When is a sure thing a sure thing?
Never, really. But consider the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity (G1) at Del Mar on Sunday: Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won this important race for 2-year-olds for the past five years and a total of 19 times since 1996.
That’s winning the Futurity at a 63.33% clip, a rate rarely seen by one trainer in one race. Baffert has dominated horse racing in California for decades. He also has 15 victories in the Los Alamitos Futurity, 14 wins in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) -- including a current streak of eight in a row – 12 wins in Saturday’s Del Mar Debutante (G1) -- he has Holmby and Miss Monica entered -- 10 wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup (G2) and nine in the Santa Anita Derby (G1). Just to name a few top West Coast races.
In Sunday’s 7-furlong Futurity, Baffert, as a bettor might expect, sends out the two favorites in a five-horse field, Hughes at 4-5 and Domus at 7-5. As he seeks win No. 20, his earlier winners range from Silver Charm (1996) to American Pharoah (2014) to Brant last year.
“Where have the times gone?” Baffert told drf.com, “I want to round off the number; I’m going for No. 20.”
Hughes, an Into Mischief colt, comes in at 2-0, including a 7 ¾-length romp in the Best Pal Stakes (G3) on Aug. 8. Domus, an Uncle Mo colt, won in his debut by 5½ lengths on July 25.
In his career debut, Hughes came through with a powerful gate-to-wire, six-length win at Los Alamitos on June 21. His win in the Best Pal came against Phone Booth, the runner-up who returns for another go at Hughes. Juan Hernandez rides out of post 4. He, too, won gate-to-wire, so these two could be going head-to-head down the stretch.
Phone Booth (8-1), trained by Doug O’Neill, ran a solid second in the Best Pal as his stretch run was good enough to hold off Kennyten.
O’Neill sends out the other two colts in the field, High Pronto and Dang Son. High Pronto makes his third start after breaking his maiden last out by two lengths on Aug. 8. Kazushi Kimura has the call from post 2. Dang Son also broke his maiden in his second start, winning on the turf on Aug. 15. Emisael Jaramillo will ride out of post 3.
Post time Sunday is 6 p.m. ET
| # | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phone Booth (CA) | U Rispoli | D F O'Neill | 8/1 |
| 2 | High Pronto (FL) | K Kimura | D F O'Neill | 10/1 |
| 3 | Dang Son (KY) | E Jaramillo | D F O'Neill | 15/1 |
| 4 | Hughes (KY) | J J Hernandez | B Baffert | 4/5 |
| 5 | Domus (KY) | A Fresu | B Baffert | 7/5 |
Last Updated on 09/04/2026
Baffert also has the 9-5 favorite in Desert Gate for the $125,000 Shared Belief Stakes for 3-year-olds going a mile. O’Neill has the second choice in the field of nine in 3-1 Decisive Win. Post time for the Shared Belief is 8:14 p.m.
A chestnut son of Omaha Beach, Desert Gate is the most accomplished runner in the field. A one-time Kentucky Derby (G1) prospect at the end of his 2-year-old season, he didn’t live up to expectations, but won a pair of ungraded stakes, the Hot Springs Stakes and the Texas Derby, before finishing fourth in the Ohio Derby (G3) and most recently fourth again in the Iowa Derby.
Trainer Jeff Mullins sends out 2-1 favorite Vanta in a field of nine 2-year-old fillies going a mile on the turf.
Dee Snook, trained by Doug O’Neill, is the 4-1 second betting choice.
The race seems wide open as eight of the nine fillies have run just once or twice. Vanta comes in off a 1 ¼-length debut win at 5 furlongs at Del Mar on July 31; Dee Snook won at second asking by three-quarters of a length going a mile at Del Mar on July 26.
Post time is 8:44 p.m.
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
