On surface, Collected a big threat in Pacific Classic

DEL MAR, Calif. – Since returning to action this spring, Collected has won all three of his starts by runaway margins, and his works leading up to the Pacific Classic on Saturday have been terrific. He has looked like a horse who has thrived over a Del Mar surface that has been troublesome for others.

All that makes him a very dangerous horse in the Pacific Classic. He and Accelerate, who is 3 for 3 at Del Mar and won the San Diego last month, have shown a fondness for this surface. But the question for both of those runners is whether they can handle 1 1/4 miles.

:: Just reduced! Save on Clocker Reports for Del Mar and Saratoga

That’s a distance over which Arrogate is well proven, but Arrogate’s belly flop in last month’s San Diego raises questions as to whether he likes this surface as much as his rivals.

So what’s more important in this race – liking the surface, or handling the distance?

On form, Collected – who, like Arrogate, is trained by Bob Baffert – may be the biggest threat to topple his heralded stablemate. In his last start, the Precisionist at Santa Anita, Collected won by 14 lengths and left Accelerate nearly 16 lengths behind.

But Collected has never won beyond 1 1/8 miles, a distance at which he has won twice. His only try beyond that came in last year’s Preakness over a sloppy surface he detested, and after that race he was off for more than 10 months.

Baffert said the Pacific Classic will help determine what Breeders’ Cup race he points Collected toward this fall here at Del Mar – either the Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 or the Classic on Nov. 4.

“I want to see where he fits, a mile or a mile and a quarter,” Baffert said Monday morning. “He likes this track.”

Another reason Collected has done well here is that, unlike at Santa Anita, trainers can erect outdoor pens, and Collected is in one outside Baffert’s barn.

“He really relaxes,” Baffert said.