Del Mar has a supremely wealthy racing historical past plus an extremely enjoyable connection to Hollywood stars, however when racing followers of my era consider Del Mar, we consider the Pacific Traditional.
The 1 ¼-mile, Grade 1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Traditional Stakes has been a spotlight of the summer season season since its inaugural operating received by Greatest Pal in 1991. Different notable winners embody Free Home (1998), Sweet Trip (2003), Pleasantly Good (2004), Lava Man (2006), Sport On Dude (2013), Shared Perception (2014), Beholder (2015), California Chrome (2016), Speed up (2018), and Flightline (2022).
This 12 months’s Pacific Traditional Aug. 31 at Del Mar is a part of the Breeders’ Cup Problem “Win and You’re In” collection. The winner of the Pacific Traditional will earn an expenses-paid spot within the beginning gate for the $7 million Longines’ Breeders’ Cup Traditional, proper right here at Del Mar on Nov. 2.
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Whereas the 2024 version of the Pacific Traditional lacks a real celebrity like a Cigar, who misplaced to Dare and Go in 1996, or a Flightline, rising expertise Dr. Venkman and standout older feminine Adare Manor heads a stable forged of 9 entrants.
Let’s check out this 12 months’s Pacific Traditional area.
1. Il Miracolo
Jockey: Mike Smith
Coach: Antonio Sano
Proprietor: Alexandres
Profession report: 21 begins – 4 wins – 6 seconds – 4 thirds
Profession earnings: $776,635
Earnings per begin: $36,983
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 122
Pedigree: Gun Runner – Tapit’s World, by Tapit
Age: 4
Colour: Chestnut
Operating type: Press the tempo/stalker
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: A number of graded stakes winner Il Miracolo ships in from the East Coast for coach Antonio Sano off of what was, based on Equibase Velocity Figures, a brand new 14-point career-best effort when second to Subsanador within the $250,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes Aug. 17 at Monmouth Park. The 122 determine he earned in that race off a 15-week freshening is a minimum of 9 factors larger than the very best quantity earned by anybody else within the area. Can he repeat that kind of effort on simply two weeks of relaxation? That’s the key query for Il Miracolo, who has competed very successfully towards high quality competitors all through his profession however has been overwhelmed by 6 ½ lengths or extra in his 4 begins towards Grade 1 competitors like he’ll face within the Pacific Traditional. Il Miracolo is worthy of a protracted look in a Pacific Traditional with much less firepower than previous editions, however the fast turnaround plus his report of only one third-place end in 4 earlier begins in Grade 1 races leaves me doubtful of his win possibilities. The Gun Runner colt is flexible sufficient to set, press or stalk the tempo and a top-three end is nicely inside attain. Corridor of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who’s tied with Garrett Gomez for the winningest jockey in Pacific Traditional historical past with 4 victories, picks up the mount on Il Miracolo. Smith’s 4 wins within the Pacific Traditional got here aboard Got here House (2002), Richard’s Child (2009, 2010), and Shared Perception (2014).
Guess Il Miracolo within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
Jockey: Hector Berrios
Coach: Michael McCarthy
Homeowners: Cannon Thoroughbreds
Profession report: 17 begins – 4 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds
Profession earnings: $484,590
Earnings per begin: $28,505
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 109
Pedigree: Will Take Cost – Soul Crusader, by Fusaichi Pegasus
Age: 6
Colour: Chestnut
Operating type: Nearer/stalker
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: There Goes Harvard capped a three-race profitable streak with a victory within the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes at this 1 ¼-mile distance at Santa Anita Park. The issue is that was greater than two years in the past in Might 2022 and the 6-year-old by Will Take Cost is unplaced in 5 subsequent begins. He returned from a layoff of 14 months-plus Might 27, 2024, within the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile Stakes on the grass and ran fourth, overwhelmed by 2 ¾ lengths in a stable comeback race. There Goes Harvard subsequent completed ninth within the Grade 2 Eddie Learn Stakes, additionally on turf, fading late after he encountered some hassle within the stretch. His career-top Equibase Velocity Determine got here on filth within the aforementioned Hollywood Gold Cup and he has completed within the prime three in eight of his 11 tries on the floor. It also needs to be famous that There Goes Harvard’s pace figures this 12 months have been stable, 106 and 107, in defeat. He might take a step ahead with a return to the filth in his third begin after a protracted layoff and the truth that he was supplemented to the race for $10,000 signifies he should be giving all the best indicators in morning train/exercises. An intriguing wild card for this 12 months’s Pacific Traditional.
