Fierceness beats Journalism to win the Pacific Classic at Del Mar
Fierceness finishes ahead of Preakness Stakes winner Journalism to win the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on Saturday.
- Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
As the racing world waits for the expected third meeting of Sovereignty, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and Journalism, winner of the Preakness, in the $7-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1, it became clear there are some older horses that need to be paid attention to in the country’s richest horse race.
On Saturday, Journalism, a 3-year-old running for the first time against horses 4 and older, had a strong but still second-best finish in the $1-million Pacific Classic. At 1¼ miles, it is the same distance and over the same course as the Classic.
For Journalism, it was the seventh straight finish in the exacta this year, all run against stakes competition. The Southern California-based colt has won four of seven races this year, with all his second-place finishes coming at 1¼ miles.
The winner of Saturday’s only million-dollar race in Southern California was Fierceness, who was shipped in from the East Coast for trainer Todd Pletcher. The favorite in last year’s Kentucky Derby looked beaten out of the gate when he swerved toward a temporary rail, forcing him to put the brakes on and refocus on running straight. But Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, in a remarkable ride, was able to get him midpack on the back stretch and then found a seam on the far turn and had a 2½-length lead with a quarter-mile to go. His winning margin was 3¼ lengths.
A recent state attorney general ruling and objections by tribal leaders suggest difficulty adding Historical Horse Racing machines in California.
“At the start, he attempted to duck into the temporary railing,” Velaquez said. “I got him out of there, but he overreacted by pulling in the other direction. I wanted to stay off his mouth, so I had to sit on him a little. But he got straightened out going into the first turn. I was able to save ground behind the leaders. On the back stretch, he was keen to go on, that’s why I moved between horses going into the turn.”
Pletcher did not leave Saratoga to accompany Fierceness to Del Mar, instead sending his assistant, Sophie Green.
“It [the start] had me a little bit worried there,” Green said. “He’s had bad breaks before in the past when he was 2 years old and I almost felt like that again, but Johnny [Velazquez] knew what to do and kept him going. He had him in a great position.”
Meawhile, Journalism broke well but then seemed to lose interest and languished at the back of the field until he entered the backstretch. He made a strong move around the far turn but ultimately came up short against a better horse.
Southern California racing superstar Journalism, the Preakness Stakes winner, won the $1 million Haskell Stakes. Will the horse race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic?
“Very proud of the horse,” said Aron Wellman, managing partner of owner Eclipse Thoroughbreds. “He shows up every time. It’s just remarkable to see the effort he gives us.
“I don’t think we wanted to be that far back, but he’s just gotten a little where he just takes a little bit to get his stride going. But no excuse, he was five, six lengths off of it going to the half-mile pole with fast fractions in front of him.”
The pre-race favorite, Nysos, scratched in the morning with a bruised hoof. Nysos has won five of six lifetime starts. He may be pointed to the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 27.
While Fierceness will head back east and train up to the Classic, Journalism will likely stay in California.
Sovereignty surges ahead of Journalism to win the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes in a similar repeat of how the race unfolded in the Kentucky Derby.
“I thought he ran a very good race in defeat,” trainer Michael McCarthy told the Daily Racing Form on Sunday. “Fierceness, when he’s on his game, is as good if not better than any older horse in the country.”
McCarthy seemed happy with the plan to keep Journalism in California rather than ship him east for the Travers Stakes or Pennsylvania Derby.
“The Pacific Classic’s right here in our backyard,” McCarthy said. “The horse had been on the plane, off the plane, on the plane, off the plane. He was deserving of a home game.”
McCarthy believes he will train Journalism up to the Classic rather than try to get in a race, such as the Goodwood.
Also expected to stay close to home is Gold Phoenix, who exemplifies “horse for the course.” On Saturday, he won the Del Mar Handicap for the fourth time in a row. The win over 1 3/8 miles on the Turf gives the 7-year-old gelding a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. No horse had previously ever won a stakes race four years in a row at Del Mar.
“It’s an incredible story, this horse will now bring us to four consecutive Breeders’ Cups,” Gary Fenton, managing partner for co-owner Little Red Feather Racing, told the Bloodhorse. “He’s just a tremendous horse, a horse that you don’t get very often.”
