Perfect Drift Has a Confident Trainer

Everybody with a horse in the Pacific Classic on Sunday at Del Mar will be trying to beat Lava Man, the former claimer who won the Santa Anita Handicap and the Hollywood Gold Cup.

Murray Johnson, the trainer of Perfect Drift, is reminding people that his horse already has. Perfect Drift was second, a neck ahead of third-place Lava Man, in last year’s Pacific Classic, won by Borrego after Lava Man lost the lead down the stretch.

That has Johnson talking a bit of horse-racing smack.

“Last year he was more dominant coming into this race than this year,” he said of Lava Man. “He won the Hollywood Gold Cup by eight lengths. This year, he was life and death to win it. I was a little more worried about him last year.”

Lava Man won his second consecutive Gold Cup in July by only a nose, but he did it after rallying from a bad stumble at the start.

Not that Johnson thought much of the competition.

“You’ve got to look at what they’re beating. The California handicap division is not that strong,” he said. “The same bunch of horses have been running against each other and he’s been the best of them. Hopefully, the East Coast form’s a little stronger, which I think it is.”

Whatever the competition, Lava Man has five consecutive victories, including three Grade I races.

Perfect Drift, a 7-year-old gelding owned by Stonecrest Farm, is known as more of a bridesmaid; he has made a fortune on seconds and thirds, with $4,530,483 in earnings despite winning only 11 of 39 starts.

A son of Dynaformer -- the same stallion that sired Barbaro -- Perfect Drift was third in the 2002 Kentucky Derby and second in the Pacific Classic the last two years. He hasn’t won in his last eight starts, though he was second four times, and third twice, including last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The competition in the $1-million Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles includes 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, whose first victory since he won at Churchill Downs came last month at Del Mar in the $300,000 San Diego Handicap.

But much of the focus will be on Lava Man, a Cinderella in horseshoes.

Claimed for $50,000 at Del Mar two years ago by trainer Doug O’Neill for Steve and Dave Kenly’s STD Racing Stable and partner Jason Wood, Lava Man has earned $2,904,706, including almost $1.9 million this year.

If he keeps his streak going by winning the Pacific Classic, he’ll boost his horse-of-the-year stock going into the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in November.

Johnson, ever confident in his horse, says not so fast.

“We feel confident that, like last year, we’ll finish ahead of him,” he said.

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Lava Man, who will break from post position No. 2 under Corey Nakatani, was installed as the 8-5 morning-line favorite for the Pacific Classic after Wednesday’s draw. Giacomo drew post position four and is the second choice at 3-1 on Jeff Tufts’ morning line. Magnum is the third choice at 5-1 and Perfect Drift is 6-1 in the eight-horse field.

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The career of Lost In The Fog, the champion sprinter of 2005, is probably over after doctors found what appears to be a cancerous growth in his spleen, trainer Greg Gilchrist told reporters. The horse is scheduled to undergo an exploratory procedure at UC Davis on Friday.