Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Arrogate’s shocking loss enlarges field for Pacific Classic
DEL MAR, Calif. – The morning after Arrogate’s stunning loss in the San Diego Handicap, the worst performance of the brilliant colt’s career, trainer Bob Baffert said the horse had come out of the race well and that he expected Arrogate to rebound in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 19, for which the San Diego is a prep.
“He looks good today. That’s the most important thing,” Baffert said Sunday morning. “He was flat. He didn’t run his race. We’ll reload.
“He’ll be fine. He’ll be ready for the Pacific Classic.”
Baffert put the blame on himself for Arrogate’s performance, saying he hadn’t trained Arrogate aggressively enough. He also questioned his decision to not work Arrogate earlier in the week over Del Mar’s surface.
“I thought I had done enough to get him through,” Baffert said. “I’m disappointed he didn’t run well.”
Arrogate had been sympathetically weighted in the race at 126 pounds. Baffert stopped by the racing office Sunday morning and joked with Tom Robbins, the track’s executive vice president for racing, and David Jerkens, the racing secretary, that he “wish they’d given him 135 so I’d have that as an excuse.”
The complexion of the 1 1/4mile Pacific Classic likely will change as a result of the San Diego, which Accelerate won by 8 1/2 lengths while earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 109. Far more horses are now likely to run in the Pacific Classic now that Arrogate’s aura of invincibility – deservedly earned after fast, dynamic victories in the Travers, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup, and Dubai World Cup – has been shattered.
The Pacific Classic is a dress rehearsal for the Breeders’ Cup Classic since this year’s Breeders’ Cup will be run at Del Mar on Nov. 3-4. The Pacific Classic also is a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, offering a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup’s richest race.
John Sadler, who trains Accelerate, said he would consider the Pacific Classic but wasn’t committed on Sunday morning. Sadler always has thought of Accelerate as a middle-distance horse, and his goal all year has been the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, in which Accelerate was third last year. But if Accelerate is ever going to handle 1 1/4 miles, Del Mar is probably the track that gives him his best chance since he is 3 for 3 here.
“I guess I should say yes,” Sadler replied when asked if he’d run in the Pacific Classic. “You never know. We’ll keep our options open.”
Accelerate won a maiden race and the Shared Belief Stakes at this track last summer, then won the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby before finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He entered the San Diego winless in four starts this year but had finished in the money each time. He wore blinkers for the first time in the San Diego and was ridden for the first time by Victor Espinoza.
Accelerate had a three-month break earlier this year owing to running a temperature before an intended start at Oaklawn Park.
“He shipped there and got a 102-degree temperature,” Sadler said.
Accelerate was the second choice in the field of five at 7-1. Arrogate was the 1-20 favorite.
Of the $1,402,055 bet to show on the race, some $1,320,483 was wagered on Arrogate. With Arrogate finishing fourth, there were outsized show payoffs of $22 on Accelerate, $67.40 on Donworth, and $38.20 on Cat Burglar. The show price on Donworth was a Del Mar record for that pool, as was the $119.80 place payoff on Donworth.
There was $2,671,939 bet to win, place, and show on the race. Of that, $2,457,472 was bet on Arrogate.
Mike Smith, who rode Arrogate, said the horse was “really, really flat.”
“He gallops and works faster than that,” Smith said. “I’m dumbfounded.”
Smith said the situation with Arrogate reminded him of when Holy Bull, the favorite in the 1994 Kentucky Derby, never fired. Holy Bull rebounded in his next start to win the Met Mile, and Smith said he believed Arrogate could rebound from this setback, too.
“I know what he’s capable of,” Smith said.