Guess There Goes Harvard within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
3. Dr. Venkman
Jockey: Antonio Fresu
Coach: Mark Glatt
Homeowners: Dan Agnew, Clint Bunch, Mark Cohen, and James Hailey
Profession report: 5 begins – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds
Profession earnings: $358,500
Earnings per begin: $71,700
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 113
Pedigree: Ghostzapper – Principle of Change, by Archarcharch
Age: 4
Colour: Bay
Operating type: Press the tempo
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: Dr. Venkman stretched out from sprinting to 2 turns for the 1 1/16-mile San Diego Handicap and received the Grade 2 race by a size over one in all his essential Pacific Traditional challengers (Katonah) July 27 on this observe. That was the Ghostzapper gelding’s first stakes win after ending second in each the Perryville Stakes final fall at Keeneland and the Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes June 1 at Santa Anita Park in his 4-year-old debut, each at seven-eighths of a mile. Dr. Venkman has flashed a ton of potential in simply 5 begins and has proved fairly quick with a career-best 113 Equibase Velocity Determine and a 108 for the San Diego victory. The Pacific Traditional will problem him to increase that pace one other three-sixteenths of a mile, however he’s 3-for-3 at Del Mar and his pedigree – by Horse of the 12 months and Breeders’ Cup Traditional winner Ghostzapper and out of a dam who received at 1 1/16 miles on grass – suggests excelling at longer distances is a really actual risk. He’ll in all probability be the favourite or second betting alternative on this race and on or close to the lead getting into the stretch, so he’s a serious win candidate for coach Mark Glatt, who completed second within the Pacific Traditional together with his lone earlier starter, Sharp Samurai in 2020.
Guess Dr. Venkman within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
4. Reincarnate
Jockey: Kazushi Kimura
Coach: Bob Baffert
Profession report: 15 begins – 3 wins – 5 seconds – 3 thirds
Profession earnings: $607,900
Earnings per begin: $40,527
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 109
Pedigree: Good Magic – Allanah, by Scat Daddy
Age: 4
Colour: Grey or roan
Operating type: Press the tempo
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: Corridor of Fame coach Bob Baffert’s possibilities to increase his report for wins within the Pacific Traditional to eight relaxation upon Adare Manor and stablemate Reincarnate, a a number of stakes winner as a 3-year-old in 2023 who’s winless in 4 begins this 12 months. Whereas Reincarnate has not visited a winner’s circle for the reason that Los Alamitos Derby seven begins in the past in July 2023, it has not been all dangerous for the Good Magic colt. He completed third within the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap Offered by Yaamava’ Resort & On line casino in his 4-year-old bow and two begins again he earned a career-top 109 Equibase Velocity Determine when second within the Hollywood Gold Cup at this 1 ¼-mile distance. He’s little doubt quick sufficient on paper to be aggressive and he might even have a serious say within the tempo of the Pacific Traditional. It’s robust to foretell whether or not he’ll get wager down due to his coach or shall be one of many few alternatives to wager on a Baffert-trained horse and get a good worth, however it’s a must to respect Reincarnate’s possibilities. Baffert’s Pacific Traditional victories have been with Basic Problem (1999), Richard’s Child (2009, 2010), Sport On Dude (2013), Collected (2017), Most Safety (2020), and Arabian Knight (2023).
