2023 Pacific Classic Preview

An automatic bid to the Breeders’ Cup Classic is at stake Saturday, September 2, in the Grade 1, $1 million FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic, formerly known as the TVG Pacific Classic. The race perennially draws very good horses in the West Coast handicap division, and this year was no different. It drew a competitive field of eleven horses, including a trio of strong three-year-olds ready to try their hand against more seasoned older horses a few months before the Breeders’ Cup.

The race has been contested since 1991 and has had Grade 1 designation since 1993. Perhaps its most legendary moment involved a loss: Dare and Go snapped Cigar’s 16-race win streak in the 1996 edition. Over the years, some of the best have won it, though: Best Pal, Free House, Candy Ride, Shared Belief, Beholder, California Chrome, and last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Flightline.

Trainer John Sadler will attempt to win his third straight edition of Del Mar’s signature summer race, and his fifth in the last six. Though his special horse Flightline is now retired to stud, Sadler returns 2021 winner Tripoli to try to become the first two-time winner since Richard’s Kid in 2009-2010.

Pacific Classic Information

• Race Date: Saturday, September 2
• Track: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
• Post Time: 6:13 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ¼ miles on the dirt
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds and upward
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

2023 Pacific Classic Draw and Odds

This is the field for the Pacific Classic, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Pacific Classic Prep Race Results

Well befitting a local prep, four of the top five finishers from the San Diego (G2) on July 29 at Del Mar return for the Pacific Classic. Senor Buscador, who made the sweeping last-to-first run, leads that contingent. Second-place Slow Down Andy, fourth-place Defunded (the beaten favorite), and fifth-place Tripoli also press on. Third-place Brickyard Ride is the only one from the top five of the San Diego who does not turn up here; he returned instead in the Pat O’Brien (G2) last weekend and finished eighth.

The only other race with more than one last-out runner is the Haskell. The top two shots on the morning line both come out of that race. Geaux Rocket Ride won that race in stalk-and-pounce fashion, while Arabian Knight was prominent early and finished third.

Two others come out of graded-stakes company. Order and Law turns back after a score in the 1 ½-mile Cougar II (G3) on July 23, while Stilleto Boy hopes to rebound from a sixth-place tilt in the Foster (G1) at Ellis two months ago.

The other three runners come out of ungraded races. Katonah won the Pleasanton Mile last out, while Skinner was second against fellow sophomores in the Los Alamitos Derby. Piroli, the only runner not coming out of a stakes races, was most recently fourth in a second-level allowance at Del Mar.

Pacific Classic Contenders

These are the 11 contenders in the 2023 Pacific Classic, in order of post position.

