What a Song Breezes by Small Field

Ridden confidently by jockey Victor Espinoza, favored What a Song remained unbeaten with a clear-cut victory over only three opponents in the $150,000 Best Pal Stakes on Sunday at Del Mar.

After breaking on top in the Grade II, the 2-year-old Songandaprayer colt surrendered the lead briefly to Corazondelcampeon, but then took over again and was not seriously menaced in the final quarter of a mile.

He ran the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.64 while winning by 2 3/4 lengths.

Purchased for $1.9 million this year by trainer Bob Baffert for owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, What a Song, the 4-5 favorite, has won all three of his races and continued Baffert’s dominance of the Best Pal. The trainer has won the race, which was called the Balboa until 1995, six times in the last eight years.

Three of those winners have returned to take the $250,000 Del Mar Futurity, the traditional closing day feature, which will be run on Sept. 7. Baffert had indicated before the Best Pal that What a Song might skip the seven-furlong Futurity.

Bashert, who was second to What a Song in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship last month in Inglewood, was the runner-up on Sunday, then came the maiden Plug Me In and Corazondelcampeon. A.P. Warrior, a $1.3-million yearling buy who had broken his maiden impressively at first asking on July 17 at Hollywood Park, was scratched after he unseated rider Garrett Gomez and got loose in the post parade.

The win was the second of the day for the combination of Baffert, Espinoza and the Lewises. Aplachee Tiger, who was purchased for $75,000 at a 2004 sale, broke his maiden in his fifth career start in the fourth race.

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Real Dandy, who has made a nice living finishing second or third in more than half of his starts, picked a good time to earn only his third victory.

A 7-1 shot, the 3-year-old Yankee Victor colt rallied from last to take the $750,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park. It was Real Dandy’s first win since he took an optional claimer at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Jan. 21.

Owned by Bob and Cathy Zollars and trained by Steve Asmussen, Real Dandy, who was ridden by Mark Guidry, beat Magna Graduate and jockey Gary Stevens by 1 1/4 lengths. The final time for the 1 1/8 miles in the Grade III was 1:50.29. Anthony J. was third, and Devilment, the 3-1 favorite, finished ninth.

The win was one of three stakes victories on the card for Guidry, who is now based at Arlington Park. He also won the $125,000 Harvey Arneault Breeders’ Cup Memorial Stakes with Wild Tale and the $125,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes with M.B. Sea.

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Dave won for the second time in less than a week when he took the $113,600 West Point Handicap by one length on Sunday at Saratoga.

A 4-year-old gelded son of Ends Well, Dave, an 8-1 shot, ran the 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:48.11 for owner Joe Garrity Jr. and trainer John Hertler. Dave had just won a $50,000 allowance on Wednesday at odds of 7-2. Provincetown, the pacesetter, was second, a neck in front of 5-2 favorite Certifiably Crazy.