Betting With, and Against, Seismic Beauty in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes

Eight fillies and mares will look to upend defending champ #8 Seismic Beauty (5-2) in Saturday’s $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch (G1) at Del Mar. Trained by Bob Baffert, the daughter of Uncle Mo flashed considerable potential earlier in her career but really elevated her game since moving out to route distances. The bay romped home to a five-length tally in the Santa Margarita (G2) at Santa Anita in May of 2025, which preceded her 1 1/2-length triumph in this affair last summer over a very nice field. 

Seismic Beauty – With

• $20 exacta 8 with 5 ($20)

• $.50-cent superfecta 8 with 5,6,9 with 5,6,9 with all ($15)

Seismic Beauty – Against

• $1 trifecta 5 with 6,8,9 with all ($18)

• $.50-cent trifecta 5,6,9 with 5,6,8,9 with 5,6,8,9 ($18)

Seismic Beauty didn’t run her race when a distant third at Santa Anita in May to commence her five-year-old year, but she has trained swiftly and steadily in advance of her comeback, and the $2.5 million November purchase seems poised to show marked improvement on Saturday with regular rider Juan Hernandez in the silks. 

I’ve long liked #5 Majestic Oops (9-2) and feel that she poses the biggest danger to the favorite in her second run since arriving in the barn of Phil D’Amato. The Cal-bred daughter of Majestic Harbor has held her own while facing some fine foes over the past few seasons, and I love her prep for this when she was a clear third behind two champions in the Shawnee (G3) at Churchill Downs most recently. The six-year-old bay didn’t offer much in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) in her first appearance on the course but landed in a more reasonable event today with a real chance under Joel Rosario. 

The Saffie Joseph-trained #9 Eunomia (5-1) has not flashed Grade 1 potential to this stage of her development, but the talented filly is no slouch, and she also has an ideal draw on the outside of the cast with all of the speed to her inside. The Tiz the Law four-year-old finished a huge second in the Doubledogdare (G2) at the distance at Keeneland two back and will be a contender with something resembling that performance beneath Micah Husbands. 

If the speedy #6 Simply Joking (5-1) clears the field early, then the Grade 3 heroine might be dangerous late for conditioner Michael McCarthy. The Practical Joke four-year-old is something of an all-or-nothing proposition in the tilt in my opinion, but she is real quick from the gate and comes off a pair of fine tries at Santa Anita leading up to the affair. The Keystone State-bred will have Emisael Jaramillo on board and will be winging it from the opening bell.