Miss Monica romps in Del Mar Debutante (G1)

Miss Monica rolled to a 6 1/4-length victory in the $300,000 Del Mar Debutante S. (G1) on Sept. 5 to give Bob Baffert his record 13^th winner of the seven-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies.

An easy debut maiden winner on Aug. 9, also at Del Mar, Miss Monica was the odds-on choice in the seven-furlong Debutante. She was going along easily in third before entering the turn, then passed the leaders with no urging from her rider. She turned for home with a one-length lead and widened from there to finish in 1:23.54 under a hand ride.

“We had a great post and she was able to put herself into a good spot,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “J.J. Hernandez rode her with a lot of confidence. We know going seven-eighths is demanding, but at the three-eighths pole you could tell she was cruising and she went to the lead on her own. She’s that good of a filly. I’m always happy to win this race especially for the Three Amigos’–Pegram, Watson, and Weitman. I’m relieved. I knew she was going to win, but crazy things happen.”

Miss Monica is owned by the aforementioned Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman and has won $240,000 in her two starts.