Journalism overcomes horrendous start to win San Diego
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DEL MAR, Calif. – Despite a disastrous start that cost Journalism at least four lengths, the odds-on favorite delivered on Saturday at Del Mar.
Journalism overcame the bad takeoff to win the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap and score his first victory in a year.
It did not look good at the break. Journalism ($2.40) lunged when the gates opened, he may have hit the gate, and spotted his rivals several lengths under jockey Umberto Rispoli.
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“In the morning, he can stay for 20 minutes in the gate. But in the afternoon he can be a little bit anxious in there,” Rispoli said.
The anxiety would have prevented a lesser horse from victory. Journalism, however, outclassed his four rivals and won the 1 1/16-mile San Diego by three-quarters of a length 1:42.65. Shea Brennan finished second, followed across the wire by Iron Man Cal, The Goat, and pacesetter Mirahmadi. Full Serrano and Mc Vay scratched.
Rispoli said he was not concerned when Journalism broke last. “It was a bad start, obviously, but it wasn’t the first time I was in that situation. I know what I have underneath myself, I know what he is capable of.”
Time and again, Journalism has overcome trouble. He did it winning the Santa Anita Derby and Preakness last year. But the San Diego, despite carrying 125 pounds and spotting his rivals five pounds, was a race that Journalism was expected to win convincingly.
“You have to respect everybody in the field. Anything can happen in horse racing,” Rispoli said. “But he has the class. That’s what makes the difference between him and [other horses].”
After the slow start, Journalism was positioned last. Co-owner Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbreds acknowledged afterward that the slow start detracted from the celebration. Perhaps it more a sense of relief that Journalism won.
“It just kind of took the starch out of everything,” Wellman said. “When he banged his head against the gate and got left the way he did, we just wanted him to take care of business from there. Rispoli did a great job being poised, and the horse took care of the rest.”
Journalism was last of five into the first turn while Mirahmadi set seemingly comfortable fractions of 47.47 seconds for the first half and 1:11.58 for six furlongs. But Mirahmadi, the second betting choice, was under pressure from the outside while making his first start since the 2025 San Diego.
“It’s been a year,” Mirahmadi’s jockey Juan Hernandez said. “I think he just got tired a little bit. Next time he should improve.”
Iron Man Call pressed the pace two wide, The Goat pressed three wide. By the time Mirahmadi called it quits into the lane, Journalism was circling wide on the outside. He rallied to the lead in midstretch and won more impressively than the three-quarter-length margin.
“Once he passes the last horse, he thinks his job is done,” Rispoli said.
Michael McCarthy trains Journalism, who was winning for the first time since the Grade 1 Haskell last July 19. Rispoli was his regular rider last year, but after Journalism finished second in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic, he was replaced by Jose Ortiz in three subsequent starts.
McCarthy described what he saw in the San Diego. “It didn’t look like he was totally set behind. Looked like he kicked the doors a time or two. Looked like he had one foot in front of the other. When the doors opened, he went to reset and it caused him to drop down. But Umberto did a good job of getting him to recover and his class won out.”
Even Rispoli was not certain Journalism actually hit the gate before the start. Rispoli said, “He hit the gate.” In the next sentence, Rispoli said, “I’m not sure actually.”
The one thing everyone agreed on is that Journalism did get left, and the best horse won the San Diego. On Saturday at Del Mar, that was Journalism.
Journalism was the sixth odds-on favorite to win the San Diego in the 12 years since Del Mar reinstalled a dirt surface. The last horse to win the San Diego and Pacific Classic was Maximum Security in 2020. California Chrome swept both races in 2016.
The next start for Journalism will be tougher, of course. The early favorite for the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 22 is Nysos. Daily Racing Form reporter David Grening reported that the Bob Baffert-trained Nysos will skip the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga and make his next start in the Pacific Classic. Nysos won the Grade 1 Met Mile last out, defeating third-place Journalism by nearly five lengths.
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