Collected may skip prep and train up to BC Classic

DEL MAR, Calif. – Both Collected and Arrogate came out of the Pacific Classic in good order and will be pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4, and while it was certain before Saturday that Arrogate would not have a prep, trainer Bob Baffert on Sunday said he might entertain the same strategy with Collected, too.

“I could train him up to the race,” Baffert said. “I haven’t decided.”

Collected ran his record this year to 4 for 4, and his victory reflected his sensational series of workouts here this summer. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 115. Arrogate, beaten a half-length, got a 114, below his lofty career-best of 122, but certainly a strong figure.

Both Collected and Arrogate will head to Santa Anita when this meet ends on Labor Day because the stable area will close. They will not be back on the grounds until at the earliest Oct. 22, when the Del Mar stable area will open for the fall meet. Baffert said that in a perfect world, he’d prefer to leave both horses here.

“It’s too bad I can’t stay and train," Baffert said. "Collected likes it. Arrogate is still getting used to it.

“Arrogate looked like he was running in spurts the whole way around there. I’m encouraged with the way he laid it down. He showed some willingness. He’s still struggling a little bit. He’s not back where he was. He showed some courageousness.”

Baffert remained conflicted over the result of the race, for while he was thrilled that Collected had won a Grade 1 race and had proven he could handle 1 1/4 miles in what essentially was a dress rehearsal for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, it still gnawed at him that Arrogate was not at the level he had reached late last year and early this year.

“I’m upset because I got the greatest horse in the world beat again, and that’s on me,” Baffert said.

“The other horse is a good little horse,” he said of Collected, “and you can’t make a mistake against him.”

The mistake Baffert believes he made with Arrogate was running in the San Diego last month instead of training straight into the Pacific Classic. He said he will utilize the same approach to this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic that he did last year, when Arrogate went into the Breeders’ Cup without a prep after the Travers. Baffert had the same game plan in 2015, when American Pharoah won the Classic without a prep following the Travers.

Accelerate, who finished third in the Pacific Classic in his first try at 1 1/4 miles, will cut back to the Dirt Mile for the Breeders’ Cup, trainer John Sadler said Sunday. Accelerate was 3 for 3 at shorter distances at Del Mar prior to the Pacific Classic, including a runaway victory in the San Diego.

“I’m happy that he ran a good race, but at the end of the day he’s going to the Dirt Mile,” Sadler said. “We tried it, he wasn’t successful, he’s better suited to a mile. The timing was good to take a shot on Saturday. He won’t have a prep. He’s got plenty of time to get ready to go a mile on a track he likes.”