Workouts will determine where Fierceness, Journalism start next
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On opposite sides of the nation, two workouts scheduled for Saturday will help determine the depth of the field in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 30.
At Saratoga, Fierceness, winner of the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga in August 2024, and second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar last November, will have a workout in preparation for the $1 million Pacific Classic or the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga on Aug. 31.
“We are strongly considering the Pacific Classic if all goes well,” trainer Todd Pletcher said on Friday morning.
Fierceness will be ridden by John Velazquez in the Pacific Classic, if that race is chosen, Pletcher said.
Both the Pacific Classic and Jockey Club Gold Cup are worth $1 million, run at 1 1/4!miles on dirt, and offer fees-paid berths to the winners for the BC Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
The Pacific Classic field may include Journalism, who, since May has won the Preakness Stakes and Haskell Stakes, and finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
Aron Wellman, managing partner of the Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners which co-owns Journalism, said in a text message on Thursday that a decision on Journalism’s next start will be made after a workout at Del Mar on Saturday.
The Pacific Classic is not expected to have a large field. Aside from Fierceness and Journalism, the race is led by Nysos, the convincing winner of the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on July 26 in his last start.
The Pacific Classic will be the first start at 1 1/4 miles for Nysos. Other candidates include Indispensable, Mirahmadi, Midnight Mammoth, and Tarantino.
The Pacific Classic is the only seven-figure race of the Del Mar summer meeting, and is part of a blockbuster Aug. 30 program that includes four other graded stakes, including two turf races with berths for the winners to Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 1.
The winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap, a $300,000 race at 1 3/8 miles, earns a spot in the BC Turf at 1 1/2 miles. The winner of the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap, a $150,000 race at five furlongs earns a berth in the BC Turf Sprint at the same distance.
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