2023 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Preview

The distaff division takes the spotlight Saturday afternoon at Del Mar for the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes. The namesake of this race, Clement L. Hirsch, was a fixture for over five decades in California, and founded the Oak Tree Racing Association, which ran a fall meet at Santa Anita after Del Mar stopped racing in the autumn in the 1960s. Formerly called the Chula Vista Handicap, the race took Hirsch’s name in 2000.

A $400,000 race covering 1 1/16 miles on the dirt, the Clement Hirsch drew a field of just five, though all of them are graded stakes winners. The winner not only earns a share of the rich purse, but also an automatic berth into one of the most important horse racing events of the year: the Breeders’ Cup Distaff this fall at Santa Anita.

Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 5
• Track: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
• Post Time: 6:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 1/16 miles on the dirt
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds and upward, fillies and mares
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

2023 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the official field for the Clement Hirsch at Del Mar, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Prep Race Results

The five horses come out of three different last-out races, all of which were graded stakes. The top three from the Santa Margarita (G2) on June 10 at Santa Anita all come to Del Mar for their next start here. The winner was Adare Manor, who extended her win streak to three with a wire-to-wire score in that race. Kirstenbosch chased on best of the rest, crossing the wire 4 ½ lengths behind Adare Manor. Desert Dawn, in close range early, flattened to seven lengths third.

Fun to Dream makes her first start since finishing second by a head in the Beholder Mile (G1) on March 11, making her the only runner to come into the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes off of a top-level try. Elm Drive was most recently third beaten only ½ length in the Great Lady M. (G2) at Los Alamitos.

Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Contenders

These are the 5 contenders in the 2023 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, ordered by post position.

1. Elm Drive: A well-proven sprinter, Elm Drive stretches out to two turns for the first time since her juvenile year. The Phil D’Amato trainee is a versatile sprinter, a Grade 2 winner on dirt and a Grade 3 winner on the grass. Note that her Grade 2 win came in the Sorrento two years ago, meaning she handles the Del Mar dirt. Trying her in this spot is an interesting choice, in a good way: she has the pedigree to try at least a middle distance like this, and her sprint speed gives her the chance to control terms in a race with a short field, always a good possibility. The biggest question is whether she gets into too much of a fight with Adare Manor, who really only knows one way to go, and it’s to the front.
2. Fun to Dream: Both of her graded victories have come at seven furlongs, though she successfully stretched out to win a first-level allowance last year at 1 1/16 miles. Note that she was able to rate and rally in that race, a skill that should suit her well, given that Elm Drive and Adare Manor stand to have their hooves on the gas pedal early. She faces good company in her first start off a layoff of almost five months, though trainer Bob Baffert excels with horses returning from long layoffs, and she herself won a California-bred stakes off the only layoff of her career, a two-month break after her maiden score last year.
3. Adare Manor: The second entrant from the Bob Baffert barn, Adare Manor has won three straight on the strength of her sharp early speed. She dials back to 1 1/16 miles for this, a distance at which she has been hit-or-miss throughout her career. She is a Grade 2 winner at that trip last out in the Santa Maria, though she’ll have more company with Elm Drive in the field this time. How she handles the Del Mar racecourse is also a question for her: she frequently shows up at Santa Anita, but was off the board in her only try over the dirt a little further south.
4. Kirstenbosch: This John Sadler trainee won the La Canada (G3) in January of this year, but looking at the rest of her form lines shows her with tables to turn on the major contenders in this race. In her next four starts over both route and sprint trips Adare Manor, Elm Drive, and Fun to Dream all safely had her number. Her pace versatility is a plus in a race where the pace might fall apart, and she did win her only start so far over the Del Mar dirt, though despite her trainer’s record of success in this race, she appeals more for a piece of the exotics than she does for top honors.
5. Desert Dawn: This overachieving Arizona-bred has not won a race since her upset score over Adare Manor in the Santa Anita Oaks (G2) last year, but this Phil D’Amato trainee keeps showing up for shares in major races in southern California. That includes a strong outing in this race last year: She rallied from last in a field of five to finish second behind only Blue Stripe, the horse who went on to finish second in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. She has been on the board in four of five tries at Del Mar, and her ability to run a good race from anywhere from stalking to settled in last means she has a shot to find the frame whether that speed duel materializes or not.

Clement L. Hirsch Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes?
A: This race will be run Saturday, August 5, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The race is carded as the tenth and featured on the 11-race card.

Q: Where is the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes?
A: It takes place at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes?
A: John Sadler has the most wins in this race. He has won five times with four different horses: Healthy Addiction (2006), Iotapa (2014), Stellar Wind (2016, 2017), and Ollie’s Candy (2019). He entered Kirstenbosch this year.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes?
A: Adare Manor, off of a win in the Santa Margarita, is the 4-5 morning-line favorite for trainer Bob Baffert. Baffert’s other runner, Fun to Dream, is 9-5 on the morning line. Given their good recent form as well as Baffert’s tendency to draw wagering action, neither would be a surprise as the actual post-time favorite.

Q: Who is the best Clement L. Hirsch Stakes jockey?
A: Chris McCarron has won this race the most times of any jockey in history. He won seven times between 1981 and 2000. Among jockeys entered in the 2023 edition of the race, Hector Berrios is the only one who has won the race before. He won last year, and takes the call this year on Kirstenbosch.

Q: Who won the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes in 2022?
A: Blue Stripe won the 2022 edition of the Clement Hirsch for trainer Marcelo Polanco and jockey Hector Berrios. Polanco does not have a horse in this year’s edition, but Berrios has the call to ride Kirstenbosch for trainer John Sadler.