Richard’s Kid repeats in the Pacific Classic

Reporting from Del Mar

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith sure knows how to bring out the best in Richard’s Kid. He has ridden him twice, and each time Richard’s Kid has delivered victory in the $1-million Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

“I just want to ride him once a year,” Smith said Saturday after Richard’s Kid unleashed a powerful stretch run to come away with a three-quarter-length victory over Crowded House in the 1¼-mile Grade I race before 23,678. Dakota Phone finished third.

It was a strange day for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. He won both Grade I races at Del Mar with Richard’s Kid in the Pacific Classic and El Brujo in the $300,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes. He also won another race on the card, but Baffert was far from the track.

He has been feuding with Del Mar officials over the Polytrack surface and has threatened to take his stable to the East Coast next year if the track doesn’t return to a dirt surface. That’s where Baffert was Saturday, saddling Rapport to victory in a stakes race at Saratoga.

Richard’s Kid joins Tinners Way and Skimming as the only horses to win the Pacific Classic twice.

What’s clear is how much Richard’s Kid enjoys Del Mar.

“This horse really loves this race track,” said Omar Trevino, racing manager for Dubai-based Zabeel Racing International Corp., which purchased Richard’s Kid after his victory in last year’s Pacific Classic at odds of 24-1.

This time, Richard’s Kid went off at 5-1 and had to overcome a slow pace set by Isle Of Giant’s.

Smith said he felt confident, placing Richard’s Kid next to last in the early going in the 10-horse field, letting him start to move down the backstretch and turning him loose entering the stretch.

“He’s little and compact but has great balance,” Smith said.

The Usual Q.T. went off as the favorite, but the 4-year-old gelding once again showed he’s much better on turf than synthetics. He finished fifth and is winless on synthetics.

“There had been a lot of talk about speed holding today, but Mike let him drop back and make his big run,” said Baffert’s assistant trainer, Jim Barnes.

Baffert, however, is going to need to find a replacement for Smith if he decides to run Richard’s Kid in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Churchill Downs.

Smith made it clear his mount for that race is taken by a horse named Zenyatta, who has won all 18 of her races.

Enriched wins

Enriched, a half-brother to 2006 Pacific Classic winner Lava Man, went wire to wire to win the Grade II $190,000 Del Mar Mile on the turf under jockey Joel Rosario, beating Meteore by three-quarters of a length, with Bruce’s Dream third. Enriched was claimed for $32,000 by trainer Doug O’Neill last November and has developed into a competitive 5-year-old gelding in stakes races.

“It’s great to have this horse,” O’Neill said. “He’s very classy.”

Rosario had five wins on the day and took a one-win lead over Rafael Bejarano in the jockey standings.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com