It is less than a month away from the 34th running of the G1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic at Del Mar so it’s time to begin our countdown to the big race on August 31.
So far there are eight possible participants in this year’s million-dollar test, which will be run at the classic distance of a mile and a quarter on the main track. The race could include the top four finishers in the G2 San Diego Handicap, the winner of the G3 Cougar II, a promising 3-year old colt and a couple of South American imports.
Dr. Venkman had been running in sprint races until trainer Mark Glatt decided to try him at two turns and he won the G2 San Diego, the local prep for the Pacific Classic.
“He bounced back good from the race,” Glatt says. “He’ll probably breeze a bit over next weekend and we’ll see where he’s at off of that and take a look at our options.” He affirmed that the Pacific Classic is one of those ‘options’.
Katonah had not raced in over a year until trainer Doug O’Neill brought him back in the San Diego and he ran a good closing second.
“He’s doing great,” O’Neill says. “He came out of it (the San Diego) in great shape and we’re pointing him to the Pacific Classic. Let’s go.”
Express Train, a multiple graded stakes winner from the John Shirreffs barn, ran third in the San Diego as he continues his comeback from a 19-month layoff. He’s hoping to recapture the form that led to three consecutive graded stakes wins, including the G1 Santa Anita Handicap in 2022.
The Pacific Classic has always been in the plans for last year’s winner, Arabian Knight, though a fourth-place finish in the San Diego was not. That being said, it was his first race since his run in the Breeders’ Cup last November.
In addition to Arabian Knight, trainer Bob Baffert has also nominated Parenting, a 3-year old colt by Justify, who was being considered for the G1 Haskell at Monmouth Park last month until he spiked a fever and had to be withdrawn. He’s better now, evident by his tenacious victory in a second-level allowance race at Del Mar on July 28.
A couple of Argentine imports are being considered for the Pacific Classic. Richard Mandella is thinking of bringing Subsanador who is oh-for-three in the states, including a runner-up finish to Newgate in this year’s edition of the G1 Santa Anita Handicap.
John Sadler has Full Serrano preparing in the wings. He ran his first race in the U.S. Saturday, an entry level allowance at Del Mar, and wired the field, setting blazing fractions of :21.58, :44.94 and 1:10.31, and still finishing in front in the one mile on the main track and winning by 2 ¼ lengths.
“We were really thrilled,” Sadler says. “Kind of surprised he showed so much speed. He’s been running a mile and a quarter in South America so we had no idea he could go that quick early. He drew the one (inside post) so he had to get out and he got rolling and kept going.”
When asked about the Classic, Sadler said “it’s too early.”
Finally, Craig Dollase is considering running G3 Cougar II winner Midnight Mammoth, winner of three races in a row, in the big race.
With the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in November, there’s always the possibility of a shipper or two coming to the seaside oval for the Pacific Classic. The connections for both of the invaders in Saturday’s G1 Clement Hirsch indicated one of the reasons and benefits of coming to Del Mar was that their horses got a race over the track before November.
Nominations for the Pacific Classic close on Thursday, August 22 and entries will be drawn on August 27, the Tuesday before the race.