Guess Reincarnate within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
5. Katonah
Jockey: Tiago Josue Pereira
Coach: Doug O’Neill
Proprietor: R3 Racing
Profession report: 12 begins – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds
Profession earnings: $270,180
Earnings per begin: $22,515
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 113
Pedigree: Klimt – Ctimene, by Consolidator
Age: 5
Colour: Chestnut
Operating type: Stalker
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: The chestnut Klimt gelding dominated the Pleasanton Mile Stakes July 9, 2023, in his stakes debut, profitable by 3 ¼ lengths in his 11th profession race to earn a career-best 113 Equibase Velocity Determine. Katonah didn’t race once more for greater than a 12 months however his comeback runner-up end at 20.70-1 odds within the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap absolutely dispelled any notion that his first stakes win was a fluke. Exterior of the lengthy layoff between races, he’s been fairly constant during the last two years as his solely unplaced end got here in his first attempt on turf. Apart from that, he’s picked up 4 wins, two seconds, and a 3rd in seven filth begins since January 2023 and he’s eligible to enhance within the Pacific Traditional in his second race after 12 months off. Coach Doug O’Neill, who claimed Katonah for proprietor R3 Racing for $50,000 in 2021, received the Pacific Traditional in 2006 with one of many sport’s all-time nice claims, Corridor of Famer Lava Man. Jockey Tiago Periera received the race in 2021 aboard Tripoli.
Guess Katonah within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
6. Full Serrano
Jockey: Reylu Gutierrez
Coach: John Sadler
Proprietor: Hronis Racing
Profession report: 15 begins – 5 wins – 4 seconds – 2 thirds
Profession earnings: $77,223
Earnings per begin: $5,148
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 95
Pedigree: Full Mast – Serra Do Mar, by Leap Begin
Age: 5
Colour: Darkish bay or brown
Operating type: Press the tempo
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: Full Serrano joined the barn of John Sadler in 2024 after a profitable profession in his native Argentina, the place he received 4 instances in 14 begins with a stakes victory and a runner-up end in a Group 3 race to his credit score. The darkish bay or brown 5-year-old by Full Mast made a pleasant first impression in his U.S. debut, surging nicely clear Aug. 3 at Del Mar to win a one-mile allowance/non-obligatory claiming race by 2 ¼ lengths. Whereas his South American stakes victory got here on the grass, it was at this 1 ¼-mile distance, so Full Serrano ought to have the stamina to stretch out one other quarter-mile in his second begin for Sadler. The massive query is can he deal with the huge soar in high quality of competitors. When it comes to pace figures, he would wish to extend the 95 Equibase Velocity Determine he earned within the August win by about 15-20 factors to be a severe contender. That’s a tall order for Full Serrano’s second begin, however coach John Sadler and proprietor Hronis Racing have had great success on this race. They teamed to win the Pacific Traditional 4 instances with Speed up (2018), Greater Energy (2019), Tripoli (2021), and Flightline (2022). Hronis Racing raced Flightline in partnership.
