Fierceness © Zoe Metz
PACIFIC CLASSIC: THE DAY AFTER
With a few exceptions, everyone has reported back in good order this morning following an exciting and record-setting Pacific Classic Day at Del Mar.
Fierceness was looking fine in his stall less than 24 hours after winning the $1-million, G1 Pacific Classic. He gave his connections some anxious moments at the start of the race when he veered in and nearly clipped the temporary rail. But the son of City of Light went on to give them the result they traveled 3,000 miles for.
He’ll head back to New York on Wednesday with an all-expenses paid trip back to Del Mar in the fall for the Breeders’ Cup. Whether he runs again between now and then or trains up to the Classic has yet to be decided.
As for Journalism, the connections seemed to be taking their second-place finish in stride.
“I thought he ran a bang-up race,” trainer Michael McCarthy said Sunday morning. “He got beat by a 2-year-old champion and a horse that’s in the running for champion older horse.”
McCarthy says there are no concrete plans at this time for Journalism, that training up to the Breeders’ Cup Classic is one of the options he’s considering.
Ultimate Gamble finished third in the Pacific Classic, followed by Indispensable and Lure Him In. All three are reported to be in good order Sunday.
“He didn’t really get a great trip,” trainer John Sadler noted about Indispensable. “Nevertheless, I think if he had got a better trip he might have finished third. But he came out of it well.”
The two pace setters, Midnight Mammoth and Tarantino, rounded out the order of finish. Nysos was a late scratch, hours before the race, because of a bruised hoof. Trainer Bob Baffert called it a minor setback.
“He looked better today,” Baffert reported Sunday morning. “It looks like it’s day-to-day.”
It was back to business as usual at the Phil D’Amato barn Sunday morning, the day after his turf specialist, Gold Phoenix, won the G2 Del Mar Handicap for an unprecedented fourth straight year and his turf sprinter, Motorious, won the G3 Green Flash for the third straight year, though not in the fashion he had won it before. The prior two years the English-bred finished first. This time he missed by a nose but got moved up to first place for an incident at the start of the race that the stewards ruled warranted a disqualification of the first-place finisher, Reef Runner.
“They both came out of the race in good shape,” trainer D’Amato reports. “We’re very happy with the performances.”
He notes that King of Gosford could have fared better in his run in the G2 Del Mar Mile.
“He got cut up really bad in the first turn,” D’Amato says. “I think that was a good enough excuse for him not to run good but he’ll be fine.”
As for future plans for Motorious and Gold Phoenix?
“I’ll probable do what I did last year with Motorious,” D’Amato explains. “I’ll train him up to the Breeders’ Cup. We’ll see with Gold Phoenix. Sometimes I’ll try to fit a Santa Anita prep in, sometimes I won’t and just train him up to the Breeders’ Cup.”
Gold Phoenix was awarded a free berth to the $5 million, G1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf. If he makes it to the race at Del Mar in November it will be the 7-year-old’s fourth trip to the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Gold Phoenix joined elite company on Saturday. A racing historian notes that only three other horses in the history of American racing have won a particular race four times and they are all in the Racing Hall of Fame: Exterminator, Kelso and Forego.
The other two stakes winner on Saturday also reported back in good condition.
Formidable Man remained a perfect six-for-six on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course when he won the Del Mar Mile.
“We may just go ahead and sit on him and wait for the Breeders’ Cup Mile,” trainer McCarthy contends. “Obviously, he’s found his niche down here at Del Mar.”
The Cal-bred Om N Joy pulled off another impressive performance, this time in the G3 Torrey Pines. Trainer Aggie Ordonez says she came out of the race ‘great.’
“She was just cool, calm and collected last night,” Ordonez noted. “Just looking for dinner.”
Ordonez doesn’t have any plans yet for the daughter of Om.
“I guess at some time I’ll have to try olders,” Ordonez admits. “I’m not looking forward to that. I love my 3-year-old group.”
But it wasn’t long before Ordonez let the words “Breeders’ Cup” slip out.
“I’m not sure it’s the way to go,” Ordonez states. “It’s in the back of my brain. I can’t believe I said it out loud. This might be the first time I’ve said it out loud.”
D’AMATO, BAFFERT SQUARE OFF IN TRANQUILITY LAKE MONDAY
Del Mar will celebrate the Labor Day holiday with two stakes races, the first being the $100,000 Tranquility Lake for fillies and mares going a mile on the main track. It will feature three horses from the Bob Baffert barn and two from trainer Philip D’Amato.
Baffert’s trio includes 2023 Desi Arnaz winner Nothing Like You. The 4-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon went on to win the G2 Santa Anita Oaks in 2024 and finished second to stablemate Hope Road in last year’s G3 Torrey Pines.
But after finishing a dull fourth in the G2 Zenyatta, 14 lengths behind the winner, Baffert turned her out and she didn’t return until earlier this month when she ran in the G1 Clement Hirsch at Del Mar and, again, finished fourth.
“I think she needed that race,” Baffert says. “I think she was just a little rusty. Hopefully she’ll be a little more competitive.”
Baffert has two other horses entered in the Tranquility Lake. Ooty is an Argentine-bred filly who made her Stateside debut at Del Mar last month, finishing second in a second-level allowance race.
