Journalism © Zoe Metz
JOURNALISM WORKS; DECISION ON PACIFIC CLASSIC STILL PENDING
Journalism was back out on the Del Mar racetrack Saturday morning, enduring the occasional raindrop while putting in a five furlong work one week before the 34th running of the G1 Pacific Classic.
The son of Curlin stopped the clock at 1:00.00, the 30th best time out of 69 runners at the distance. It was the longest of his three works at Del Mar this month and was in company with a 5-year-old gelding named Phosphorescense. Regular rider Umberto Rispoli was up.
“I thought he went very well,” trainer Michael McCarthy said afterward. “A solid five-eighths with his company. Full of run all the way and a solid gallop out.”
Now the one-million dollar question: Was it good enough for primary owner Aron Wellman and McCarthy to run their Preakness and Haskell winner in the Pacific Classic next Saturday?
“No idea,” McCarthy admits. “We’ll talk about it here in the next day or so. See what happens across the country today. Aron’s got a lot of moving parts.”
A final decision on whether Journalism runs in the Classic will have to be made by Tuesday. That’s when the entries are drawn for Del Mar’s marquee race.
Two more Pacific Classic possibles worked this morning on the seaside oval. Ultimate Gamble went a bullet six furlongs in 1:11.20, the best of four other works at the distance. A decision on whether the son of Medaglia d’Oro runs in the Classic is also expected from the Mark Glatt barn in the coming days.
And trainer John Sadler sent out Indispensable. The son of Constitution worked five furlongs in :58.00, the second best time from 94 runners.
Meanwhile, at Saratoga in upstate New York, trainer Todd Pletcher sent out his star 4-year old colt Fierceness for a four-furlongs drill in :47.42, fourth fastest of 94 at the distance. Del Mar’s racing office awaits word on his possible arrival for the Classic.
SWEET AZTECA CHECKS ALL THE BOXES IN G3 RANCHO BERNARDO
Sweet Azteca is back to defend her crown this Sunday in the G3 Rancho Bernardo, a 6 ½ furlong dash for fillies and mares.
Last year Sweet Azteca went off at 1-9 and ran like it, easily handling five other rivals and winning by seven lengths. The daughter of Sharp Azteca is back this time to take on four aspiring hopefuls and has been made the 2/5 morning line favorite.
Sweet Azteca is coming off of a Grade 2 win in the Great Lady M at Los Alamitos last month where she beat Kopion, a talented mare out of the Richard Mandella barn. Kopion had won five of her seven prior races and further flattered Sweet Azteca when she ran second to Seismic Beauty in the G1 Clement L. Hirsch earlier this month.
The Great Lady M was Sweet Azteca’s 5-year-old debut. She was coming off a nine-month layoff during which time she had moved from trainer Michael McCarthy’s barn to Richard Baltas, who doesn’t appear daunted by the high expectations for his horse.
“There’s pressure on every race,” Baltas claims. “Look, I know that it’s her race to lose and so there’s a lot of pressure that way, but that being said she’s doing good, she’s got a good post and all systems are go.”
Sweet Azteca’s never been one to back down from a good fight on the front end. Her win in the Great Lady M and last year’s Rancho Bernardo were both wire-to-wire victories. Even her only race around two turns, a win in the G1 Beholder Mile last year, was gate-to-wire. All of which puts the Breeders’ Cup in her future.
“If she runs good here we’ll point her to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint,” Baltas says.
Four rivals look to pull off the upset starting with trainer Mark Glatt’s Formula Rossa, who’s undefeated after two races. She broke her maiden at Santa Anita in February by four lengths then returned and won an entry level allowance race at Del Mar by six lengths.
“We’ve been very high on her from day one,” Glatt says. “We’ll find out more about her by tomorrow.”
Formula Rossa is the daughter of Vekoma, winner of the 2019 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and the 2020 Met Mile at Belmont Park.
Chismosa will take another try at Sweet Azteca. The Cal-bred daughter of Clubhouse Ride has faced Sunday’s odds-on favorite four times and beaten her once. That was in last year’s G3 Las Flores at Santa Anita. Chismosa ran second to Sweet Azteca in last year’s Rancho Bernardo and ran third to her in this year’s Great Lady M.
Visually will be returning to the dirt after running all of last year and this year on the grass. She ran a close third in the Daisycutter turf sprint at Del Mar last month.
“She works really well on dirt,” trainer Librado Barocio explains. “Just to be honest I think we’re the third best horse. Of course Sweet Azteca is a dynamo and the Glatt horse seems to have a lot of potential.”
Longshot Donttellourwives rounds out the field.
It’s the 54th running of the Rancho Bernardo, named after the community about 30 miles east of Del Mar. It will be Race 2 on the nine race Sunday program. Probable post is 2:30 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail out with the jockeys and morning line odds: Chismosa (Kyle Frey, 5-1); Donttellourwives (Diego Herrera, 20-1); Formula Rossa (Antonio Fresu, 3-1); Visually (Armando Ayuso, 15-1), and Sweet Azteca (Juan Hernandez, 2/5).
