“Big Three” Highlight $1M Pacific Classic

Todd Schrupp and the PC draw at Del Mar. (Benoit Photo)

Del Mar Press

DEL MAR, Calif.—A field of eight – including three of the top horses in the country – will eye the starter Saturday in a stellar renewal of the $1 million, Grade I Pacific Classic, Del Mar’s foremost summer attraction and the high point of an afternoon that will see the shore oval present five Graded stakes races.

The post-position draw for the 35th Classic took place Tuesday at The Brigantine Restaurant in Del Mar and saw the slight morning line favorite – Baoma Corp’s Nysos – draw Post 4 in the mile and one-quarter headliner.

The two other “exceptional” runners in the field – Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, et al’s Journalism (Post 6) and Repole Stable’s Fierceness (Post 1) – also were given their starting points for the West’s only million-dollar fixture that will go as Race 10 on an 11-race program with a post time of approximately 6 p.m.

Del Mar’s morning line maker, John Lies, thought hard before coming up with an odds array that had the Big Three placed like this: Nysos (8/5); Journalism (9/5); Fierceness (3-1).

Nysos, who is trained by Bob Baffert, will be ridden by Flavient Prat. Journalism, conditioned by Michael McCarthy, will be handled by Umberto Rispoli. And Fierceness will have John Velazquez in the irons for trainer Todd Pletcher.

First post Saturday will go at 1:30 p.m.

Here’s the full Pacific Classic lineup in post-position order with riders and morning line odds:

Post Position	Horse/Jockey	Morning Line Odds
1	Fierceness John R. Velazquez	3-1
2	Midnight Mammoth Armando Ayuso	12-1
3	Ultimate Gamble Kazushi Kimura	20-1
4	Nysos Flavien Prat	8-5
5	Indispensable Paco Lopez	15-1
6	Journalism Umberto Rispoli	9-5
7	Lure Him In Edwin Gonzalez	20-1
8	Tarantino Edwin Maldonado	20-1