By Jill Williams
A Baffert pair looked to have the GIII Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar sewn up Saturday, but that's why a race needs to be run. She wasn't exactly a longshot at 4-1, but Om N Joy (f, 3, Om–Margie's Minute, by Hard Spun)–trained by Aggie Ordonez, not by Bob Baffert–proved best on the day and captured the first graded stakes of her career while extending her winning streak to five. It was only the second try in open company for the Cal-bred.
Om N Joy broke smoothly and sharply, but eased off the pace, letting 26-1 So There She Was (Munnings) lead the field through :22.97 and :47.13 fractions as 3-5 choice Tenma (Nyquist), last year's GI Del Mar Debutante winner whose most recent race was a fourth in the GI Kentucky Oaks, pressed that one from the outside. Meanwhile, Om N Joy got floated a little wide and shuffled back to sixth. Veteran rider Kent Desormeaux knew what he had underneath him, however, biding his time, first going inside, then out, as he guided his mount through the field. He tipped Om N Joy out leaving the turn and she responded, rallying down the lane to not just catch both So There She Was and Tenma, but to sail right by. Om N Joy got the mile in 1:36.99, winning by a well-timed half-length over the pacesetting pair, who finished second and third.
“Last time she was totally on the bit and I couldn't keep her off the lead,” said Desormeaux, who has piloted her to her last four victories. “Today, her demeanor was so much different and I give all the credit to the trainer. I thought the pace today was honest. I just was able to tuck in behind horses and cut the corners. In the stretch, I knew I was going to catch the leader.”
A celebratory Ordonez added, “I should know better than to worry about a thing with Kent [Desormeaux] aboard. She looked comfortable and started inching up on them and I knew she hadn't laid it down yet. When she drops that head and reaches, she just motors. It's really a beautiful thing to see. Some girls like diamonds, some girl like jewels. I like that kind of stride on a big red mare.”
It took Om N Joy eight tries to find the winner's circle, but she's visited it in every start since. The Torrey Pines marked her fifth consecutive win, dating back to her maiden against state-bred fillies at Santa Anita in March. Bred by Jerry and Connie Baker and campaigned by them in partnership with Michael Golovko and Terrence J. Scanlan, Om N Joy has since captured three Cal-bred stakes, most recently the Fleet Treat Stakes at Del Mar July 25, in addition to the Torrey Pines.
Pedigree Notes:
California sire Om, a mainstay at Harris Farms since his first season in 2020, got the first graded winner of his career with Om N Joy's victory in the Torrey Pines. The chestnut filly is a member of his second crop and one of 36 winners for the son of Munnings. Om ranks among the top 10 West Coast sires by earnings this year.
The winning Margie's Minute, dam of the Torrey Pines winner, was a $45,000 Keeneland September yearling buy by Bud Greely in 2012. Her third dam is a full-sister to stellar 20th-century leading sire Mr. Prospector. Margie's Minute's most recent foals include a 2-year-old colt named Hot Hot Heat (Conquest Farenheit), who has been working at Del Mar in advance of his first start, and a Mar. 29-foaled colt by Midnight Storm. Like Om N Joy, both are Cal-breds for the Bakers.
🍫 OM N JOY ($10.00) charges on the outside with Kent Desormeaux to win the $150,000 Torrey Pines Stakes (G3) at @DelMarRacing for trainer Aggie Ordonez and owner/breeders Connie Baker, Jerry Baker, et. al. pic.twitter.com/WYsh0uN3nJ
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) August 30, 2025
Saturday, Del Mar
TORREY PINES S.-GIII, $151,000, Del Mar, 8-30, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:36.99, ft.
1–OM N JOY, 124, f, 3, by Om
1st Dam: Margie's Minute, by Hard Spun
2nd Dam: Halo Miss America, by Jolie's Halo
3rd Dam: Heart of America, by Northern Jove
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Connie S. & Jerry Baker, Michael Golovko, and Terrence J. Scanlan; B-Jerry & Connie Baker (CA); T-Aggie Ordonez; J-Kent J. Desormeaux. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 12-5-0-4, $401,140. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–So There She Was, 118, f, 3, Munnings–Risk Premium, by Take Charge Indy. ($145,000 Wlg '22 KEENOV; $15,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; $100,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Great Friends Stables and Mark D. Davis; B-Grantley Acres (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $30,000.
3–Tenma, 124, f, 3, Nyquist–Amagansett, by Tapit. ($200,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; $850,000 2yo '24 OBSAPR). O-Baoma Corp; B-B Flay Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $18,000.
Margins: HF, 1 3/4, HF. Odds: 4.00, 26.50, 0.70.
Also Ran: Howin, Lolo Le Plume, Allihies, A Thousand Miles.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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