Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman’s Miss Monica (Early Voting - Lipstikliesnlovers, by American Pharoah) stamped herself a contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Keeneland in October when she captured the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Debutante at Del Mar Sept. 5, leading the slate of stakes-winning OBS graduates for the week.

    The dark bay or brown daughter of Early Voting assumed command and drew off for a 6 ¼ length victory for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.



“We had a great post and she was able to put herself into a good spot. (Jockey) J.J. Hernandez rode her with a lot of confidence,” Baffert told Del Mar publicity. “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.”



Miss Monica was purchased by her owners for $850,000 at the 2026 OBS April Sale from the Hoppel consignment after breezing in :20 2/5.



OBS graduates also enjoyed international success this past week with Kentucky-bred Dragon Welds (Frosted-Little Dipper, by Eskendereya) prevailing in the Sept. 6 Korea Sprint (G3) sponsored by OBS at Seoul Racecourse.



Trained by Hideaki Fujiwara, Dragon Welds earned a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Sprint as part of the “Win and You’re In” program. Dragon Welds was purchased by T B Bloodstock at the 2024 OBS April Sale for $150,000 out of the Harris Training Center consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.



At Saratoga Sept. 5, Lawana and Robert Low’s Liam’s Law (Colonel Liam-Quickasakitten, by Kitten’s Joy) made every pole a winning one to make the grade in the Grade 3, $225,000 With Anticipation.



Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the son of Colonel Liam proved best over stablemate Bold Leadership in a compact field of three. He was a $120,000 purchase by his owners from the 2026 OBS March Sale out of the Ocala Stud consignment where he breezed in :21 2/5.



The Sep. 6 card at Saratoga saw Mashallah (Maxfield-All in With Aces, by Quiet American) put forth a much-the-best score in the Grade 3, $225,000 Prioress.



Trained by Brendan Walsh for JR Ranch, Mashallah entered from a frontrunning romp in the seven-furlong Tyson Gilpin on August 1 at Colonial Downs in her stakes debut. She was purchased by Marquee Bloodstock, agent for $1.25 million at the 2025 OBS March Sale from the de Meric Sales consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.



At Woodbine Sept. 5, Ironhorse Racing Stable and T-N-T Equine Holding’s Tomasello (Authentic – Dakota Queen, by War Front) came off the shelf and prevailed in gritty fashion to earn his first graded win in the $175,000 Singspiel Stakes (G3).



Racing for the first time since early July, Mark Casse-trained Tomasello scored by a determined half-length. Tomasello was purchased by Thomas and Mitchell Bloodstock for $125,000 at the 2024 OBS April Sale from the consignment of Golden Rock Thoroughbreds after breezing in :21 1/5.



At Gulfstream Park Sept. 5, K. Johnston Racing, Michael and Jules Iavarone and Hopeless Stables’ Sum of Success (Win Win Win- All Summed Up, by In Summation) kept his perfect record intact with a 5 ¼-length victory in the $150,000 FHBPA Express Tour Stakes.



Trained by Bobby Dibona, Sum of Success has notched his three wins by 24 ¼ combined lengths. He was purchased by Dibona for $165,000 at the 2026 OBS April Sale from the Wavertree Stables (Ciaran Dunne) consignment after breezing in :10 flat.



The Sept. 5 card at Gulfstream also saw Averill Racing’s R Island Jewel (Awesome Slew—Hello Juliet, by Adios Charlie) emerge from a three-way battle up front with the lead to score a 6 ¼-length triumph in the $150,000 FHBPA Three Ring.



Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., R Island Jewel was purchased by her owner for $90,000 at the 2026 OBS March Sale after breezing in :21 2/5.



At Saratoga on Sept. 4, Velora (Yaupon—Scadadle, by Scat Daddy) remained undefeated with an impressive 2 1/4-length score in the $200,000 Seeking the Ante. Trained by Linda Rice for Winning Move Stable, Sabby Racing, IEE Racing, Sanford Robbins and Silverwood Stables, Velora was purchased by Kimmel/Sallusto, agent on behalf of her owners for $300,000 at the 2026 OBS April Sale from the Niall Brennan Stables consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.



At Del Mar on Sept. 6, Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman’s Desert Gate (Omaha Beach-Theogony, by Curlin) added another stakes win to his resume when he won the $125,000 Shared Belief Stakes by 5½ lengths for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The son of Omaha Beach was purchased by his owners for $260,000 at the 2025 OBS March Sale from the Navas Equine consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.



On the same card at Del Mar, Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures’ Vanta (Greatest Honour—Goodn'ready, by More Than Ready) remained perfect with a 2 1/2-length victory in the $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes for trainer Jeff Mullins.



Vanta was purchased by her owners for $370,000 at the 2026 OBS March Sale from the Golden Rock Thoroughbreds consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.



At Kentucky Downs Sept. 6, May Day Ready (Tapit-Nemoralia, by More Than Ready) prevailed in what became a match race after four entrants scratched, winning the $500,000 One Dreamer Stakes by 4 1/2 lengths over Miwa. Trained by Richard Mandella for owner KatieRich Stables, the graded stakes winning daughter of Tapit was purchased by her owners for $325,000 out of the de Meric Sales consignment at the 2024 OBS April Sale after breezing in :10 flat.



At Kentucky Downs on Sept. 7, Dahman’s Bottas (Vekoma-Iadorakid, by Lemon Drop Kid) won the $1.75 million Gun Runner Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths for trainer Miguel Clement, besting fellow OBS grad Conducted. The victory pushed the multiple graded stakes winning son of Vekoma past $1 million in career earnings.



