How to bet the 2024 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes

Multiple Grade 1 heroine and defending champ #2 Adare Manor (3-5) will lead a fine field of eight postward Saturday in the $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch S. (G1) at Del Mar. 

The classy daughter of Uncle Mo has won seven of her last nine races, with a trio of fine outings from as many attempts in 2024. Trained by Bob Baffert, the five-year-old ran well on this surface last season and arguably has never been better in preparation for this tilt. 

She’s impossible to ignore as the controlling speed in the event, and I will try to get some value with my plays in order to churn out profit with the prohibitive morning line choice. 

Clement L. Hirsch Wagers

• $20 exacta 2 with 1,8 ($40)
• $5 exacta 1,8 with 2 ($10)

#8 Pretty Mischievous (8-1) might not be at the top of her division as she was in 2023, but the accomplished four-year-old still stands a big chance to make the frame in her local debut Saturday. 

Conditioned by Brendan Walsh, the daughter of Into Mischief was third behind a pair of stars in the Ogden Phipps S. (G1) at Saratoga most recently. That followed a third-place result in the La Troienne (G1) to commence the year.

I like her cutting back to 1 1/16 miles here. She has posted a pair of bullet morning drills in succession of late and will have Umberto Rispoli in the silks for the initial time. 

#1 Flying Connection (20-1) is twice Grade-1 placed in 2024 and was a solid second in the Torrey Pines (G3) last summer in her most recent local appearance. 

The Nyquist four-year-old is versatile in that she can run from up close or off of the pace with equal effectiveness, and she also owns a 4-3-1-0 mark at the 1 1/16-mile distance. 

The Todd Fincher charge is a very generous price, and I will surely be using the filly in my exotics wagers with Joe Talamo in the silks. I expect the four-year-old to be saving ground while tracking in third or fourth to the top of the lane.