DEL MAR — Trainer Jonathan Thomas is normally based in Kentucky and New York.

But this fall, the 44-year-old decided to bring a string of 12 horses to Del Mar with an eye on the season-ending Turf Festival.

Thomas has at least one horse nominated in each of the seven stakes races in the Turf Festival, which started Sunday with the 1 3/8-mile Grade III Red Carpet Stakes.

And Thomas is 1-for-1.

Mrs. Astor, the third-favorite in the field of seven older fillies and mares, finished a length ahead of 3-5 favorite Forever After All – who was forced to take up sharply on the backstretch when cut off along the rail by Marksman Queen – to win the $100,000 feature under jockey Vincent Cheminaud.

Mrs. Astor shipped in from Keeneland where the 4-year-old daughter of Lookin At Lucky finished fourth in her last start in the Grade III Dowager Stakes. Forever After All finished second in that race.

While Mrs. Astor had a clean run Sunday, jockey Juan Hernandez had to take a firm grip on Forever After All nearing the far turn when Marksman Queen veered sharply to the left under Umberto Rispoli. At the time, Mrs. Astor was running just outside and behind Forever After All and Marksman Queen, who finished third 3 ½ lengths behind Forever After All.

The Forever After All/Marksman Queen incident drew an inquiry, but the order wasn’t changed. Like Mrs. Astor, the second and third-place finishers also shipped in for the Red Carpet.

“The inquiry was between Rispoli and the horse inside,” said Cheminaud, who has two wins in his first two days at Del Mar. “Umberto’s horse tried to come inside every time. I was looking at that. But I had a good trip.

“She likes the fast track. There were times she ran pretty good at Keeneland, so I had a good chance today. She doesn’t have much speed at the beginning.”

“Mrs. Astor was able to find herself a little closer because there was a lack of pace,” said Thomas. “I thought Cheminaud did a good job of sneaking up and gaining ground and putting her in a good stalking spot down the backside.

“I think we got a little lucky with (trainer) Brendan Walsh’s horse (Forever After All) getting into a little bit of trouble. But Vincent saw that and kicked on, which I think was the right thing to do. I thought Vincent gave her a fantastic ride.”

One of Thomas’ top Turf Festival entries is ranked among the horses to beat in Friday’s $200,000 Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup – a 1½-mile run for older horses. Truly Quality will also have Cheminaud aboard.

True Quality, a 4-year-old gelded son of Quality Road, has won three of his last four starts – the most recent being an Oct. 5 Grade III stakes at Woodbine. The 11-horse field for the Turf Cup includes Dicey Mo Chara (with Flavien Prat aboard in a final weekend return to Del Mar), None Above the Law and a trio from the Phil D’Amato stable (Divin Propos, Rockemporer and Balnikhov).

Notable

Hernandez won three races Sunday — with Dial a Friend ($3.20 in the second), Party On Girl ($8 in the third) and Rastaman Vibe ($7.20 in the ninth) to move into the jockey lead for the first time during the fall meeting. The reigning champion has 13 wins to 12 apiece for Umberto Rispoli.

• Trainer Mark Glatt had one win Sunday — Money Makes Money ($4 with Rispoli in the first) — and has 12 wins for the meeting for a five-win lead over D’Amato.

• For the second time in as many days, a jockey scored his first Del Mar victory Sunday in his first start at the seaside oval. Abel Lezcano won aboard Artisma ($18) in the sixth. On Saturday, Cheminaud won his first Del Mar ride aboard Certitude.

• Cheminaud on having two wins in his first two days at Del Mar: “I have the experience to run everywhere. When you win, you are happy every time. I travel a lot in the world.”

Originally Published: November 24, 2024 at 5:35 PM PST