KYLE FREY: ONE YEAR REMOVED FROM HIS CAREER DAY AT DEL MAR
Jockey Kyle Frey is coming up on the one year anniversary of the biggest day in his life…professionally. Frey is happily married with two beautiful children so one would assume there have been bigger days for the 33-year-old. But this particular day last year at Del Mar was one for the books.
Frey rode Gold Phoenix to the horse’s third straight G2 Del Mar Handicap victory, something that’s never been done. Then before Frey could come down from winning a prestigious graded stakes race, he won his first Pacific Classic with 23-1 longshot Mixto.
“Oh, by far,” Frey says when asked if it was his best day racing. “I won on Gold Phoenix and I was ecstatic. Then I realized we had one more left, one more big race. Then to get that. On the gallop-out I remember thinking ‘Wow, that’s amazing that just happened.’”
Most of those watching the race thought the same thing. What just happened here? Where did this horse come from?
“He trains really good here,” Frey says of Mixto. “Loves this track. Doug (O’Neill) and Leandro (Mora) when they got him here worked him out of the gate in company. Edwin (Maldonado) was on Mixto and I was on the other horse. Mixto worked like a rocket, just pulled away from me like I was tied to a fence post.”
But Maldonado had a prior commitment to go out of town on Classic Day and couldn’t ride Mixto in the marquee race. He told Frey who remembered the workout and jumped at the chance to replace Maldonado.
“I was confident and happy with him (Mixto),” Frey says. “Then, unfortunately for Baffert, the mare (Adare Manor) had to be scratched. She was a really nice one and when that happened it had me thinking: ‘This is anybody’s race at this point.’
“Me and Sadler’s (Full Serrano) were the only two speed horses,” Frey continues. “The others were really good runners but the speed had been holding up at that point and I knew I just had to stay on top of him.”
And that’s what Frey did. He followed Full Serrano until they got in the lane.
“That horse ran huge,” Frey remembers. “He kicked away from me but my horse was just steady in there and ran him down. Those fractions got to that horse (Full Serrano) the last sixteenth. You could see him soften up bit. That’s when I thought ‘It’s over. This horse is not re-breaking and I’m getting into my best stride right now.’”
Frey was the toast of Del Mar but he didn’t see much of change in his business both immediately after the race and in the long term.
“A little bit,” Frey concedes. “But I didn’t notice a huge difference in business if I’m being honest. I was already riding for the guys I continued to ride for. It’s not bad but I’m not getting first call on the best horses in the race.”
One of Frey’s goals moving forward is to get in with more outfits on the backside.
“Kind of spread the net a little bit,” Frey states. “While also staying true to those who have taken care of me. Jack’s great about that, too.”
Jack Carava is Frey’s agent and guiding light for the past few years. Carava is a former trainer who knows his way around the horse racing industry. He’s taken Frey under his wing and helped him avoid the pitfalls of the business while also helping him find the highlights. Frey is currently 11th in the jockey standings at Del Mar with five wins.
“Luck and a little bit of chance,” is how Frey assesses his meet at Del Mar so far. “The right horse but the wrong post. Those little tiny things that make all the difference when you’re not on simply the best horse in the race.”
On one sunny afternoon in 2024 Frey was on two of the best horses.
“I had a good day,” Frey understates with a laugh.
COOLING OUT: G1 Bing Crosby winner Lovesick Blues may train up to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November. Trainer Librado Barocio says that’s what he would like to do with the Cal-bred son of Grazen. “But if he’s tearing down the stall,” Barocio concedes, “then I’ll find something for him at Santa Anita.”…Del Mar got its first little splash of rain this summer. Saturday morning’s shower around 6:30 was not enough to dampen workouts but a little something to keep the plants in the paddock happy…Legendary jockey Ron Turcotte passed away Friday. The regular rider for Secretariat primarily raced on the East Coast. Turcotte was 84-years-old…A couple of firsts Friday at Del Mar: Trainer Mark Rheinfold notched his first win of the meet when his gelding Caisson won Race 7. Trainer Luis Mendez captured his first win of the meet when his maiden Arkadelphia won Race 3. He didn’t waste any time ringing up his second victory. In Race 6 his 2-year-old gelding My Moroni took top prize…After this weekend there will be two weeks of racing left this summer but fear not. Tickets for the upcoming Bing Crosby meet this fall at Del Mar are now on sale. The meet will be highlighted by the Breeders’ Cup October 31 and November 1…Notable works on Saturday: Astronomer (4f, :50.00); Johannes (4f, :47.60); Privman (4f, :47.80); Richi (4f, :47.80); Sammy Davis (4f, 48.80); Brant (5f, :58.40); Citizen Bull (5f, :59.40); Formidable Man (5f, :59.20); Gaming (5f, :59.40); Speedy Wilson (5f, :58.00), and Tenma (5f, :58.20). A total of 206 horses put in official works at Del Mar on Saturday.