One of the highlights of racing at Del Mar each summer is the high-class program of 2-year-old races conducted at the seaside track.

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The Del Mar summer meet is where many of California’s best juvenile Thoroughbreds get started. During a five-year span from 2012 to 2016, four Kentucky Derby winners (I’ll Have Another, California Chrome, American Pharoah, and Nyquist) ran at Del Mar as 2-year-olds. Three of them competed in the Grade 1 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity, Del Mar’s most important race for 2-year-olds.

More recently, Del Mar was a summer proving ground for National Treasure, who went on to take the 2023 Preakness Stakes.

Keeping this rich recent history in mind, it’s entirely possible we saw a future classic winner debut at Del Mar this summer. So, with an eye on identifying contenders for the 2023 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and the 2024 Triple Crown series, here are five up-and-coming 2-year-olds to follow from the 2023 Del Mar summer meet:

Heartland

One of the best-bred juveniles to emerge from Del Mar this year is Heartland. The chestnut colt is a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify out of the Cat Thief mare Sambuca Classica, whose previous foals include 2016 champion 2-year-old male and 2017 Preakness Stakes runner-up Classic Empire.

Sold for $575,000 as a yearling, Heartland debuted in a July 29 maiden special weight sprinting 5 ½ furlongs and delivered an impressive performance. Despite racing a bit greenly and falling 5 ¾ lengths behind fast quarter-mile fractions of :21.23 and :44.51, Heartland rallied resiliently in the stretch to win by two lengths in 1:03.20. His performance was flattered when runner-up Slider returned to win his next start.

Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, Heartland has the pedigree to stretch out in distance. He’s an exciting colt with a bright future, so keep your eyes open for where he runs next.

Mirahmadi

Mirahmadi (Eclipse Sportswire)

Mirahmadi has never won a race, but the Bob Baffert trainee has shown promise and improvement over the course of four starts, in the process demonstrating the ability to compete at a high level.

Acquired for the hefty price of $1.05 million as a yearling, Mirahmadi began his career with a runner-up finish in the Fasig-Tipton Futurity at Santa Anita Park. He then managed to pack in three starts during the Del Mar summer meet, finishing fourth in a pair of maiden special weight races before stepping up sharply in class for the Grade 1 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity.

Running back on just 15 days of rest, Mirahmadi produced a career-best effort in the Del Mar Futurity, dashing to the lead through quarter-mile fractions of :22.18 and :44.75 before battling on gamely to finish second by three-quarters of a length against the undefeated Prince of Monaco. Mirahmadi pulled 3 3/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher, so it’s safe to say he ran a strong race.

Mirahmadi is a son of four-time leading North American sire Into Mischief out of the Malibu Moon mare More Chocolate, winner of the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes in 2013 and runner-up three times against Grade 1 competition. He races for the extensive partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert E. Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, and Tom Ryan.

Prince of Monaco

The top 2-year-old of the Del Mar summer meet was doubtlessly Prince of Monaco. In fact, the resume Prince of Monaco has compiled stamps the $950,000 yearling acquisition as the leading 2-year-old in the whole country.

A son of 2004 champion sprinter Speightstown out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Rainier, Prince of Monaco started his career with an eight-length romp in a Los Alamitos maiden special weight race. Subsequently a heavy favorite to take the Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar, the Bob Baffert trainee shrugged off the jump in class to trounce his competition by 4 1/4 lengths, completing three-quarters of a mile in the fast time of 1:09.19.

Four weeks later, Prince of Monaco achieved a top-tier victory in the Del Mar Futurity. After tracking stablemate Mirahmadi from second place, Prince of Monaco wore down the pacesetter to prevail by three-quarters of a length in the time of 1:22.65 for seven-eighths of a mile.

Now undefeated in three starts, Prince of Monaco looks like a possible champion in the making for owners SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert E. Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, and Tom Ryan.

Slider

Slider put up a mighty good try against Heartland in their mutual debut July 29 at Del Mar. It was Slider who set those intense early quarter-mile fractions of :21.23 and :44.51, and to his credit he stayed on strongly down the homestretch to finish second by two lengths while 5 ¼ lengths clear of the third-place finisher.

This sharp debut made Slider a heavy favorite to win his second start, a Sept. 9 maiden special weight race contested at 5 ½ furlongs. This time, Slider was content to track fractions of :21.79 and :45.29 from second place before taking command to win by three lengths.

Slider ran his final sixteenth of a mile in a rapid 6.07 seconds to complete the race in 1:03.55. A son of Grade 1-winning sprinter Jimmy Creed out of the stakes-placed Congrats mare Days Like This, Slider sold for $240,000 as a 2-year-old in training and campaigns for the partnership of Hall Racing, Pearl Racing, and West Point Thoroughbreds. Could he be the next stakes star in the making for trainer John Sadler, who conditioned 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline? Slider is progressing in a promising direction.

Wine Me Up

As a son of champion and 2019 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso out of two-time stakes-winning route racer Deanaallen’skitten (a daughter of long-winded turf champion Kitten’s Joy), Wine Me Up is bred top and bottom to improve with maturity and thrive running long.

That’s why it was noteworthy to see this Bob Baffert trainee lead from start to finish in his debut sprinting three-quarters of a mile at Del Mar. Overlooked at odds of 5-1 in a Sept. 2 maiden special weight race, Wine Me Up set quarter-mile fractions of :22.01 and :45.44 before edging clear to score by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:11.43.

The fact Wine Me Up showed enough talent to win his debut sprinting as a juvenile suggests he has a bright future. Owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman have previously teamed up with Baffert to campaign two-time champion Lookin At Lucky and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Secret Circle, so perhaps Wine Me Up can develop into their next star.