Stakes back in June at Aqueduct. She finished fifth with a real disappointing performance after hitting the board in five straight runs. She’s traveled a ton and this will be her first start at Del Mar since finishing second in the Torrey Pines last September.
Her last two races have been seven-furlong sprints and now she levels back up to 1 1/16, the same distance she finished a distant second to Adare Manor at in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn back in April. She’s got seven wins to her name, but the rail post and the speed figures it will take to win this are too much to overlook.
2. Adare Manor (3-5; Baffert/Hernandez): The reigning champ comes by way of Uncle Mo and Brooklynsway and she’s been good for a long time now. She won five times during her 4-year-old season and has two wins this year, both at distance. She’s going to be tough to beat in this field, as her speed figures shine relative to most of the other contenders.
As mentioned, she topped Flying Connection and everybody else in the Apple Blossom and followed that up with a great run in the Santa Margarita about a month and a half later. She twice bested Desert Dawn last year and was also better than Coffee In Bed and Flying Connection this year. The short price may be a turn-off, but it is more than deserved.
3. Scylla (6-1; Mott/Smith): The daughter of Tapit and Close Hatches is an extremely well-bred filly and she has shown it three times this year already. In seven starts, Scylla has gone 7-for-7 in hitting the board, including five wins, with the two most recent in the Fleur de Lis and Shawnee.
She will be out west for the first time and, in fact, will run outside Kentucky for just the second time in her career. She finished second at Gulfstream in an AOC back in March, but it was a good effort for her as a shipper. This is a bit more of a trip and you wonder about that. Her dam Close Hatches was an extremely successful horse, but she went to California twice for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and finished second in 2013 and 11th in 2014, which wound up being her last race.
Scylla won’t have Javier Castellano, as he’s busy at Saratoga. Mike Smith gets the ride here.
4. Coffee In Bed (15-1; Mandella/Kimura): As of Wednesday afternoon, Kazushi Kimura was a 15% jockey, well below his past three seasons at 18%, 19%, 19%, respectively. He’ll ride Coffee In Bed in her return to Del Mar. She’s run the last six times at Santa Anita and was second to Adare Manor in the Santa Margarita and won the Santa Maria over Desert Dawn (third), getting some revenge from the La Canada Stakes.
She is a good filly and one that has shown well at distance despite not running over a mile until this year, but I don’t think she has the top-end speed or performance necessary in this race.
5. Desert Dawn (10-1; D’Amato/Fresu): Desert Dawn is one of the most consistent mares in the nation, as she always seems to be a threat, but getting over the hump has been rare. The winner of the 2022 Santa Anita Oaks only has two other wins to her name, but she’s pretty reliably hit the board with five seconds and six thirds in 21 starts.
She was unable to overcome a pretty pedestrian pace in the Santa Maria in her last start back in April and hasn’t run since. It is entirely possible that she has a big performance on the longest layoff of her career outside of some winter breaks, but I’m not sure I see her coming up with enough to win.
6. Sugar Fish (12-1; Mullins/Baze): The lone 3-year-old could really spoil the party here. The daughter of Accelerate and Madeira Park has rattled off three wins in a row, including a triumph against a weak field in her stakes debut in the Summertime Oaks. Accelerate was a California legend and dam Madeira Park was a champion north of the border.
The connections are a little light for horseplayers that don’t focus much on California with trainer Jeff Mullins and rider Tyler Baze. Baze has struggled to win this season, but he’s hit the board in about four out of every 10 races. Mullins entered midweek at 22% for his best season in a long time.
The question here is whether or not Sugar Fish can continue her upward trajectory while leveling up in difficulty with this field. Her Summertime Oaks win came in a field of just four. Now she’ll have eight, with a lot more bumping.
7. Olivia Twist (30-1; Fincher/Gutierrez): Olivia Twist hasn’t run over a mile since last April when she finished third in the Fantasy at Oaklawn Park. Her one and only Del Mar run came on the turf. The daughter of Msawish and Twinkling won her stakes debut at Remington Park in 2022, but there aren’t many accolades otherwise. She’s likely to be very outclassed here.
8. Pretty Mischievous (8-1; Walsh/Rispoli): Into Mischief offspring have had a nice run over the last two years and that includes Pretty Mischievous, who won the Kentucky Oaks and Acorn Stakes last year. This season, she’s only run twice, finishing third in both the La Troienne and Ogden Phipps. She’s shipping to the west coast for the first time here, but maybe the change of scenery will help a bit.
She was arguably the best 3-year-old filly in the nation, but a long layoff from September to May seemed to slow her down a bit. She did finish behind Idiomatic twice, who would be the favorite or a close second favorite to Adare Manor if she were in this field. Umberto Rispoli has the ride here instead of regular rider Tyler Gaffalione.
Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Picks
This is Adare Manor’s race to lose. Scylla, Desert Dawn, Sugar Fish, and Pretty Mischievous are all varying levels of contenders, but Adare Manor has her regular rider in Juan J. Hernandez and hasn’t done anything recently to hurt her chances of winning this race. In fact, since her seventh-place Distaff run last year, she’s maybe been the best she’s ever been.
I’m not sure who will run second, but I’ll key Adare Manor and also box some contenders in the event she doesn’t have a great trip.
Using a hypothetical $60 bankroll:
$12 Win ($12)
2 Adare Manor
$3 Key Trifecta ($36)
2, 3/5/6/8, 3/5/6/8
$2 Box Trifecta ($12)
2/3/8