1. Geaux Rocket Ride: A smart second in the San Felipe (G2) back in March put this son of Pacific Classic winner Candy Ride on the Kentucky Derby radar, but he was sidelined and did not return again until the Affirmed in June. The summer season has gone well, though: he won that, and then proved the best horse in the Haskell, both times with a well-timed rally from just off the pace. Mike Smith, who won the Haskell with him, returns for the Pacific Classic. The rail draw in a large field makes it a tough test, as does this being his first time against older, though he did win the Haskell from the fence, suggesting he and Smith could cobble together a decent trip.
2. Katonah: He made his stakes debut in the Pleasanton Mile almost two months back, closing from toward the rear and winning by 3 ¼ emphatic lengths. However, the field in that race was nowhere near the quality of who he will face in the Pacific Classic. He comes into this race off of his best performance yet, and he has some tactical versatility, but class is a question, and his pedigree reads like 1 ¼ miles will test his stamina.
3. Stilleto Boy: The three-back winner of the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) had a rare misfire last out in the Stephen Foster at Ellis. He has had the odd misfire before, though, and been able to freshen up and bounce back into solid form next out. He can be his plucky self at a mile and a quarter—the Santa Anita Handicap covers that trip, after all—but the bigger concern is Del Mar. He often runs well at Santa Anita, but has been no better than fourth in four starts at the seaside oval. With that, he is best played in underneath shares, if at all.
4. Tripoli: The 2021 winner goes for his second Pacific Classic victory, but it will be a tall order. That victory remains his only graded-stakes score: in fact, his only win since that signature score came by a nose in an allowance at Golden Gate. He lost on the square to Katonah in the Pleasanton Mile two back, and even though he ran an improved effort when fifth in the San Diego next out, he still has to turn the tables on three of his foes from there. John Sadler has been magical in the Pacific Classic in recent years, winning four of the last five editions, but the trainer would need to pull a rabbit out of his hat to get Tripoli in the winner’s circle in this year’s race.
5. Defunded: One of the leaders of the handicap division, he disappointed as the odds-on chalk in the San Diego last out but was previously in sharp form. He has won twice this year, including in the 1 ¼-mile Gold Cup at Santa Anita. And, though he game up a little flat in the San Diego, that may have been a distance issue: that race only covered 1 1/16 miles, and his better races have attended to come at 1 ⅛ and 1 ¼ miles. The stretch-out suits, he has run well enough at Del Mar at the right distance to suggest he can handle the footing, and he has tactical pace. In short, he has a lot of the right tools.
6. Order and Law: A fixture in higher-priced claimers earlier this year, trainer Robert Hess took a shot in the Cougar II in July, and the attempt paid off with his first graded-stakes win. Interestingly enough, there is already some good form out of that race: third-place Bye Bye Bobby cut way back and finished a flying second in the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien (G2) last weekend. Even with that note, though, this is a field with some real divisional stars. That means Order and Law is going to have to find a career best here to contend.
7. Slow Down Andy: This four-year-old tries as hard as anyone in the division. He doesn’t find the winner’s circle often: in fact, the last time he won was in the Del Mar Derby (G2) on grass almost exactly a year ago. However, he has tactical speed, and he keeps showing up: he ran third in the Awesome Again (G1) last year, and second in both the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) last year and the San Diego last month. He has been second in all three starts he has made on the Del Mar dirt, showing he likes the footing, too. A win may be too much to ask, but he shows up so often that he belongs in the exotics.
8. Senor Buscador: He was ignored at 13-1 on the tote in the San Diego, but took advantage of a fast (but not truly torrid, given the quality of horses) pace to sweep from last to first. The pace may not be quite as hot this time, and the stretch to a mile and a quarter is a dicey proposition given his flatly chasing fifth in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita last out. That said, he didn’t have the best trip in a field of six that day, meaning that if he does manage to avoid trouble? He still has some upside second off the lay, and he still stands to be a price given the underrated barn.
9. Arabian Knight: He tries older in a Grade 1 race in just his fourth start. He may be one of the better three-year-olds in the crop: he broke his maiden in style last fall, romped again in the Southwest, and wasn’t a bad third to Geaux Rocket Ride in the Haskell last out. Even so, this is a lot to ask such a lightly-raced sophomore, to stretch out to 1 ¼ miles and face elders. He is also drawn far enough outside that he may have to get used quite a bit early to get his customary forward spot.
10. Piroli: In his only graded start, he ran a cracker: he tracked the pace and kept on for second in the Gold Cup behind Defunded, a foe he faces again in this. He disappointed when finishing fourth as the favorite last out in a second-level allowance going a flat mile last out, but that sure does look familiar: he lost as the chalk at that level first off a break in May, his last start before the Gold Cup, going that same distance. In short, it’s an ambitious spot, but it still smacks of a situation where an ambitiously spotted Michael McCarthy runner can outrun his odds.
11. Skinner: The third of the sophomores in this field, he comes into the race after finishing a chasing second behind Reincarnate in the nine-furlong Los Alamitos Derby. Off a half-length third in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) he was a bit of a buzz horse coming into the Kentucky Derby before having to scratch. The Los Alamitos Derby was his first race back, meaning he has some upside to move forward second off the lay. And, he has the pedigree to try this 1 ¼-mile trip—that was part of the appeal heading into the Run for the Roses, after all. However, he is going to need to take a step forward, and he is truly hoping that the pace gets hotter than expected up front.

Pacific Classic FAQ

Q: When is the Pacific Classic?

A: The Pacific Classic happens on Saturday, September 2, at 6:13 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The million-dollar race is carded as the featured 10th of 11 races on the card.

Q: Where is the Pacific Classic?

A: It takes place at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Pacific Classic?

A: Trainers Robert Frankel and Bob Baffert are tied with six wins apiece in the Pacific Classic. Baffert’s most recent win came in 2020 with Maximum Security, and he will attempt to take the Pacific Classic record for himself in 2023 with Arabian Knight and Defunded.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Pacific Classic?

A: The top of the market is wide open. Haskell winner Geaux Rocket Ride has been named the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Pacific Classic, with Haskell third-place finisher Arabian Knight named the 3-1 second choice on the morning line. Both bring strong form into the race, though both are facing older horses for the first time. In light of that, expect Defunded to challenge that pair for favoritism on the tote board.

Q: Who is the best Pacific Classic jockey?

A: Garrett Gomez and Mike Smith are tied for the most wins with four. Smith, who last won the Pacific Classic in 2014 with the great Shared Belief, will try to take the record for himself alone with morning-line favorite Geaux Rocket Ride.

Q: Who won the Pacific Classic in 2022?

A: Flightline romped by 19 ¼ lengths (the largest margin in Pacific Classic history) in 2022 for trainer John Sadler and jockey Flavien Prat. Sadler returns with 2021 Pacific Classic winner Tripoli, while Prat rides Arabian Knight for Bob Baffert.