Fierceness © Benoit Photo
JOURNALISM, FIERCENESS OPT IN FOR SATURDAY’S G1 PACIFIC CLASSIC
It’s the matchup everyone was hoping for and it will play out next Saturday in the 34th running of the $1-million, G1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Preakness and Haskell winner Journalism against last year’s Travers winner Fierceness and trainer Bob Baffert’s rising star Nysos. All have the green light for next weekend’s race.
Speaking on KLAA’s Thoroughbred Los Angeles radio show Sunday morning primary owner Aron Wellman said Journalism is “all set to go,” adding that the colt came out of his work Saturday morning in good order and “he cleaned up real good,” meaning he emptied the feed tub last night.
“He’s looking for a fight so we’re going to put him in the ring,” Wellman added.
Journalism last ran in the G1 Haskell at Monmouth Park five weeks ago, winning the race with another gutsy, come-from-behind performance further endearing himself to race fans across the country. Trainer Michael McCarthy brought the son of Curlin back to Del Mar days after the race and rested him for a couple of weeks before putting three solid works into the colt over the past three Saturday’s.
Fierceness is also in the Pacific Classic. Trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday morning that the son of City of Light will ship out this coming week.
“He’s scheduled to fly out on Wednesday,” Pletcher noted. “He’ll gallop a couple of days at Del Mar and then run.”
Pletcher gave a couple of factors involved in the decision to bring Fierceness out west.
“He’s doing very well,” Pletcher indicated. “He’s in good form. He ran very well in the Breeders’ Cup Classic there (at Del Mar) last year. Mindframe has been pointing for the Jockey Club Gold Cup (next Sunday) and we’d like to keep the stablemates split apart if we can, and we like the timing from the Pacific Classic to the Breeders’ Cup Classic more than we like waiting for the Woodward or the Lukas Classic on the 27th of September.”
The Breeders’ Cup Classic is at Del Mar on November 1.
Nysos has been pointing to the Pacific Classic since his impressive win in the G2 San Diego at Del Mar last month. The stunning 4-year-old son of Nyquist is a neck away from being undefeated in his six lifetime starts. His only loss came to Mindframe in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes on Derby Day when he just missed in a four-horse blanket finish, his first race in over a year. Mindframe came back and won the G1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs at the end of June.
Also moving off of the ‘Possibles’ list to the ‘Probables” for the Pacific Classic is Indispensable from the John Sadler barn. The 4-year-old son of Constitution is coming off a win in an entry-level allowance race at Del Mar last month which led Sadler into entering the colt into the Pacific Classic.
“He’s run three times here (at Del Mar),” Sadler points out. “Two wins and a second and he seems to run his best races here. He got a good rating the other day when he won so we’ll step him up in class and see how he does.”
Sadler entered a horse coming off of an entry-level allowance win in the Classic last year and nearly won it. Full Serrano missed by a half a length in a game runner-up finish to longshot Mixto.
PACIFIC CLASSIC DAY HIGHLIGHTS NEXT WEEK’S RACING
Pacific Classic week is almost here. It begins Tuesday with the draw for the 34th running of the G1 Pacific Classic at The Brigantine Restaurant on the hill overlooking the track.
Live racing resumes on Thursday with an eight-race card and continues on Friday leading into Pacific Classic Day on Saturday, August 30.
There will be 11 races total on Saturday, five of them graded stakes, with purses totaling a Del Mar record $2,374,000. There are two Grade 3 races: One is the Torrey Pines, a one mile test on the main track for 3-year-old fillies.
Last year’s Torrey Pines winner Hope Road won the G1 Ballerina at Saratoga yesterday. This year there are 13 fillies nominated to the race. There’s Tenma, this year’s G2 Santa Anita Oaks winner, and Om N Joy, winner of the Fleet Treat Stakes at Del Mar last month.
The other Grade 3 on Pacific Classic Day is the Green Flash. Some of the quickest horses on the grounds will clash in the five furlong turf sprint. The winner of the race the past two years, Motorious, is expected back to defend his crown. 18 horses have been nominated for the Green Flash.
The Pacific Classic card also offers a pair of Grade 2 races. The Del Mar Mile is a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. It’s run on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course and is for 3-year-olds and up. 17 horses have been nominated for the race, including G2 Eddie Read winner Formidable Man, G1 Shoemaker Mile winner King of Gosford and Full Serrano, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last year, who would be making his first start of this year.
The G2 Del Mar Handicap could be one to remember. Gold Phoenix is back and will try to extend his win streak in the race. His third consecutive win last year was one of the highlights of the Pacific Classic Day. A fourth straight win in the mile and three-eighths turf marathon would be unprecedented. 22 horses have been nominated for this year’s Del Mar Handicap, a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
That leaves the G1 Pacific Classic, Del Mar’s marquee $1-million race. The mile and a quarter test is always a highlight of the summer meet and this year’s edition is shaping up to be one for the ages. Ten horses have been nominated to the race, a “Win and You’re In” for the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The stakes action doesn’t stop on Saturday. It’s the Labor Day weekend so Del Mar will be serving up two stakes on Sunday and two more on Monday.
Sunday’s pair of stakes begins with the $150,000 Shared Belief, one mile on the dirt for 3-year olds. Last year Bob Baffert’s Muth won the race and this year the meet’s leading trainer may return with Citizen Bull, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and/or Gaming, last year’s G1 Del Mar Futurity winner. 11 colts and geldings have been nominated for the Shared Belief, including the Real Good Deal Stakes winner Speedy Wilson.