The horse that beat Ooty is also in the race, her stablemate Splendora. She was keeping graded stakes company earlier this year, running second to Richi in the G2 Santa Maria and second to Seismic Beauty in the G2 Santa Margarita. Baffert dropped her in the allowance race and she won easily.
D’Amato brings a pair of contenders to the race. One Magic Philly won three in a row at this time last year, including the G3 Chillingworth at Santa Anita. That prompted D’Amato to enter her in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar and she finished sixth. She came back in the G1 La Brea at Santa Anita and finished sixth again.
The daughter of Good Magic made her 2025 debut at Pimlico on Preakness Day and ran third in the Skipat Stakes, then returned to the West Coast and ran fifth in the G2 Great Lady M at Los Alamitos.
D’Amato also will run Sun of Hill, a Brazilian-bred who has yet to win since arriving in the States last year. Her best finish was a second in the G3 Royal Heroine at Santa Anita in April.
The Tranquility Lake also marks the return of Sugar Fish, who will make her 2025 debut Sunday. The daughter of Accelerate held her own in graded stakes company in 2024, winning the G2 Summertime Oaks and the G2 Zenyatta while running a game third behind Kopion and Splendora in the G1 La Brea.
The Tranquility Lake is Race 8 on Monday’s 11-race card. Probable post time is 5 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail out with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Splendora (Juan Hernandez, 8/5); One Magic Philly (Antonio Fresu, 7/2); Ooty (Drayden Van Dyke, 8-1); Nothing Like You (Kazushi Kimura, 5-1); Sun of Hill (Hector I. Berrios, 12-1); Tahini (Mirco Demuro, 20-1); Sakura Blossom (Diego Herrera, 20-1), and Sugar Fish (Tyler Baze, 4-1).
GENEROUS PORTION ROUNDS OUT THE HOLIDAY STAKES ACTION
The last of the stakes races on the holiday weekend at Del Mar is the 33rd running of the $100,000 Generous Portion Stakes. It features the top three finishers in the C.T.B.A. Stakes, an oddly run race that involved a disqualification of the winner.
Run earlier this month, the C.T.B.A Stakes started with the odd-on favorite Liberation missing the break. Then a few strides out of the gate she got sandwiched by two horses and clipped heels, nearly dumping her rider Hector I. Berrios. Those two horses went on to battle for the lead while Liberation fell back to last place. My Love Caroline ended up winning a stretch long duel.
After a lengthy review, the stewards ruled interference against the winner and disqualified her to fourth place, behind Liberation. That moved Jasmina into the winner’s circle and Tapatia Mia from third to second.
All but My Love Caroline return in the Generous Portion, a 5 ½ furlong sprint for Cal-bred 2-year-old fillies.
“She seems to be coming into this race the same as last time,” trainer Simon Callaghan notes of his filly Jasmina. “I feel like she’s the sort of filly who’s going to go out there and try her best every time.”
Tapatia Mia closed into third in the C.T.B.A.
“If it had been five and a half (furlongs) I think she would have won,” trainer Steve Knapp contends. “The last time she took dirt in her face at the three-eighths pole and she lost three lengths. It probably cost her winning the race. The only thing I don’t like is I drew the one hole again.”
As for Liberation, a better start should make her a contender.
“She’s a nice filly and I think she’ll show her true self,” trainer John Sadler says.
Sadler saddles two fillies in the race. Mohaven is his second contender, a daughter of Yaupon who just broke her maiden at Del Mar three weeks ago.
What’s a Good Name has run twice at Del Mar this summer since moving out from Kentucky and into Peter Miller’s barn. She broke her maiden last month and ran second in the $100,000 Graduation Stakes last out.
“She seems to be moving in the right direction,” trainer Peter Miller states. “It’s a tough race. It’s a good group of (2-year-old) Cal-breds this year.”
The Generous Portion is Race 10 on the 11-race holiday card. Probable post is 6 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail out with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Tapatia Mia (Ruben Silvera, 15-1); Mohaven (Hector I. Berrios, 5/2); What’s a Good Name (Juan Hernandez, 3-1); Jasmina (Kyle Frey, 5-1); My Kat (Diego Herrera, 20-1); Too Sassy (Umberto Rispoli, 8-1); Cara Rose (Armando Aguilar, 15-1); Liberation (Antonio Fresu, 7/2), and Lino’s Angel (Tyler Baze, 20-1).
COOLING OUT: Jockey Flavien Prat’s day started with the news that his Pacific Classic mount Nysos had been scratched. But he had four other mounts on the card and he won three of them, including Gold Phoenix’s victory in the Del Mar Handicap…Both Prat and Johnny Velazquez, who rode Fierceness, made quick exits from Del Mar following the final race Saturday night. They caught an 8:30 flight back to New York where they were both riding in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga today…Notable works on Sunday: Dirt – Medoro (4f, :48.60); Goal Oriented (5f, 1:01.20), and Desert Gate (6f, 1:12.60). Turf – Hang the Moon (5f, 1:03.80) and Jungle Peace (5f, 1:02.40). A total of 218 horses put in official works at Del Mar on Sunday