Streaking Navajo Warrior puts Joseph in position for Del Mar double

DEL MAR, Calif. - Navajo Warrior will bring a three-race winning streak to the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 22, and a chance for his trainer to sweep the track’s two summertime Grade 1 races for two-turn runners.

On Saturday, Eunomia closed from third of nine to win the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Joseph trains Navajo Warrior, who won the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows at 1 1/8 miles on July 11.

The $1 million Pacific Classic, the track’s richest annual race, is run at 1 1/4 miles, which will be a new distance for Navajo Warrior.

“I think he’ll love it,” said Mark Cornett, who manages Navajo Warrior for a partnership that includes BAG Racing Stable, Miller Racing and Derek Paul.

The group has owned Navajo Warrior since last summer when he was acquired from Timothy Dore and Denice Moewes and trainer Tim Yakteen. Navajo Warrior was based in California at the time, and had won three consecutive starts in starter allowance races at Santa Anita from early March to late May.

Since joining Joseph’s stable, Navajo Warrior has won six of eight starts. The current winning streak includes an allowance race at 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream Park in March and the Grade 3 Pimlico Special at 1 3/16 miles in Maryland in May.

The list of probable starters for the Pacific Classic includes Nysos and Knightsbridge, the first two finishers of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile Handicap at Saratoga on June 6.

Nysos, who is trained by Bob Baffert, worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds at Del Mar on July 25, but did not have a workout on Saturday or Sunday.

Knightsbridge, trained by Bill Mott, won the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup at 1 1/8 miles by 10 1/4 lengths on July 18. Knightsbridge breezed a half-mile in 49.80 seconds on the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga on Saturday.

Other candidates are Finger, Full Serrano, Malarchuk, Shea Brennan, Subsanador, and The Goat.

Full Serrano, a troubled fourth in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile in his last start on March 28, worked five furlongs in 59.40 at Del Mar on Sunday, a week after working a half-mile in 47.80 seconds.

“He’s moving toward the Pacific Classic,” Sadler said. “We want to run him if we can. He needed a longer work than last week.

“We know he likes the track and he runs well fresh.”

Full Serrano won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar in 2024, the year he was second by a half-length to the longshot Mixto in the Pacific Classic.

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