DEL MAR — Nominations are not committed entries.
But trainer Bob Baffert made the Pacific Classic look a lot more interesting late Thursday night when he nominated three horses — including champion mare Adare Manor and prized 3-year-old colt Muth — for the Aug. 31, $1 million premier event of the summer meeting.
Adare Manor would be only the sixth female entered in the 34-year-history of the Grade I event for older horses. And she would seek to join Beholder (2015) as only the second distaff winner of the Pacific Classic.
However, Baffert said on Friday his third nomination — Reincarnate — is his only confirmed entry for the Pacific Classic, which drew 12 nominations, including Katonah and Mixto from trainer Doug O’Neill’s stable plus Grade II San Diego Handicap winner Dr. Venkman and Grade III Cougar II winner Midnight Mammoth.
“I’ll know more by Monday,” Baffert said via text. “I am going to breeze Adare Manor and Muth this weekend and know more. I nominated three to take a look at the field.”
Del Mar leading rider Juan Hernandez is the regular rider on all three Baffert nominations for the Pacific Classic.
Adare Manor scored a third straight graded stakes win when the 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo won a second straight Grade I Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 3 to earn a guaranteed starting spot in the Breeders’ Cup. Hernandez has been aboard Adare Manor for eight wins in her last 10 starts.
Muth won the Grade I Arkansas Derby on March 30 and hasn’t raced since. Muth was scheduled to run in the Preakness but fell ill and was scratched. Since running 13th in the 2023 Kentucky Derby, Reincarnate has finished second in the Cougar II (to Midnight Mammoth) at Del Mar on July 25 and before that second in the Grade II Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita on May 27.
Dr. Venkman, a 4-year-old son of Ghostzapper, won the San Diego Handicap while going two turns for the first time in his career. Katonah made up ground late to finish second in the San Diego — the traditional stepping stone to the Pacific Classic — with Express Train third.
The lone out-of-state nominee for the Pacific Classic is Il Miracolo, a 4-year-old son of Gun Runner, who ran seventh in the 2023 Belmont Stakes.
Other Pacific Classic nominees are Full Serrano (who won an allowance race at Del Mar on Aug. 3), None Above the Law (Del Mar’s top 3-year-old of the 2021 summer meeting) and Clooney.
Vron vs. Buscador
Today’s Grade II Pat O’Brien Stakes is shaping up as one of the sleeper attractions of the summer meeting.
The eight entries for the seven-furlong $250,000 sprint are led by 2023 Cal-bred Horse of the Year The Chosen Vron and Saudi Cup winner Senor Buscador.
The Chosen Vron has won 19 of 24 career starts while running out of the money only twice. He is currently on a six-race winning streak — with 14 wins in his last 15 starts under Hector Berrios with the only setback being the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The Chosen Vron has more than $1.6 million in career earnings.
For the second straight year, The Chosen Vron has clinched a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint by winning the Grade I Bing Crosby last month. Last year, The Chosen Vron didn’t race between the Crosby and the Breeders’ Cup, where he finished fifth. Trainer J. Eric Kruljac believes the extended training scheduled didn’t benefit The Chosen Vron.
The 6-year-old gelded son of Vronsky went four furlongs in 48.20 seconds last Saturday after going three furlongs in 36.00 seconds on Aug. 7.
“This looks like a tougher race than the Bing Crosby,” said Kruljac. “He’ll have to do everything right and hit on all cylinders. But I wouldn’t trade places with anybody. I wish a couple of them weren’t in there so we would have an easier time of it.”
Senor Buscador, a 6-year-old son of Mineshaft, is scheduled to start for the first time since returning from the Middle East where he ran third in the Dubai World Cup on March 30 five weeks after winning the Saudi Cup. Senor Buscador won the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar in 2023 then ran fourth in the Pacific Classic.
“Lately, he’s been real sharp, but not when he first got back from the Middle East,” trainer Todd Fincher said of Senor Buscador. “I think it’s different for every horse. Hopefully, the trip didn’t take anything out of him. We gave him some time off.”
Another interesting entry is Big City Lights. The 5-year-old son of Mr. Big began his career with three straight wins, then ran second to The Chosen Vron in four straight races before scoring back-to-back wins under Flavien Prat earlier this year.
Notable
Brazenly ($9.60) made a last-to-first outside dash on the far turn under jockey Erick Garcia to win Friday’s feature, a one-mile, $75,000 allowance for older Cal-breds. Favorite Speed Grazy was second, 3½ lengths back.
Former Del Mar training champion Peter Miller scored three wins Friday to move into fifth in the standings with 11 victories during the summer meeting. He is one win behind a four-way tie for first.
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