DEL MAR, Calif. - Nearly two years ago, Senor Buscador was taking up space in trainer Todd Fincher’s stable. At the time, the 3-year-old was nearing a comeback from ankle and suspensory injuries when another injury flared. “I was close to running him and something happened in his stall and he messed up his hock,” Fincher recalled on Sunday. “His hock looked like a basketball. He could barely walk for a couple of months.” Senor Buscador needed additional months to recover through late 2021 and early 2022. When he returned to racing last summer, Senor Buscador began a series of races that are the best of his career. Last fall, Senor Buscador won the Grade 3 Ack Ack Stakes at a mile at Churchill Downs. On Saturday at Del Mar, Senor Buscador won the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap, the most prestigious of the four stakes wins in his 12-race career. :: Visit the Del Mar Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies, and more. Owned by Joe Peacock of San Antonio, Senor Buscador closed from last of nine to win the $302,000 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles by 1 1/4 lengths over Slow Down Andy. Senor Buscador has his peculiarities, often dropping well off the pace and closing through the stretch. A slow pace often means defeat. Senor Buscador chased a solid pace in the San Diego. “His talent level is as good as a lot of horses,” Fincher said. “He’s not a versatile horse. He breaks and he gets seven or eight lengths behind. He has to have a set-up.” The win on Saturday led to weekend conversations about potential late summer targets. The Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs on Aug. 26, or the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles on Sept. 2 are options, Fincher said. Senor Buscador was third in the 2022 Pat O’Brien at a time when the colt was recovering from an early summer stay at Lone Star Park in Texas when temperatures were often above 100 degrees. “That took a lot out of him,” Fincher said. “He wasn’t 100 percent.” A start in the Pacific Classic would be Senor Buscador’s second race at 1 1/4 miles. He was fifth of six in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita on May 29 while chasing a moderate pace. “He can go a mile and a quarter,” Fincher insisted on Sunday. The Pacific Classic is likely to include Defunded, who won the Gold Cup, but finished a quiet fourth in the San Diego Handicap under jockey Juan Hernandez. “He ran flat,” trainer Bob Baffert said on Sunday. “Juan said he was never in the race. “I could tell by the way he broke he wasn’t on the bridle. He ran fourth on class.” Slow Down Andy and Katonah, the winner of the Pleasanton Mile at the Alameda County Fair on July 9, are Pacific Classic candidates for trainer Doug O’Neill. Baffert plans to run the 3-year-old Arabian Knight, who was third in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 22, behind Geaux Rocket Ride, a Pacific Classic possible for trainer Richard Mandella. Mandella has mentioned the $125,000 Shared Belief Stakes at a mile for 3-year-olds on Sept. 3 as another option for Geaux Rocket Ride. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.