Pacific Classic At Del Mar Should Be A Showdown On August 30

Journalism and trainer Mike McCarthy hope to continue a brilliant year in the Pacific Classic

Pimlico

Since its inception in 1991, the Pacific Classic has been a showcase for classic distance dirt horses. The $1 million purse it has carried makes it an attractive spot for runners from all over the country. This 35^th running on August 30 will be bringing more of the same as eight runners look for their spot in the Del Mar history books and a fees paid berth into the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Let’s take a moment and quickly run down the field for this mile and a quarter showdown that features some highly regarded runners. With three heavy hitters in the field, the race promises to offer lots of excitement and a good return for those speculating monetarily. The horses are listed by post position with trainer, jockey, and morning line.

1 Fierceness (Todd Pletcher, John Velazquez 3-1)- East coast invader that hopes to rebound from a fifth place finish in the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. Highly regarded, he won the Alysheba Stakes earlier this year and the Florida Derby, Jim Dandy, and Travers as a three-year old. A major player that may try and take them gate to wire.

2 Midnight Mammoth (Craig Dollase, Amando Ayuso 12-1)- West coast warrior that is definitely battle tested. Comes in fresh as his last start was a second place finish in the Hollywood Gold Cup on May 26. Likely wants the lead and will press the pace, bnut don’t think he is wooly enough for this one.

3 Ultimate Gamble (Mark Glatt, Kazushi Kimura 20-1)- The name certainly fits and he has been in the money in five of nine lifetime starts with three wins. Having never raced in Stakes company, this is a big roll of the dice for this son of Medalia D’Oro. This is a horse race, however, and a 23-1 (Mixto) shot won the Classic last year.

4 Nysos (Bob Baffert, Flavien Prat 8-5)-Having won five of six lifetime starts and some extremely impressively, this lightly raced four-year old is a deserving morning line favorite. We think he is the one to give Bob Baffert his record extending eighth win in this historic race.

5 Indispensable (John Sadler, Paco Lopez 15-1)- Son of Constitution has been in the money in eleven of fourteen lifetime starts, but only has two wins. Both victories came at Del Mar and John Sadler has won this race four times. Not a likely winner here but a horse that can bump up your exotic payout.

6 Journalism (Michael McCarthy, Umberto Rispoli 9-5)-Preakness winner and runner up in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes has been running hard all year. Does he have enough gas in the tank to get it done in his first start against older horses? He is very classy and should be there at the end.

7 Lure Him In (Sam Wilensky, Hector Berrios 20-1)- Eight-year-old Florida bred that will be making his 54^thcareer start in this one. This his first grade 1 start, but he has been in the money in all five starts this year with three wins. He hasn’t faced this type of horses on this kind of stage before. Wouldn’t recommend being Lured In.

8 Tarrantino (Peter Eurton, Edwin Maldonado 20-1)- Another battle-tested runner that hopes to m,ake a big splash in this his 32^nd career start. This will mark his eighth consecutive start in graded Stakes company. With no wins in the previous seven, we don’t think it happens here. Six of those seven races saw him finish in the top four, so he could be a superfecta horse.