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All-Graded Stakes Cross Country Pick 5 Pays $2,116 To Winners

Saturday's all-graded stakes Cross Country Pick 5, featuring three Grade 1s and a pair of Grade 2 contests spread between Saratoga and Del Mar, paid $2,116.75 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The total pool was $230,194.

Saratoga hosted the first two legs of the sequence, starting with Technical Analysis capturing the $200,000 Grade 2 Lake Placid for 3-year-old fillies in Race 9. The even-money favorite, trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Jose Ortiz, bested Runaway Rumour by 3 1/2 lengths in the 1 1/16-mile Mellon turf course, completing the course in 1:46.49. Technical Analysis paid $4.20 on a $2 win wager.

In the next race, Malathaat won as the odds-on favorite, winning for the sixth time in seven career starts by posting a 1 1/2-length score in the $600,000 Grade 1 Alabama for sophomore fillies contesting 1 1/4 miles on the main track. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Malathaat ran second in her previous race, finishing a head back to Maracuja in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks in July at the Spa. Teamed again with Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Malathaat [$3.10] turned the tables on her rival, posting a final time of 2:02.59 in outkicking Clairiere. Maracuja finished last of seven.

Evening racing at California's Del Mar concluded the Cross Country Pick 5, starting with Going Global's one-length win in the $300,000 Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks for sophomore fillies competing at 1 1/18 miles on the turf in Race 9. The Philip D'Amato trainee gave the sequence its third consecutive favorite to earn a winner's circle trip, as Going Global, under jockey Flavien Prat, topped Closing Remarks, hitting the wire in 1:48.91. Going Global paid $4.80.

Tripoli was the first non-favorite to get the job done, winning the $1 million Grade 1 Pacific Classic by 1 1/4 lengths for trainer John Sadler in Race 10. Held at the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, the Pacific Classic saw Tripoli stalk in third position before making a bid from the inside and outkicking Tizamagician. Dr Post, the runner-up in the 2020 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, ran third. Tripoli, ridden by Tiago Pereira, paid $15 for his effort that culminated with a 2:02.37 final time.

Astronaut soared in the finale, winning the $300,000 Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap by a half-length in Race 11. Trained by John Shirreffs, Astronaut won at 24-1 [$50] under a strong ride by Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza, completing the 1 3/8-mile turf course in 2:15.97. Master Piece, off at 22-1, finished second for the high-priced exacta at $458.20 on a $1 bet.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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Del Mar Sets Single-Day Wager Mark

Del Mar set a new single-day wagering mark when $36,005,613 was wagered on the track's GI TVG Pacific Classic day card Saturday. The previous record of $25,870,431 was set on Pacific Classic day in 2018.

Saturday's card at the oceanside oval, which included five graded stakes, also offered a Pick Six Single Ticket Jackpot pool that finally topped out at $10,751,767. The pool consisted of a $1,874,996 carryover and “new” money of $8,876,771. Each winning ticket–and there were 822 of them–paid $10,521.50.

The card had been designated as a “mandatory payout” day, meaning all monies would be paid out to those with the most winners. The track will have another such “mandatory” day on its closing day, Labor Day Monday, Sept. 6.

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Tripoli Upsets Pacific Classic, Earns Return Trip To Del Mar For Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Classic

The owner-trainer team of Hronis Racing and John Sadler picked up their third victory in the last four runnings of the Grade 1, $1 million TVG Pacific Classic at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., on Saturday when Tripoli scored by 1 1/4 lengths from just off the pace under jockey Tiago Pereira.

Pacesetter Tizamagician – one of two runners for trainer Richard Mandella – finished second under leading rider Flavien Prat, 1 1/4 lengths behind the winner, with Todd Pletcher-trained East Coast invader Dr Post rallying to be third under Joel Rosario in the field of nine older runners. Sheriff Brown was fourth, followed by Independence Hall, 2-1 favorite Express Train, 5-2 second choice Royal Ship, Cupid's Claws and Magic on Tap.

Tripoli, a 4-year-old colt by Kitten's Joy out of Love Train, by Tapit, covered 1 1/4 miles on a fast track in 2:02.37. He paid $15 for his fourth win in 14 starts and first added-money victory.

The Pacific Classic is a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series Win and You're In race, giving the winner automatic, fees-paid entry into the Breeders' Cup Classic, to be held at Del Mar on Nov. 6.

Sadler saddled his first Pacific Classic winner, Accelerate, in 2018, and won the 2019 edition with Higher Power. Both were owned by Kosta and Pete Hronis in the name of their Hronis Racing.

“It feels great to win it again, and you've got to give all the credit to the barn,” said Kosta Hronis. “Tiago rode a great race. It's the only race he rode today because he wanted to focus on it. This horse has matured and just keeps coming along and today he proved himself. We didn't know if he could go a mile and a quarter, but today we found out.”

The victory was the first in a North American Grade 1 race for Pereira, a 44-year-old native of Brazil who came to the U.S. in 2014. Winner of more than 2,000 races prior to his arrival in the U.S., his biggest win came in the $10 million Dubai World Cup in 2010 aboard Gloria De Campeao.

