Quality Road's Hope Road Blazes Home In Bayakoa Stakes At Del Mar

Sunday's closing day card at Del Mar was punctuated by a trio of impressive graded stakes performances, however, none more so than the final graded race of the seaside oval's season, the GIII Bayakoa Stakes.

Attempting to defend her title in the one-mile race after a narrow score in 2024, Hope Road (Quality Road) rebounded off a modest third-place effort as the even-money choice in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint to take Sunday's Bayakoa, winning by an emphatic 6 1/2-length margin.

Hustled out of the gate by Juan Hernandez, 2-5 favorite Hope Road immediately found one sharper off the blocks as Simply Joking (Practical Joke) rolled to the front, cutting out an opening quarter mile in :23.15. With five of seven runners within three lengths of each other up the backstretch, Simply Joking maintained a narrow lead–down to only a neck–over the heavy favorite.

The front-running duo running in tandem around the far turn, Hope Road stuck her head in front at the quarter pole and quickly spurted clear of her rival. In command from there, Hope Road ran away to score by an uber-impressive margin over Simply Joking. Longshot Mahina (Bolt d'Oro) was 2 3/4 lengths back in third.

“She is really good out of the gate,” said Hernandez. “She broke running, when I asked her to go, she listened. She relaxed very good. Bob [Baffert] was working on her to relax. He did a really good job, and you know, all the credit goes to the filly, because she relaxed and was tracking the horse in front of me just waiting for me to shake the reins. We had a great trip.”

She won the Bayakoa last year, topping off a four-race win streak that included a five-length victory in the GIII Torrey Pines and a 5 1/4-length win in an entry-level allowance race both at Del Mar.

Tested in deeper waters this year, the Cicero Farms homebred finished in the money in all four of her races in 2025, including a victory in the seven-furlong GI Ballerina at Saratoga on Aug. 23.

“She had already gone two turns before and she handled the two turns again,” said Jimmy Barnes, assistant to Baffert. “I think it depends on the level of the competition. Maybe it's Del Mar she likes. She ran just how we expected her to run.”

Pedigree Note:

The first foal out of fellow GI Ballerina heroine Marley's Freedom, Hope Road represents the millionaire's sole get to make it to the races thus far. The daughter of Blame produced a filly by Medaglia d'Oro in 2022–who remains unraced–in addition to a colt by Uncle Mo in 2024. This season, the 9-year-old mare dropped a Violence colt and was bred back to Not This Time. This represents the family of Grade I winner and millionaire Noble Bird.

No doubt about this one. 🎙️

Hope Road dominates the Grade III Bayakoa Stakes. pic.twitter.com/NYuCP176sZ

— Del Mar Racetrack (@DelMarRacing) December 1, 2025

Sunday, Del Mar
BAYAKOA S.-GIII, $101,500, Del Mar, 11-30, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:36.38, ft.
1–HOPE ROAD, 121, f, 4, by Quality Road
1st Dam: Marley's Freedom (GISW, $1,233,935), by Blame
2nd Dam: Relaxing Green, by Formal Gold
3rd Dam: Charlotte Augusta, by Chief's Crown
($575,000 RNA Ylg '22 FTSAUG). O-Cicero Farms LLC; B-Cicero Farms LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 14-6-4-2, $1,016,620. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Simply Joking, 118, f, 3, Practical Joke–Imply, by E Dubai.
($65,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-Berkels0813 LLC, CMNWLTH LLC, Grantley Acres and Conner, Ryan; B-Barlar, LLC (PA); T-Michael W. McCarthy. $20,000.
3–Mahina, 121, m, 5, Bolt d'Oro–Malibu Pier, by Malibu Moon.
($100,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-U.S. Equine, Burke, Walter, Sones, Aaron and Wilson, Harry; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Patrick Gallagher. $12,000.
Margins: 6HF, 2 3/4, NO. Odds: 0.40, 4.80, 28.40.
Also Ran: Jane Austen, Home Game, Lemon Muffin, Warming, Precise Timing. Scratched: Deep Blue.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.