Bottas was a $300,000 purchase by Case Clay Thoroughbred Management at the 2025 OBS April Sale from the consignment of Paul Sharp after breezing in :10 1/5.



The Labor Day card at Kentucky Downs also saw Citrus Springs (Olympiad—California Spirit, by Tale of the Cat) prevail in the $750,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies Stakes in her stateside debut. Trained by Joseph O'Brien for owner Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Citrus Springs sold to Justin Casse/Carriganog for $300,000 at the 2026 OBS March Sale from the RiceHorse Stable consignment after breezing in :10 flat.



At Colonial Downs Sept. 7, Just a Touch (Justify—Touching Beauty, by Tapit) won the $150,000 Colonial Cup Stakes by a head for owners Qatar Racing LLC and Marc Detampel. Trained by Brad Cox, 5-year-old son of Justify was purchased by Fergus Galvin, agent for $300,000 at the 2023 OBS April Sale from the Scanlon Training & Sales consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will attempt to win his fourth consecutive Gr. III Princess Rooney Saturday at Gulfstream Park when he saddles three fillies in the seven-furlong $225,000 event, a ‘Win and You’re In” for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Keeneland Oct. 31. 

    Joseph, who has won an unprecedented 16 consecutive conditioning titles at Gulfstream, will saddle three of the seven fillies entered. The field also includes California-based runners Simply Joking and No Bad Beats. Trainer Michael McCarthy, trainer of Simply Joking, returns to Gulfstream having saddled Ce Ce to consecutive victories in the Princess Rooney in 2021 and 2022. 

    The Princess Rooney is one of three stakes Saturday at Gulfstream along with the $100,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint and $100,000 Ginger Punch Handicap. The 10-race program begins at 12:20.  

    Joseph has saddled the three most recent Princess Rooney winners in Haulin Ice (2025), Soul of an Angel (2024) and Three Witches (2023). Three Witches finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita while Soul of an Angel won the Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar.

       In Saturday’s Princess Rooney Joseph saddles Anakarina, Indy Bay and Kerry’s Kiss. Anakarina enters the race off a victory in the Love Sign Stakes at Colonial Downs July 25. Indy Bay won the Gr. II Charles Town Oaks in 2025 and enters off a pair of second-place finishes at Gulfstream in the Sheer Drama and Musical Romance behind stablemate Kerry’s Kiss. 

       McCarthy, who also saddled multiple Gr. 1 winner City of Light to victory here in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, entered Simply Joking, third Aug. 1 in the Gr. I Clement Hirsch at Del Mar and second in the Gr. II Santa Margarita in May at Santa Anita. The filly won the Gr. III Santa Maria at Santa Anita in April.

      No Bad Beats is also entered in the Princess Rooney. The California-based filly trained by Leonard Powell finished second in January in the Gr. III Las Flores at Santa Anita. She enters the race off an allowance optional claiming victory at Del Mar Aug. 9 off a six-month layoff.

     Others entered include Just a Philly, trained by Herbert Miller, who was third in the Sheer Drama and Musical Romance, and  Bombacha Veloz, who makes her first start in the U.S. for trainer Amador Sanchez after winning five of nine starts in Chile. 

     The Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint at five furlongs, named after the popular and innovative late racing secretary, drew a field of nine. Trainer Joe Orseno entered three including Rezasrolex, a winner of 15 of 23 starts including nine consecutive starts last year. The 5-year-old gelding won the Pay Any Price at Gulfstream July 5 before shipping to Saratoga and finishing eighth in the Gr. II Troy. Joseph will send out Thought Control, an impressive winner on the turf at Gulfstream when he last raced in May.

     A field of 10 fillies and mares entered the Ginger Punch, a mile turf event, including the versatile Fantasy Performer for multiple stakes-winning trainer and Kentucky Derby winner Cam Gambolati.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Jockey Diego Herrera closed out his first full meet outside Southern California Monday at Gulfstream Park while celebrating his first riding title with an 88-82 edge over Samy Camacho during the Royal Palm Meet.

    The up-and-coming 22-year-old jockey made the career decision to move his tack following his Jan. 24 visit to Gulfstream to ride British Isles in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Although the best British Isles could do was a fifth-place finish, Herrera came away from the experience with such a positive impression that he took agent Kevin Meyocks up on his offer to handle his book at Gulfstream – but not before notching his first Gr. 1 stakes win by guiding British Isles to victory in the Santa Anita Handicap on March 7.

    “I’m very blessed and fortunate to be in this position," Herrera said. "My agent has done a tremendous job. He gave me a call toward the end of March and I took a leap of faith and trusted in him,” Herrera went on after guiding Bail Us Out ($4.20) to victory in Monday’s Race 5 to collect his 100th overall win of the year. “I can’t thank the owners, trainers, grooms, and all the people that work hard every day in the morning enough. I’m so pleased to be in this position.”

    Herrera, who made it to Gulfstream on March 19 for the tail end of the 2025-2026 Championship Meet, quickly established himself as a force during the Royal Palm Meet that got underway on April 2. Herrera and Camacho were locked in a tight battle for the top spot in the jockey standings right up until the final weekend.

    “I’m very happy with my decision, whether I won the meet or not,’’ Herrera said.

    Herrera, who enjoyed 30 multi-win days and 16 consecutive racing days with at least one win during the meet, is looking forward to continuing his success during the Sunshine Meet that gets underway Friday and, farther down the road, the 2026-2027 Championship Meet that opens Thanksgiving Day.

    “I’m looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing a new jockey colony and having new opportunities,” he said.

    The son of a Quarter Horse owner, the Inglewood, Calif. native began riding Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses in Southern California at the age of 15 ½ while taking online classes to earn his high school diploma at Lennox Academy.