Came Home upsets Pacific Classic

DEL MAR, Calif. - Came Home, who has dominated 3-year-old racing on the West Coast this year, pulled an upset in Sunday's $1 million at Del Mar, a which was marred by a post-race injury to his entrymate Bosque Redondo.

Came Home ($23) beat 13 others including War Emblem, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner. The even-money favorite, War Emblem led briefly in early stretch, but finished sixth, fading in the final furlong.

Came Home ran 1 1-4 miles in 2:01.45 for his sixth stakes win of 2002, all in California. Trained by Paco Gonzalez, Came Home's only loss this year was a sixth in the Kentucky Derby.

Ridden by Mike Smith, Came Home was always within four lengths of the front.

For the first half of the race, Came Home was fifth, chasing pacesetters Bosque Redondo and Sky Jack, who set fractions of 22.52; 45.48 and 1:09.82, and stalkers War Emblem and Momentum.

On the final turn, War Emblem made the first move on the leaders, with Came Home reacting quickly with a four-wide rally.

"I knew we'd win at the three-eighths pole," said co-owner Trudy McCaffery.

"Mike had him under wraps the whole way."

Turning for home, there were four horses across the track within a span of 1 1/2 lengths. War Emblem led for a few strides, but was quickly caught by Came Home.

"Everything went my way," Smith said. "I had a wonderful trip, the best."

Through the final furlong, Came Home was hard ridden to hold off an unlucky Momentum, who was blocked between the quarter-pole and the eighth pole.

Momentum closed ground in the final furlong, but finished three-quarters of a length behind Came Home. Milwaukee Brew closed from 13th to finish third, followed by Pleasantly Perfect, Bosque Redondo and War Emblem, who finished 4 1/4 lengths behind Came Home.

Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza said War Emblem was not prepared at the start. War Emblem was taken out of the gate with a few horses yet to be loaded and was loaded last.

"The back door to the gate wasn't even closed when they opened the front one," Espinoza said. "He wasn't ready to break and we came away a little too slow."

Bosque Redondo was stricken a few strides after the finish. A winner of 7 of 17 starts and $949,267, the 5-year-old Bosque Redondo suffered fractured sesamoids and a condylar fracture to his right foreleg, according to Gonzalez. Flores was unseated when Bosque Redondo broke down and took off the rest of his mounts.

The injury cast a pall on the second Pacific Classic win for owners McCaffery and John Toffan, who won with Free House in 1998. They share ownership of Came Home with Bill Farish and John Goodman.

"It just kind of takes the wind out of your sails," McCaffery said.

Came Home has won 9 of 11 starts and $1,835,940. Toffan mentioned the Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap at Santa Anita on Oct. 6 as a possible prep for the Breeders' Cup Classic at Arlington Park on Oct. 26.