Guess Full Serrano within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
7. Adare Manor
Jockey: Juan Hernandez
Coach: Bob Baffert
Proprietor: Michael Lund Petersen
Profession report: 18 begins – 10 wins – 5 seconds – 0 thirds
Profession earnings: $2,096,600
Earnings per begin: $116,478
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 113
Pedigree: Uncle Mo – Brooklynsway, by Large Gizmo
Age: 5
Colour: Darkish bay or brown
Operating type: Stalker/press the tempo
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: Adare Manor profiles as a contender for the Eclipse Award as champion older filth feminine approaching the ultimate third of the 2024 season with three graded stakes wins, together with a pair of Grade 1s, and a second in 4 begins. The addition of a gifted feminine racehorse to face males within the Pacific Traditional is certain to construct some buzz across the marquee Del Mar stakes, and Adare Manor is worthy of the hype using a three-race profitable streak, all by 2 ¾ lengths or extra, into the race. Final spring, the main earner on this area posted back-to-back, front-running runaway victories within the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park in April and Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes in June at Santa Anita Park. She enters the Pacific Traditional off a win on this observe at Del Mar within the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Offered by Oak Tree Racing Affiliation. Adare Manor is quick sufficient on paper to compete with this group, as evidenced by the 113 Equibase Velocity Determine earned within the Apple Blossom, and able to being efficient setting, urgent, or stalking the tempo. The principle concern is distance as Adare Manor has by no means began in a race longer than 1 1/8 miles, however she actually has the power to hitch Beholder in 2015 because the second feminine winner of this race. An Adare Manor victory additionally would prolong Corridor of Fame coach Bob Baffert’s report to eight wins within the race as he has received the Pacific Traditional beforehand with Basic Problem (1999), Richard’s Child (2009, 2010), Sport On Dude (2013), Collected (2017), Most Safety (2020), and Arabian Knight (2023). Jockey Juan Hernandez completed second within the 2020 Pacific Traditional aboard Sharp Samurai.
Guess Adare Manor within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
Jockey: Jeremy Laprida
Coach: Jorge Periban
Proprietor: Hector Castrellon
Profession report: 35 begins – 7 wins – 3 seconds – 4 thirds
Profession earnings: $651,802
Earnings per begin: $18,623
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 108
Pedigree: Karakontie – Legally Blanca, by Northern Afleet
Age: 6
Colour: Grey or roan
Operating type: Nearer/stalker
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: None Above the Regulation received the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby Offered by Caesars Sportsbook on grass in 2021. He then endured a 19-race winless stretch whereas nonetheless carving out a considerably productive profession in Southern California with the majority of his earnings coming in stakes races restricted to California-breds, each on turf and filth. The Karakontie gelding lastly returned to the winner’s circle with a three-quarter-length triumph from off the tempo within the one-mile Bertrando Stakes June 22 at Los Alamitos after which closed from off the tempo for third within the California Dreamin’ Stakes at Del Mar. Whereas his pace figures and up to date type supply some motive for optimism, None Above the Regulation has but to indicate he can compete at this degree in a 1 ¼-mile filth race and profiles as an outsider within the Pacific Traditional. One of the best-case situation would in all probability be a tempo meltdown that enables him to cross a number of tiring rivals to spherical out the superfecta at an enormous worth.
Guess None Above the Regulation within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
9. Mixto
Jockey: Kyle Frey
Coach: Doug F. O’Neill
Proprietor: Calumet Farm
Profession report: 13 begins – 1 win – 2 seconds – 4 thirds
Profession earnings: $182,180
Earnings per begin: $14,014
Prime Equibase Velocity Determine: 108
Pedigree: Good Magic – Musical Thriller, by Concerto
Age: 4
Colour: Chestnut
Operating type: Stalker/press the tempo
Notable achievements and attention-grabbing details: Mixto wanted seven begins to earn his first profession win and has not returned to the winner’s circle in six races since, however he has fared fairly nicely towards prime competitors all through his profession. The Good Magic colt out of a full sister (similar dam [mother] and sire [father]) to Grade 1 winner and producer Rigoletta has completed within the prime three in 4 stakes, three of them graded races, and enters off a runner-up end within the Pleasanton Mile Stakes July 7. He additionally completed third in each the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes in January and the Grade 3 Californian Stakes in April, each at Santa Anita Park, so it’s not out of the query that he may be aggressive at this degree. My greatest concern is just not means however distance, as Mixto has light to fifth in each of his begins at 1 ¼ miles. He is an effective wager to outrun his odds for coach Doug O’Neill, who received the Pacific Traditional in 2006 with future Corridor of Famer Lava Man, however filling out the trifecta might be his ceiling.
Guess Mixto within the Pacific Traditional Stakes
