The penultimate weekend of the Del Mar racing season includes an odds-on favorite in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Saturday, and Saratoga ends with the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes for 2-year-olds on Monday. Plenty to cover; time to dive in. Even the best lose sometime Think Flightline is a cinch on Saturday? Same here. Just like Best Pal, Cigar, General Challenge, Medaglia d’Oro, and Arrogate. All five were multiple Grade 1 winners who lost the Pacific Classic at odds-on (Best Pal and General Challenge won earlier editions). On the flip side, odds-on winners include Gentlemen, Accelerate, and Maximum Security. Saturday at Del Mar, Flightline is likely to become the fourth odds-on favorite to win the Pacific Classic, though his 1-5 program price seems awfully short. Crying tears of joy Only one of the four Pacific Classic winners trained by Richard Mandella brought tears to his eyes. “You can’t beat Beholder,” Mandella said. “What a race that was. She actually made me cry.” His wife, Randi, added “We were all crying.” Beholder crushed the 2015 Pacific Classic by more than eight lengths. Mandella also trained Pacific Classic winner Dare and Go to upset Cigar (1996), as well as Pleasantly Perfect (2004) and Gentlemen (1997). Mandella entered two this year – Grade 2 San Diego winner Royal Ship and an intriguing longshot in Extra Hope. Extra Hope’s wide-every-turn third last out in a Grade 3 marathon gives him a license to sneak into the trifecta if either Flightline, Royal Ship, or Country Grammer misfires. :: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more Breeders’ Cup Turf anti-prep It is nice the winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Saturday earns a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but the cold truth is Del Mar Handicap winners typically have no shot in the BC Turf. The last nine Del Mar Handicap winners who ran in the BC Turf finished off the board. The market usually prices it right. The lowest BC odds of recent Del Mar Handicap winners was 18-1. Although the 2010 winner Champ Pegasus finished second in the BC Turf, Del Mar Handicap winners tend to be BC tosses. Master Piece, who crushed the Grade 2 Eddie Read last month, would be the one to beat Saturday. Breeders’ Cup Mile quasi-prep The Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf has never produced a Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, but you’d have to give BC in-the-money consideration to the winner of the Del Mar Mile on Saturday. Since the race switched from dirt to turf in 2005, nine Del Mar Mile winners subsequently ran in the BC Mile – with the best results two seconds and four thirds at odds from 4-1 to 19-1. The Del Mar Mile field this Saturday is expected to include late-running Grade 1 winner Count Again and front-running Grade 1 winner Beyond Brilliant. If the Del Mar turf anti-speed profile continues, Beyond Brilliant will have a tough time. Only 2 of 29 turf miles in August were won by the pacesetter; none of the 12 turf races at longer turf distances in August were won on the front end. Justique on fence for Debutante Justique, the top 2-year-old filly in California based on one start, has recovered from a minor illness and resumed working, but it is wait and see for the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 10. “She missed four days,” trainer John Shirreffs said. “The timing was awful because the day she was supposed to breeze was the [first] day she missed.” Justique worked a half-mile Aug. 27, her first work since an outstanding debut July 31. Will she make the Debutante? “I don’t think we’ll know until she has her next work,” Shirreffs said. Justique is scheduled to work this weekend, he said. Debutante candidates include undefeated Grade 2 winner Vegas Magic, along with maiden winners And Tell Me Nolies, Fast And Shiny, and Home Cooking. Familiar Futurity pattern Except for the filly Justique (72 Beyer) and the colt Cave Rock (101), the performances of Del Mar 2-year-old maiden winners this summer have been modest. As in, not fast. Cave Rock is the early favorite for the Grade 1 Futurity on Sept. 11, but look who showed up on the tab this week. Only nine days after his odds-on runner-up debut, $3.55 million colt Hejazi worked five furlongs in company Aug. 29. It is the same race/work pattern trainer Bob Baffert employed in 2014 with a debut juvenile who lost as the favorite, worked nine days later, worked again, then won the Futurity while improving his Beyer some 26 points. Not to compare Hejazi (64 Beyer) to American Pharoah, just pointing out race/workout similarity. Becca Taylor recovering Conspicuous by her absence from the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap on Aug. 28 at Del Mar was Becca Taylor, the 9-for-10 California-bred who won graded sprint stakes in spring and summer at Santa Anita and Los Alamitos. “She had a little setback,” trainer Steve Miyadi said. “Not running against those two probably was a good idea.” Edgeway and Slammed finished one-two in the Rancho Bernardo, while Becca Taylor’s work pattern has been interrupted. She remains stabled with Miyadi, plans to be determined. Lieutenant Dan is back The top sprinter trained by Miyadi finally returns Sunday at Del Mar in