Paul Weitman

Grade I winner Defunded, who skipped a shot at the Breeders' Cup, kept it rolling with a popular score in the GIII Native Diver S. Sunday at Del Mar. A second-out graduate last March at Santa Anita, the gelding was fourth in both the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and GIII Pat Day Mile S. before running second in the GIII Affirmed S. and GIII Los Alamitos Derby. Scoring a pair of blowout allowance/optional claiming victories, he was a hard-fought runner-up in the GI Hollywood Gold Cup S. May 30,...

6th-Del Mar, $82,500, Msw, 9-10, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:01.86, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. SPEED BOAT BEACH (c, 2, Bayern--Sophia Mia, by Pioneerof the Nile) stepped out in sharp fashion on unveiling here, taking a field of 10 gate to wire and establishing a new track record of 1:01.86 in the process as the 2-1 second choice behind even-money Hejazi (Bernardini). The latter was the $3.55 million EASMAY topper this season, purchased by Zedan Racing. The $700,000 FTKOCT firster Fort Bragg (Tapit) picked up the final place spot, and completed Bob...

Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman and trainer Bob Baffert unveiled a potentially important juvenile in Saturday's seventh race from Del Mar, as Cave Rock (c, 2, Arrogate--Georgie's Angel, by Bellamy Road) took the race by the scruff of the neck not long after the start and scampered clear to become the afternoon's second 'TDN Rising Star'. Heavily backed as the 6-5 chalk in a strong-looking group on paper, the dark bay shot through to take up the running as the field linked up with the track proper and...

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton Four-time Grade I-winning 4-year-old McKinzie (Street Sense) has always been saddled with high expectations, while 3-year-old Mr. Money (Goldencents) has now achieved millionaire status by grinding out four consecutive Grade III victories. Convincing wins on Saturday gave each horse a divisional foothold, with McKinzie establishing himself as the top two-turn older dirt horse who might finally be getting comfortable with kingpin status, and Mr. Money carving out a niche as the late-blooming sophomore who appears primed to punch above his weight thanks to...