Dr Post, a 4-year-old son of Quality Road trained by Todd Pletcher is a strong candidate to ship in from the East Coast to run in the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar a week from Saturday. The Pacific Classic is a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Classic in November.
Owned by the St. Elias Stable of Vincent Viola, whose sports-related endeavors include ownership of the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers, Dr Post has four wins in nine career starts and earnings of $700,635.
A $400,000 purchase at the Keeneland September sale in 2018, Dr Post ran once as a 2-year-old before going through a five-race campaign in 2020 that featured a victory in the $75,000 Unbridled Stakes at Gulfstream Park, runner-up to Tiz the Law in the Belmont Stakes – run as the first leg of the Triple Crown series – third to Authentic in the Haskell and fourth in the Jim Dandy.
His 2021 campaign has been comprised of wins in two Grade 3 events – the Westchester Stakes at Belmont Park in May and Monmouth Cup in July – around a fifth in the Metropolitan Mile Handicap in June at Belmont Park. The TVG Pacific Classic will be the first race west of New Jersey for Dr Post, who has been training at Saratoga, and also his first at the 1 ¼-mile distance.
Del Mar vice president, racing and racing secretary David Jerkens said that the first likely confirmation of an out-of-state shipper for the signature event of the summer meeting – trainer Dallas Stewart has shown interest in sending 5-year-old Chess Chief in from Saratoga – was good, but not surprising, news.
“He's been under consideration all along,” Jerkens said.
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