Balanced fields stir intrigue at Travers, Pacific Classic
Outside of the Breeders’ Cup, it’s rare when we can enjoy two $1 million horse races on the same day. The Travers at Saratoga and the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Saturday each will offer a $1 million purse. Both stakes have full fields of equally matched horses, so the intrigue will run deep.
Jim Dandy winner A Little Warm is a tepid 7-2 favorite in the Travers. Haskell runner-up Trappe Shot is next at 4-1, and, I promise you, there is not a horse you can toss out with 100 percent certainty.
In handicapping the Travers, it’s clear there are multiple speed horses, including Miner’s Reserve, First Dude, A Little Warm, Afleet Express and Friend Or Foe. A fast early pace is likely.
I’m going to pick Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver to return to form and for Calvin Borel to carve out a ground-saving trip. They leave from post 11, but expect Borel to take his time and find the rail before the first turn. If he’s sitting fourth or fifth on the rail behind dueling leaders, he’ll be in a great spot to upset.
My choices for the Travers are Super Saver, Ice Box and Trappe Shot.
To show how puzzling the Pacific Classic field is, the morning-line favorite at 3-1 is The Usual Q.T., a stone-cold grass horse. I’m not sure if I want to take a short price on a mature animal that has no wins in five races on synthetic surfaces.
In contrast, Hold Me Back at 8-1 odds catches my eye for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. This New York invader loves synthetic surfaces enough to convince jockey Garrett Gomez to ride. Mott is conservative by nature, and you can count his ships to Del Mar on one hand.
Expect a cat-and-mouse duel early between Isle of Giants and Temple City. Both are need-the-lead types, and the fractions they set will go a long way to determining the outcome.
My picks for the Pacific Classic are Hold Me Back, Richard’s Kid and Awesome Gem.
■ COLLMUS’ CALL — Monmouth Park track announcer Larry Collmus has become a YouTube sensation after his hilarious call Sunday of a 1-2 finish between Mywifenosevrything and Thewifedoesntknow. Collmus appeared live on CBS’ “The Early Show,” and scores of replays have aired, including on ESPN, ABC, Fox, NBC and CNN.
■ TWIN QUINELLA — Station Casinos is offering a special $10,000 twin quinella bet using two enigmatic races, the Travers and the Pacific Classic, on Saturday.
Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.