Stilleto Boy primed for improved effort in this year's Pacific Classic
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Most people had turned their attention away from the finish line when Stilleto Boy crossed the wire in last place in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar last September.
It was easy to overlook Stilleto Boy. Flightline, later named 2022 Horse of the Year, won the $1 million race by a record-breaking 19 1/4 lengths, his fifth win of an unbeaten six-race career that ended with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland last November.
Stilleto Boy reached the wire about the same time Flightline was galloping out to an enthusiastic reception.
Stilleto Boy went on vacation after the 2022 Pacific Classic. He has performed well enough this year to start in the same race on Sept. 2.
This time, trainer Ed Moger Jr. is far more optimistic regarding Stilleto Boy’s chances.
“He’s on top of his game right now,” Moger said.
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Stilleto Boy, a 5-year-old gelding owned by Moger’s brother Steve, was not in the same condition in 2022.
“He was tired last year,” Ed Moger said. “We almost didn’t run him.”
Stilleto Boy trailed Flightline by 11 lengths on the turn of the 2022 Pacific Classic before fading through the stretch. He was beaten 36 1/2 lengths.
This year, Stilleto Boy had has four starts, with one win – the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles on March 4. The Pacific Classic is run at the same distance.
Since the Big Cap, Stilleto Boy has started twice in graded stakes at 1 1/8 miles, finishing a game third by a head in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in Arkansas in April, and sixth of eight, beaten 4 3/4 lengths, in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes at Ellis Park on July 1.
Stilleto Boy was third in the stretch of the Foster before fading through the final sixteenth. The loss does not overly concern Ed Moger.
“It was really hot that day,” Moger said. “I’m hoping he didn’t run his best race that day.”
Stilleto Boy has had five workouts since the Foster and is booked to work five furlongs at Del Mar on Saturday in his final major tune-up for the Pacific Classic.
Of the 11 candidates for the Pacific Classic, the only other runner with experience in the race is Tripoli, who won the 2021 running. Tripoli will be an outsider this year. He was fifth of nine in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on July 29 in his final prep race.
The Pacific Classic field is led by Geaux Rocket Ride and Arabian Knight, who were first and third in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles at Monmouth Park on July 22. The Pacific Classic will be their first starts against older horses and first starts at 1 1/4 miles.
Other candidates include Senor Buscador, Slow Down Andy, and Defunded, who were first, second, and fourth in the San Diego; the 3-year-old Skinner, who was second in the Los Alamitos Derby on July 8; and Order and Law, the upset winner of the Grade 3 Cougar II Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on July 23.
Piroli, second to Defunded in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on May 29, and Katonah, the winner of the $150,000 Pleasanton Mile at the Alameda County Fair in Northern California, are other probable runners.
The Sept. 2 program is the richest day of the Del Mar summer meeting, with five graded stakes worth a combined $1.9 million.
Three of the stakes are on turf, including two Grade 2 races worth $300,000 – the Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles and the Del Mar Mile. The Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap is run at five furlongs on turf with a purse of $150,000.
The program includes the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes, a $150,000 race for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on dirt.
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