{"id":421411,"date":"2026-08-02T04:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421411\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T04:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:30:08","slug":"josephs-california-gold-rush-continues-in-hirsch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421411\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph’s California Gold Rush Continues in Hirsch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The romance that began in the autumn of 2024 between Saffie Joseph\u00a0Jr.\u00a0and major races in Southern California blossomed once again on the afternoon of Aug. 1 when Eunomia<\/a>\u00a0, a daughter of Tiz the Law<\/a>\ud83d\udd25<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0, swept into town to stun the best older fillies and mares the West Coast had to offer with a half-length victory over Om N Joy<\/a>\u00a0 in the $402,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1) at Del Mar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Racing for St. Elias Stables and\u00a0WSS Racing, Eunomia was overlooked at 12-1 in the field of nine going 1 1\/16 miles on the main track.<\/p>\n

Eunomia, b, 4\/f

\nTiz the Law \u2014 Speedy Vanessa, by American Pharoah<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Owner: St. Elias Stables LLC or WSS Racing, LLC

\nBreeder: Breed First LLC (KY)

\nTrainer: Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.

\nJockey: Micah J. Husbands

\nInformation provided by Equibase<\/a> at time of entry.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Pedigree Notes

\nTiz the Law stands at Ashford Stud.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Sale History

\nOBSMAR2024 \u2022 $190,000 \u2022 Consignor: Niall Brennan Stables, for Complete Dispersal for Lothenbach Stables \u2022 Buyer: Jewel Box Racing 2.

\nKEESEP2023 \u2022 $80,000 \u2022 Consignor: Runnymede Farm \u2022 Buyer: Lothenbach Stables.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Her cause was aided by a hot opening half in :46.81 supplied by Simply Joking<\/a>\u00a0 under pressure from favored\u00a0Seismic Beauty<\/a>\u00a0, the defending champ. For Simply Joking’s trainer Michael McCarthy, it was deja vu all over again as he watched the Hirsch unfold not unlike the frustrating Santa Margarita Stakes (G2) in May, when the two fillies dueled through an even faster opening half-mile before surrendering to Om N Joy. Simply Joking did well this time around to hold third, a length behind Om N Joy, while Seismic Beauty finished next to last.<\/p>\n

“Our die was cast when she broke away from there so sharp, and the other mare went with her,” McCarthy said. “It didn’t help being on the inside, either. That hasn’t been the place to be this week.”<\/p>\n

As for Seismic Beauty, who was throwing in her second clunker in two starts this year for Bob Baffert, jockey Juan Hernandez was mystified.<\/p>\n

“She was going easy the first part,” Hernandez said. “Felt very comfortable. I thought I was in a good spot around the turn, but then when the winner came to me on the outside, my filly had nothing. I didn’t feel anything wrong with her. She just didn’t have any answer.”<\/p>\n

In contrast, Micah Husbands was getting nothing but positive vibes from Eunomia, who was making her grade 1 debut in her 16th start. Likewise, Husbands, 23, was making his Del Mar debut in his first collaboration with the racy bay filly.<\/p>\n

“Del Mar is a beautiful place,” Husbands said as he tossed a couple pair of goggles to young fans on the rail. “I love it here. I’ve been watching races from here my whole life and was hoping someday to ride here.<\/p>\n

“I talked to Saffie before the race,” Husbands said. “He told me to try and get her to relax\u00a0because she can be a little strong and on the bridle. My goal was to keep her calm and not get in her way.<\/p>\n

“It was a very straightforward race,” Husbands went on. “If you looked at the form, there were the two horses that were going to show speed, and they went out there. My filly was handling the track, so I just let her stay in her rhythm until it was time to kick on.”<\/p>\n

\"JockeyPhoto: Benoit Photo<\/p>\n

Micah Husbands and Eunomia after winning\u00a0the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Kick on she did, getting first run on Om N Joy and gobbling up Simply Joking in the final yards to stop the timer in 1:44.10.<\/p>\n

As a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In event, the Clement L. Hirsch grants Eunomia an automatic, fees-paid berth to the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland.<\/p>\n

Majestic Oops<\/a>\u00a0 also closed with a rush to miss third money by a nose, with Hey Jessie<\/a>\u00a0 next. Chasten<\/a>\ud83d\udd25<\/a>\u00a0, Bank Shot<\/a>\u00a0, Seismic Beauty, and A Thousand Miles<\/a>\u00a0 were strung out well arrears.<\/p>\n

Joseph’s first California prize came at Del Mar in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Filly &\u00a0Mare Sprint (G1) with Soul of an Angel<\/a>\u00a0. In 2025, he sent stable star\u00a0Skippylongstocking<\/a>\u00a0 to Santa Anita\u00a0Park to win the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (G2) and Be Your Best<\/a>\u00a0 to win the Gamely Stakes (G1T), then came right back this year to win a second straight Gold Cup with Forged Steel<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

Joseph began training Eunomia late last year after she had run her first 10 races for Victoria Oliver. This year, the filly was third in the Royal Delta Stakes (G3), second in the Doubledogdare Stakes (G2), and won the listed Sandy Bottom Stakes at Colonial Downs.<\/p>\n

Her most recent race, though, was a poor performance in the Ruffian Stakes (G2) in early May at Aqueduct Racetrack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We ran her back too quick, thinking we could get her a graded stakes win,” Joseph said from Saratoga Race Course after the Hirsch. “That’s what happens when you rush.”<\/p>\n

Eunomia was aiming for the Shuvee Stakes (G2) last week\u00a0at Saratoga, but Joseph called an\u00a0audible and headed west.<\/p>\n

“She doesn’t like an off track, and we knew it wouldn’t rain at Del Mar,” the trainer added. “Coming out there, we’d have three bites at getting her grade 1-placed.”<\/p>\n

There are plenty more California opportunities on the horizon for Joseph.<\/p>\n

“It’s mainly based on how they’re doing and how they stack up out there,” Joseph said. “We have been very fortunate.”<\/p>\n

So what’s next? There’s a little Del Mar race called the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) coming up Aug. 22.<\/p>\n

“The plan is to run Navajo Warrior there,” Joseph said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The gelded son of Candy Ride<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 has won the Pimlico Special Stakes (G3) and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) in his last two starts.<\/p>\n

“Obviously,\u00a0Nysos is going, and Knightsbridge, who might run, is a nice horse,” Joseph said. “But our horse is on the improve and getting better.<\/p>\n

Video: Clement L. Hirsch S. Presented by Oak Tree Racing Association (G1)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The romance that began in the autumn of 2024 between Saffie Joseph\u00a0Jr.\u00a0and major races in Southern California blossomed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421412,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22910,7,9,8,168306,8504,168308,168307,116310,114706],"class_list":["post-421411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-breeders-cup","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-clement-hirsch","tag-del-mar","tag-micah-husbands","tag-saffie-joseph","tag-thoroughbred-racing","tag-west-region"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}