Arrogate will rebound in Pacific Classic, Baffert says
By Jay Privman
Arrogate will 'be ready for the Pacific Classic,' trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday.
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 re-load.
“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 1/4-mile 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 this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, as 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 to the Breeders’ Cup’s richest race.
__________________
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad
A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine
Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans
|