the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs on turf. Lieutenant Dan, who won the Green Flash last year, has not started since finishing second in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Miyadi and owner-breeder Nick Alexander planned an Aug. 5 comeback for Lieutenant Dan, but an unspecified shipping mishap postponed his return. Miyadi said Lieutenant Dan, the 125-pound highweight for the Green Flash, will be ridden by Juan Hernandez. His main rival may be Dubai Key, winner of the Aug. 5 allowance. American Theorem BC threat Overshadowed by Laurel River’s victory in the Grade 2, seven-furlong Pat O’Brien last week at Del Mar was the effort by runner-up American Theorem. Winner of back-to-back graded stakes, American Theorem fired another triple-digit Beyer despite losing ground and covering 29 feet more than the winner. The effort cements American Theorem as the most consistent stakes sprinter in California. Laurel River is likely to stretch out in the Grade 1 Awesome Again on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita, while American Theorem trains into the BC Sprint on Nov. 5 at Keeneland. Wouldn’t sell him short. The BC Sprint is a race American Theorem could win. Options for Laurel River Now that 108-Beyer Pat O’Brien winner Laurel River has emerged as a legitimate Breeders’ Cup candidate, the question is what race should he run in. The BC Dirt Mile has been discussed, but for the sake of argument, say Laurel River stretches out successfully in the Awesome Again, a Win and You’re In for the BC Classic. Now which BC race – Dirt Mile or Classic? For what it’s worth, O’Brien winners are 1 for 18 in Breeders’ Cup races this century; 2014 winner Goldencents won the BC Dirt Mile. BC Classic Future Wager bettors holding an “all-others” play at 23-1 would love to see Laurel River in the Classic. Lady Scarlet possible surprise Remember when 3-year-old fillies in New York first ran in the Grade 2 Prioress, and then ran in the Grade 1 Test? The sprint stakes flipped order in 2014, and nowadays the Test is run before the Prioress. On Friday at Saratoga, Test runner-up Hot Peppers is a contender in the Prioress, but she drew post 2, inside a host of other speed. The race could unfold for a filly who can rally. Lady Scarlet did exactly that two starts back winning a Grade 3 at Pimlico, and perhaps her turf debacle last out will cloud her form. Odds always dictate wagering strategy, of course, but Lady Scarlet at 5-1 or higher would be appealing. Thoughts on Spa juvenile races Saratoga selections, part two: Wonder Wheel enters the Grade 1 Spinaway on Sunday with similarities to 2016 dead-heat winner Pretty City Dancer. Both won the Debutante at Churchill Downs their previous start two months earlier, and both were trained by Mark Casse. In the Grade 1 Hopeful on Monday, Sanford Stakes winner Mo Strike looks formidable. But the debut romp by Blazing Sevens was validated when runner-up Bourbon Bash returned to crush maidens by eight and improve his Beyer 19 points. If Blazing Sevens improves likewise, he can upset Mo Strike. Last-out maiden winners have won 12 of the last 20 Hopefuls. <p><strong><a href=" https://shop.drf.com/delmar?utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=textlink&utm_campaign=delmar22" target="_blank">:: Visit the Del Mar Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies and more.</a></strong></p> Upset potential in Susan’s Girl A pair of seven-furlong restricted stakes for 2-year-olds on Saturday at Gulfstream Park include the race-10 Affirmed, in which Awesome Strong will be tough following a facile stakes win last month. The filly division is the race-8 Susan’s Girl, in which favorites Lynx and Time Passage each enter off a decisive victory. But a second-start maiden has longshot appeal. Guardian Angel raced evenly and finished fourth at 5 1/2 furlongs in her debut. She ran like a filly that will improve with experience and longer distance. She gets both Saturday. Guardian Angel, a maiden versus winners, is live at a tempting 10-1. Lost Ark might be real deal Lost Ark’s 7 1/2-length margin Aug. 27 in the Sapling Stakes for 2-year-olds at Monmouth was the biggest margin since the Sapling distance changed from six furlongs to one mile in 2014. It was an impressive 82-Beyer win by Lost Ark, a Violence colt whose siblings include Grade 1 winners Nest and Idol. Fitting description of Lost Ark by Daily Racing Form reporter Marcus Hersh: “Lost Ark’s front legs fly all over the place, but he has the long, rumbling stride of a true route horse.” The significance of Monmouth juvenile stakes is short of those at Del Mar and Saratoga, but Lost Ark could put the Sapling back on the map. Stay tuned. Words of wisdom Recent quotes worth repurposing include this simple, pure statement from trainer Steve Asmussen to NYRA publicity after Jackie’s Warrior was upset in the Forego: “He’ll be sharp for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. That will be his next and last race.” Another quote was actually a shrewd tweet from @DerbyWill regarding the Travers fourth- and eighth-place finishers: “If subsequent efforts are what helps people define Rich Strike’s Derby win as a fluke, then by definition Early Voting’s Preakness win must be considered a far greater fluke, correct?”