Om N Joy could challenge boys in Pacific Classic
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Om N Joy, a five-time stakes winner, may start against males in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 22 after she finished a fast-closing second in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares last Saturday.
“I think she will love a mile and a quarter,” trainer Aggie Ordonez said on Wednesday. “She’s on top of the world right now.”
In the $402,000 Clement Hirsch Stakes at 1 1/16 miles, Om N Joy closed from sixth in a field of nine under jockey Kent Desormeaux to finish a half-length behind Eunomia. Om N Joy was third, five lengths behind, with a furlong remaining.
“She might have looked better the day after than the day before,” Ordonez said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s perfect. I was thrilled with her race. She represented very well. I liked the ride a lot.
“Everyone noticed that she surged late, the last 20 yards. Where was that a sixteenth of a mile ago? The truth is I’m not worried about it.”
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A 4-year-old filly, Om N Joy has never raced against males, as she would in the $1 million Pacific Classic, the richest annual race held in California. She has not raced at the Pacific Classic distance of 1 1/4 miles.
On May 30 at Santa Anita, Om N Joy beat three rivals in the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, the longest race of her career, pulling clear by 3 3/4 lengths in the final furlong. Ordonez said the timing of the Pacific Classic “is a little tight” following the Hirsch but is the only viable option before the current Del Mar meeting ends on Sept. 7.
“I’m not going to put her on the grass and I’m not going to sprint her,” Ordonez said.
The three-week gap between the Hirsch and Pacific Classic would not be Om N Joy’s fastest turnaround. She finished last of seven in the Fran’s Valentine Stakes for statebred fillies and mares on turf at Santa Anita on May 23 but was not a factor in the race.
If Om N Joy starts in the Pacific Classic, she will be the first filly or mare to appear in the race since Beholder finished second behind the famous California Chrome in 2016. Beholder won the 2015 Pacific Classic and is the only filly or mare to win or place in the race. There have been five fillies and mares start in the Pacific Classic since the race was launched in 1991.
Ordonez has the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Oct. 31 as an autumn goal for Om N Joy, who is likely to run in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Sept. 27. The winner of the $200,000 Zenyatta receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Distaff. Eunomia earned an automatic berth to the BC Distaff by winning the Clement Hirsch.
“I get five weeks from the Pacific Classic to the Zenyatta, which is perfect,” Ordonez said.
“I think she’ll improve much more. I don’t think we’ve reached the bottom of Om N Joy. I think she proved in the Clement Hirsch that she’s a Breeders’ Cup kind of horse.”
Om N Joy, a California-bred by Om, is co-owned by Jerry and Connie Baker, Michael Golovko, and Terrence Scanlan.
The potential field for the Pacific Classic has changed significantly in recent weeks with the retirement of the Grade 1 stakes winners Journalism and Nysos. The list of candidates is led by Knightsbridge, who was second to Nysos in the Grade 1 Met Mile at Saratoga on June 6 and won the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup at 1 1/8 miles by 10 1/4 lengths on July 18.
Other candidates are Finger, Full Serrano, Malarchuk, Shea Brennan, Subsanador, and The Goat. Ordonez cautioned that she would assess the field before making a final decision. Entries for the Pacific Classic will be taken on Aug. 16.
“I’m not sure who is coming and that will mean everything in the world,” she said.
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