Pacific Classic

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

A contentious field of 10 has been entered in Saturday's $1 million Pacific

Classic (G1) at Del Mar, and anyone of these could find himself in the winner's

circle at the end of the 1 1/4-mile affair. With that being said, we'll going to

tab defending champion RICHARD'S KID (Lemon Drop Kid) to successfully score a

second straight win in this event.

The Bob Baffert trainee is coming into the Pacific Classic in much the same

way he did last year. The dark bay just missed by a nose in the 2009 Cougar II

H. prior to posting a neck victory in last season's Pacific Classic, even after

his rider lost the whip. Last out, the five-year-old ran third in the upgraded

Cougar II (G3), with that following another third, this time in the Hollywood

Gold Cup H. (G1).

Richard's Kid began the current season with a nice win in the San Antonio H.

(G2), then was shipped to Dubai for a try at the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1). He

ran well in defeat, finishing seventh on the wire but only 2 1/2 lengths behind

the winner on the newly installed Tapeta at Meydan. Baffert has given him plenty

of time to recover from that trip and his last two races in the Cougar II and

Hollywood Gold Cup should have set him up perfectly for this start. A bullet

half-mile drill in :46 4/5 on the Polytrack Monday couldn't have hurt, either.

Mike Smith was aboard for last year's win and retakes the mount as he goes for

his second straight Pacific Classic win as well.

BATTLE OF HASTINGS (GB) (Royal Applause [GB]) will be trying a synthetic

track for only the second time in his career, but ran well in his debut last out

when runner-up in the San Diego H. (G2) on July 31. The bay gelding is a

top-notch competitor on the turf, and it would take little for him to transfer

that form to Del Mar's Polytrack. Conditioned by Jeff Mullins, the four-year-old

has been training well over Hollywood Park's version of an all-weather surface,

most recently posting a nice five furlongs in 1:00 3/5. Battle of Hastings is no

stranger to the distance, at least on turf, taking last year's Virginia Derby

(G2) and running second in the Hollywood Derby (G1). He could add yet another

top level victory to his line with Brice Blanc picking up the mount.

THE USUAL Q. T. (Unusual Heat) is another turf performer looking to move his

stellar grass talent to a synthetic track. The James Cassidy is regarded as the

top turf horse on the West Coast, most recently taking the Eddie Read S. (G1)

under Victor Espinoza, who returns here. The Usual Q. T. is winless from five

all-weather starts but did manage to run second in three of those. We can't back

for the win at probable low odds, but nonetheless will be including the

four-year-old gelding in our exotic wagers.

AWESOME GEM (Awesome Again) surprised in the Hollywood Gold Cup last out,

scoring the half-length victory for trainer Craig Dollase. He actually ran

seventh in last year's Pacific Classic, but was only 3 3/4 lengths back of

Richard's Kid on the wire that day. The chestnut gelding has finished

off the board only once this year, with that coming in his season opener on the

turf at Santa Anita. The well-traveled veteran followed up with placings in the

New Orleans H. (G2) and Lone Star Park H. (G3) before his Gold Cup score, and he

could find himself in the top three once again here. Regular rider David Flores

has the call.

CROWDED HOUSE's (GB) (Rainbow Quest) last win came in the 2008 Racing Post

Trophy (Eng-G1) at Doncaster in England. Trained by Brian Meehan at the time, he

skipped most of 2009, racing only twice, but has done well for himself on the

road this year, running second in the Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (UAE-G3) and Al

Rashidiya (UAE-G3) before just missing third by a nose in the Eddie Read last

out. That was the chestnut's U.S. bow, and he's had plenty of time to acclimate

himself to the new surroundings, which could result in a much improved

performance in this spot for new conditioner Ben Cecil. Crowded House might earn

a spot in the bottom of the gimmicks under Corey Nakatani here.

TEMPLE CITY (Dynaformer) is the speed of this race and could find himself out

there winging it on the front end under Rafael Bejarano. If he gets away with an

uncontested pace, the Carla Gaines runner could keep going all the way to the

wire, just like he did when taking the Cougar II by 3 1/4 lengths. The dark bay,

who just missed by a head in the American H. (G2) after utilizing those same

tactics, has a shot at a minor upset. DAKOTA PHONE (Zavata) rallied for the win

in the San Diego H. last out, and was second by just a head to Richard's

Kid in the San Antonio earlier in the season. While we like the five-year-old

gelding, the best he could probably hope for here is to pick up a check.

The much-raced UNUSUAL SUSPECT (Unusual Heat) hasn't won in 12 months and,

though he's placed against graded company since then, we just don't think he'll

offer much against this group. We'll let him beat us. ISLE OF GIANT'S (Giant's

Causeway) is about the only other front runner in this group, but doesn't appear

fast enough to challenge Temple City on the lead. We can't recommend. HOLD ME

BACK (Giant's Causeway) owns a nice 6-4-1-0 mark on synthetic tracks, but those

all came back on the East Coast. The four-year-old has been traveling a lot this

season, including a trip to our northern neighbor to take a Canadian Grade 3 at

Woodbine last out, and might find this trip one too many.