The other stakes race on Sunday is the 79th running of the G2 Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby, a mile and an eighth on the grass for 3-year-olds. A dozen colts and geldings were nominated for the race including the Oceanside Stakes winner, Game Warrior; Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up, Iron Man Cal, and The Padre, recent winner of the La Jolla Handicap at Del Mar.
Monday features the $100,000 Generous Portion Stakes for Cal-bred 2-year-old fillies. It could present a rematch between the top four finishers in the C.T.B.A Stakes earlier this month, a race that involved the disqualification of the winner My Love Caroline. Jasmina, Tapatia Mia and race favorite Liberation were all moved up by the DQ.
Also on Monday’s holiday card is the $100,000 Tranquility Lake for fillies and mares. 2024 Santa Anita Oaks winner Nothing But You highlights the 11 nominees to the one mile race.
PRIVMAN THE HORSE TAKES PRIVMAN THE WRITER ON RIDE OF LIFETIME
Jay Privman is a retired writer for the Daily Racing Form and an inductee in the Racing Hall of Fame. He has written books about horse racing and dozens of award winning articles. He has seen and done just about everything horse racing has to offer. Then last year he was introduced to a robust colt by Justify and Privman’s life has never been the same.
“Over the years I covered the group that owns the colt,” Jay says. “It’s a partnership that’s headed by SF Racing and run by Tom Ryan. Starlight Racing, Madaket Stable, Barbara Banke, and others. They buy about 20 yearling colts every year. They’ve been doing it for almost a decade now.”
They bought their 2023 crop in September. In January of ’24, Ryan sent Privman a text message saying they were in the process of naming their 2-year-olds.
“He asks, ‘Would it be okay if we named one of them after you?’ Privman remembers. “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s incredible. What an honor.’”
The crop included Citizen’s Bull, Madaket Road, Rodriguez and Goal Oriented.
“I don’t know how they decide what name goes with what horse,” Privman states. “But the Justify out of Mo Knows was the one they chose to name Privman.”
Within 24 hours of saying yes, Privman learned which colt had been named for him.
“The text said, ‘Bob will train you,’” Privman recalls referring to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. “At that point the horse hadn’t even breezed yet. He was still going through his early training in Florida.”
Privman, the horse, made his debut at Los Alamitos in June of 2024.
“He had a couple of hiccups as a 2-year-old,” Privman says. “He ran once, needed time off, was back in training then needed time off again. Minor stuff but it gave him time.”
Privman, the horse, made his 2025 debut at Pimlico and ran second. He ran second again at Churchill Downs less than a month later and finally broke his maiden opening weekend at Del Mar.
“The one thing we can say at this point is that we don’t know what his ceiling is,” Privman notes. “It doesn’t seem like he’s got to the point where you say ‘Okay, that’s as much as he can do.’ The way he goofed off and still won leads you to believe that there’s more there.”
Jay is referring to Privman’s victory in an entry-level allowance race at Del Mar on August 9 when he took the lead in mid-stretch, gave it up, then re-rallied and won it in the final strides.
“I do know they’ve been really high on him,” Privman adds. “Especially when he came back earlier this year. He began showing us a lot more this time around.”
“I think the talent is there,” Baffert contends. “He’s just green. He looks around and hasn’t figured it out yet but he has that raw talent. He won the other day on raw talent. I think the older he gets he’ll get better and better. We’re just going to let him grow up.”
Meanwhile Privman, the retired turf writer, is going to enjoy the ride.
“It’s exciting to think there’s still more there.”
COOLING OUT: Trainer Mark Glatt says Dr. Venkman came out of his win in the G2 Pat O’Brien in good order. Glatt says he will probably train the son of Ghostzapper up to the Breeders’ Cup. “That was my gut feeling right after the race,” Glatt said Sunday…Jockey Mirco Demuro is off both of his mounts Sunday after being involved in a spill during the running of the O’Brien. Demuro is reporting body soreness this morning…For second time this summer jockey Kyle Frey was moved up to first place via disqualification. It happened again Saturday in Race 7 when Frey’s mount Canani was bumped in deep stretch by Mr. Disrespectful, who wound up winning the stretch duel and the race by a head. The stewards ruled interference and DQ’d the winner. Three weeks ago in the C.T.B.A. Stakes Frey benefited from a DQ when My Love Caroline was taken down and his filly Jasmina was made the winner…Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner and runner-up in last year’s Pacific Classic, Full Serrano, worked five furlongs in :59:60 Sunday at Del Mar. Afterward trainer John Sadler said they are pointing the Argentine-bred to the G2 Del Mar Mile next Saturday. It will be his first start of 2025…Notable works on Sunday: Dirt – Om N Joy (4f, :50.00); Buetane (5f, :58.40); Cabo Spirit (5f, 1:00.80); Cavalieri (5f, 1:00.40); Himika (5f, 1:00.60); Medoro (5f, 1:00.60), and Mirahmadi (5f, :59.00). Turf – Ag Bullet (4f, :51.80); Motorious (4f, :48.20); Queen Maxima (4f, :51.40); Freedom’s Not Free (5f, 1:02.60); Gold Phoenix (5f, 1:01.60); Iron Man Cal (5f, 1:04.60); King of Gosford (5f, 1:01.00), and The Padre (5f, 1:05.00). A total of 257 horses put in official works at Del Mar Sunday morning.