Ultra Blend wins Grade 1 Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar
August 6, 2011DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) - Ultra Blend rallied from last to win the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes by a neck at Del Mar on Saturday.
Ridden by Tyler Baze, Ultra Blend ran 1 1-16 miles on the synthetic Polytrack in 1:42.28 and paid $23.60, $7 and $2.80 at 10-1 odds, the longest in the field of five fillies and mares.
Zazu returned $3.80 and $2.20, while Switch was another length back in third and paid $2.10 to show as the 7-10 favorite.
The victory, worth $180,000, increased Ultra Blend's career earnings to $845,646, with 11 wins in 23 starts.
The victory was the high point of Baze's comeback from a serious accident last July at Del Mar, when his mount butted him in the face. The jockey missed the rest of the year and more than four months this year while recuperating.