Del Mar’s major races are beginning to take shape, with the Pacific Classic, a highly anticipated Grade 1 event, entering its final week of preparation. Trainer Aggie Ordonez is encouraged by Om N Joy’s condition, while several other leading contenders remain undecided ahead of the draw.
Pacific Classic 2026
The $1 million Pacific Classic will be run over 1ÂĽ miles at Del Mar on August 22, with 18 horses nominated ahead of the final field being determined. The post-position draw is scheduled for around noon, while Om N Joy is due to complete a final morning workout before connections make their final preparations.
Om N Joy earned her place in the conversation with a Grade 2 victory in the Santa Margarita at Santa Anita in May before producing a strong second in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar on August 1. The upcoming assignment will mark her first start against male opposition.
The filly has reportedly returned to training in good order following a short break after the Clement L. Hirsch. Her camp will be looking for another smooth piece of work before heading into one of the biggest races of the Del Mar summer.
Knightsbridge is expected to reach Del Mar after completing a five-furlong workout at Saratoga in 1:00.60. The 2025 Kentucky Derby-winning rider Junior Alvarado has been named for the mount.
The horse’s arrival adds another significant contender to a race that is beginning to attract a deep group of established performers.
Trainer John Sadler also had two nominees on the work tab Saturday. Full Serrano covered six furlongs in 1:11.00, while The Goat completed five furlongs in 1:00.00.
Full Serrano, winner of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, is expected to take his place in the Classic. The Goat remains under consideration after finishing fourth in the Grade 2 San Diego at Del Mar last month.
Michael McCarthy is also weighing the options for Malarchuk and Bullard. Malarchuk, runner-up in the Grade 2 Gold Cup at Santa Anita in May, worked five furlongs in 1:00.00 and remains under consideration for the Del Mar feature.
Stronghold also remains among the nominees, although trainer Phil D’Amato appears inclined to point the Santa Anita Derby winner toward the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien later this month.
Stronghold worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 at Del Mar on Saturday, leaving his connections with another decision to make before the field is finalised.
Nevada Beach is another uncertain runner. The horse worked four furlongs in 47.40 seconds and has been building toward a return after last racing in the Saudi Cup in February.
The 1ÂĽ-mile distance could prove decisive in that decision. Nevada Beach has been working regularly since June, but the long layoff adds another consideration for his connections.
With several nominees still weighing alternative engagements, the final field will become much clearer when the draw is conducted.
Attention at Del Mar will also turn to the highly anticipated debut of Inshallah, a juvenile from the first crop of the unbeaten champion Flightline.
Inshallah was purchased as a two-year-old for $2.1 million and is trained by Sadler, who also handled Flightline during his racing career. The colt is out of Bar Of Gold, a winner at the highest level whose own career included a major Breeders’ Cup success.
Flightline remains one of the most dominant horses to have raced at Del Mar in recent years. His six-race career was unbeaten and included a record-setting 19ÂĽ-length Pacific Classic victory in 2022 before further success at the highest level later that year.
That history inevitably places attention on his first crop, although Inshallah will have to establish his own credentials on the track.
The youngster has completed nine official workouts ahead of Saturday’s debut. His latest came on August 9, when he covered four furlongs in 47 seconds, ranking third among 89 workers at the distance that morning.
Inshallah has drawn post five in an eight-horse maiden special weight over 5½ furlongs. Every runner in the field will be making a first career start, with the contest scheduled as Race 7 and a probable post time of 5 p.m.
More than a dozen members of Flightline’s first crop have now reached the races, with two already having visited the winner’s circle.
While the Pacific Classic looks ahead to next Saturday, Sweet Azteca will be seeking another piece of Del Mar history in the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Stakes.
The six-and-a-half-furlong sprint has been won by Sweet Azteca in each of the past two years, and another victory would give the mare a third consecutive triumph in the race.
Sweet Azteca has won eight of 10 career starts and arrives on a three-race winning streak. Her latest success came in the Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos last month, following another victory in that race the previous year.
Her record at Del Mar is particularly notable. She captured last year’s Rancho Bernardo by 3½ lengths after taking control from the outset and now returns considerably fresher than she was during the corresponding period last season.
Five rivals are scheduled to oppose her, including stablemate Sweet Gal of Mine.
Sadler will also send out Catalina Cocktail and Thermal. Catalina Cocktail was withdrawn from Saturday’s CTT and TOC Stakes in favour of the Rancho Bernardo, while Thermal arrives after an eight-and-a-quarter-length victory in the Memorial Day Sprint at Lone Star Park.
Antifona, a French-bred runner who finished third in the Grade 3 Wilshire at Santa Anita in March, and Fire Ban, a recent maiden winner at Del Mar, complete the field.
The 55th running of the Rancho Bernardo is Race 5 on Sunday’s 10-race programme, with a probable post time of 4 p.m.
Jockey Umberto Rispoli has also been a notable figure around Del Mar this summer after making his return from a serious injury suffered nearly eight months ago.
Rispoli endured fractures to his left ankle and lower leg in a fall at Gulfstream Park and underwent several procedures before spending months in rehabilitation in Spain and France.
By June, he was back riding horses in the mornings. His return to competitive action gathered momentum at Los Alamitos before he arrived at Del Mar, where he quickly returned to the winner’s circle.
One of his most significant rides came aboard Journalism in the Grade 2 San Diego on July 25. The victory proved to be the horse’s final race, however, after an injury led to retirement.
Rispoli has continued to speak highly of the horse and regards Journalism as one of the finest runners he has ridden during his career.
His comeback has also coincided with a stronger jockey colony at Del Mar, with established riders such as Joel Rosario, Julien Leparoux and Emisael Jaramillo joining the summer meeting.
Rispoli has responded to the competition in familiar fashion, producing a steady string of rides while continuing his recovery.
Away from the track, he recently teamed up with his wife, Kimberly, at a charity karaoke event supporting permanently disabled jockeys. The pair won the competition for the third consecutive year.
Rispoli may be considering stepping aside from the karaoke contest to give others a chance, but there is little indication that he plans to do the same with racing.
The coming days will provide the answers to several outstanding questions. Om N Joy must complete her final preparation, while trainers of Knightsbridge, The Goat, Malarchuk, Bullard, Stronghold and Nevada Beach must settle on their plans.
The draw will then determine the final starting positions and bring the picture into sharper focus for the August 22 feature.
No finish order is available yet because the Pacific Classic is still an upcoming race.
The Rancho Bernardo, meanwhile, offers an immediate test of Sweet Azteca’s standing when she attempts to extend her remarkable sequence on Sunday.
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