“(Trainer) John (Sadler) told me before the race to be careful, because there were a lot of runners who had a similar style of running, Pareira said. “So, I was okay running right behind the leaders. When it was time to run, I had plenty of horse. But once we got in front, he started looking around, waiting on other horses. I looked around and knew we were not going to get caught. This was my only mount today, so I was really focused. I am so happy.”

A $450,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale graduate, Tripoli raced on the turf for his first 11 starts, winning a maiden race at Del Mar last August and adding a Santa Anita allowance victory in May of this year.

Sadler put the colt on dirt for the first time in June at Santa Anita and Tripoli responded with a half-length victory going 1 1/16 miles. He ran a close second to Express Train last out in the G2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar, beaten just a half length.

In the Pacific Classic, Tripoli tracked Tizamagician from the outset, following the Tiznow colt through fractions of :23.52, :46.98 and 1:11.73 for the first six furlongs. Independence Hall applied some pressure to Tizamagician, setting up a perfect trip to the eventual winner. Pereira shifted Tripoli to the outside into the far turn, engaged the front runner at the quarter pole after a mile in 1:36.88, then took command with a furlong to run.

“He looked good all the way,” said Sadler. “He broke on his feet so (jockey Tiago Pereira) was able to tuck him in there and he looked comfortable all the way around. When (Independence Hall) started to slow up we were in a good spot. He had a perfect trip, give the rider a lot of credit. He rode him perfectly.”

Tizamagician was 4 1/2 lengths clear of Dr Post, who came to the Pacific Classic of a come-from-behind victory in the G3 Monmouth Cup at Monmouth Park on July 18 in what some thought was a scouting mission for the Breeders' Cup Classic by Pletcher. The Quality Road colt had just won horse beaten for the opening mile of the Pacific Classic and closed well in the stretch to be third.

“Yeah, he ran a strange race today,” Rosario said of Dr Post. “He kind of lost interest on the backstretch, so I thought I had no horse. But when I wheeled him outside, he gave me a strong finish. I don't know how to explain it.”

Neither of the two favorites, Express Train or Royal Ship, offered a serious challenge.

Buoyed by a Pick 6 mandatory payout that included nearly $1.9 million carried over into a jackpot and drew $8,876,771 in new wagers on Saturday, Del Mar smashed its all-time, non-Breeders' Cup day handle record. A total of $36,005,613 was bet at Del Mar or on the 11-race card via simulcasting, bettering the old mar of $25,870,431 by more than $10 million. Attendance was 12,655.

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Express Train Puts Shirreffs In Pacific Classic Spotlight

John Shirreffs has saddled four starters in the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic, and the closest he has come to a win in the Grade 1 fixture at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., was the third-place finish by Midcourt, off at odds of 7-1 and beaten 5 ¾-lengths by Maximum Security, in last year's 30^th running.

In providing Bob Baffert with a TVG Pacific Classic record-tying sixth victory, Maximum Security went postward as the 2-5 favorite. Of Baffert's six wins in the race, five have come with either the favorite or second betting choice. The outlier: Richard's Kid stunning at odds of 24.40-1 in 2009.

In Saturday's 31^st running of the 1 ¼-mile signature event of the summer meeting, Shirreffs has the 3-1 morning line favorite in San Diego Handicap winner Express Train. Baffert's lone entry is 20-1 Magic On Tap, who was nearly 12-1 in the San Diego, stumbled at the start and finished fifth of eight, beaten 6 ¾-lengths.

If the odds stay that way to post time, Shirreffs will have a Classic favorite for the second time. Bertrando, the 2-1 favorite in 1994 off his victory a year earlier when trained by Bobby Frankel, got caught up in a speed duel for the first three quarters and faded to eighth of nine.

Earlier in the 1994 meeting, Bertrando had provided Shirreffs with the first of what has now become 17 Del Mar stakes victories. A TVG Pacific Classic would be a welcome addition and Shirreffs has reason for optimism about the 4-year-old son of Union Rags, owned by the C R K Stable of Lee and Susan Seareing, who has four victories from 12 career starts and earnings of $659,300.

“I think he's coming into the race really well,” Shirreffs said.

And, as is always the case, Shirreffs, 76, will be focused intently on developments with his horse before, during and after the race.

“Like a lot of Union Rags (progeny) he can get a little hot (nerved up) in the paddock,” Shirreffs said. “He's probably going to get a little hot no matter what.

“But if he can control his nervousness a little bit and maintain his focus, he'll do really well. That's a sign for him. He controlled himself well in the paddock before the San Diego and ran a very good race.”

The TVG Pacific Classic is a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on November 6 at Del Mar.

The TVG Pacific Classic field from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Tripoli (Tiago Pereira, 5-1); Tizamagician (Flavien Prat, 5-1); Dr Post (Joel Rosario, 4-1); Royal Ship (Mike Smith, 7-2); Express Train (Juan Hernandez); Magic On Tap (Abel Cedillo); Independence Hall (Florent Geroux, 5-1); Sheriff Brown (Edwin Maldonado, 30-1), and Cupid's Claws (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1).

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