Joe Who Sets Record Straight at Del Mar

DEL MAR — After having his track record for a mile on turf broken Friday only a year after he set it, the Brazilian-bred Joe Who stamped his name on another page in the Del Mar record book, in a section that can’t be erased--under race winners.

Given a strong ride by Chris Antley, who thrives with horses he hasn’t ridden before, Joe Who won the $400,000 Eddie Read Handicap Sunday by a neck over Ladies Din. Bouccaneer, a 30-1 shot ridden by Corey Nakatani, almost pulled a front-running upset in Del Mar’s premier grass race for older horses, but they were overhauled in the final strides. Instead of giving trainer Bobby Frankel his eighth win in the Eddie Read, Bouccaneer settled for third place, a half-length behind Ladies Din.

Hawksley Hill, the surprising 11-10 favorite in that he had not won in his previous six races, was sixth in the 10-horse field.

Joe Who, trained by Bob Baffert for Jim Helzer of Arlington, Texas, paid $15.40 and earned $240,000 after running 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 3/5. The 6-year-old is is undefeated in three starts at Del Mar, including his record 1:33 2/5 clocking in last year’s Wickerr Handicap. The record fell Friday when Crystal Hearted won the Wickerr in 1:33.

“He likes courses that have some grass on them,” Baffert said. “The other tracks [Santa Anita and Hollywood Park] are pool tables. I was going to ship him to Texas after he won his last race at Churchill Downs [June 27], but the track down there [at Lone Star Park] is a pool table too.”

Bouccaneer, with Joe Who not far behind, was able to set snail-like fractions--50 1/5 for the first half-mile and 1:14 for six furlongs--before the after-burners kicked in for the first two finishers through the stretch.

Antley had never ridden Joe Who, just as he had never piloted Charismatic before their Kentucky Derby win this year.

“[Baffert’s] instructions helped with this horse a lot,” Antley said of Joe Who. “He told me he might seem like he was quitting, when he really wouldn’t be. There was a rush from behind that shook my horse up. When [Ladies Din] came inside us, that got my horse going. His competitive spirit came when the opposition came.”

In 1997, through bloodstock agent A.C. Avila, Baffert and Helzer began watching videotapes of Joe Who’s races in Brazil, where he was winning by ridiculously easy margins.

“Jim went down there to look at the horse,” Baffert said, “and when he got back he said, ‘I can’t find anything wrong with him.’ We paid a lot [a reported $500,000], but he’s earned more than what we paid.”

Joe Who has earned $723,393, with $558,901 of that coming since being purchased by Helzer.

Horse Racing Notes

Victory Gallop might be headed for Del Mar, and the $1-million Pacific Classic on Aug. 29, after his head-bobbing win on Sunday by a nose in the $600,000 Whitney at Saratoga. “If we go out there, I’d want to get out there early,” trainer Elliott Walden said. “We’d have to make that decision fairly quickly. He’s not horse of the year yet, but he’s got a good chance. He’s got to win a couple more races.” Behrens, who had won four races in a row, was headed by Victory Gallop with 50 yards left, then tried to come back on. Victory Gallop, ridden by Jerry Bailey, went off the 9-10 favorite with entrymate Connecting Terms and paid $3.80. The winning time for 1 1/8 miles was 1:48 3/5. . . . Trainer Jack Van Berg, after saddling a horse in Del Mar’s third race, complained of chest pains and was taken to Scripps Hospital in Encinitas for tests and observation. . . . Kevin Radke, a 27-year-old apprentice jockey who made his Southern California debut at the recently completed Hollywood Park meeting, tested positive for cocaine and has been suspended for 30 days and ordered by the Del Mar stewards to complete a residential recovery program. . . . Like Joe Who, Ladies Din had also been undefeated at Del Mar before the Eddie Read Handicap, three of his four wins coming last year.