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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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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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Tripoli, Pereira Win Battle At the Shore in Pacific Classic

Tiago Josue Pereira is no stranger to winning races with seven- or even eight-figure purses. In 2009, he partnered with Gloria de Campeao (Brz) (Impression {Arg}) for the very first time to cause a 24-1 upset in the $2-million G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup and less than a year later, guided the same galloper to a nose victory in the $10-million G1 Dubai World Cup. Roughly a 10% rider since relocating to the United States in 2014, Pereira had ridden seven graded stakes winners, a respectable achievement. The Brazilian, who turns 45 this November, accepted just one mount on Saturday's blockbuster card at Del Mar, so as to concentrate on the task at hand in the $1-million GI TVG Pacific Classic. It was surely worth the wait, as Pereira rode Hronis Racing's Tripoli (Kitten's Joy) to perfection, stamping the colt's ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in the process.

“[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,” Pereira commented. “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 latest third from a high draw in the GII San Diego S. in which he stayed on gamely for second despite a tough trip, Tripoli was cozily drawn the fence this time around and was bet down from 9-1 into 13-2 at the off. Tripoli was one of the first to break the line at the top of the 10-furlong chute, but it was soon clear that Pereira was looking for some cover so as not to make the running. Help soon came in the form of Tizamagician (Tiznow) and Independence Hall (Constitution), and when those two went on with it, Pereira was able to tuck in Tripoli to sit the coveted box-seat trip. There were no twists to the plot through the middle stages, all riders seemed content with their respective positions after six furlongs in a reasonable 1:11.73. Tripoli was scrubbed along, but was still traveling well on the second turn, and when Independence Hall came under pressure and failed to kick on, Pereira had the opening he hoped might materialize and had pacesetting Tizamagician right where he wanted him. Pulled into the two path at the quarter pole, Tripoli hit the front at the eighth pole and idled a bit after making the lead, but he'd pinched a winning break and held Tizamagician safe to the wire. Dr Post (Quality Road) came off the bridle with a half-mile to race and looked likely to finish well down the field, but he regained interest in the final quarter mile and plugged on late into third, albeit well-beaten.

It was the third Classic win in four years for Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler, who took it in 2018 with Higher Power (Medaglia d'Oro) and again the following season with champion and future Breeders' Cup Classic hero Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky).

“It feels great to win it again, and you've got to give all the credit to the barn,” Kosta Hronis said. “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.”

Unsurprisingly, given his pedigree, Tripoli made the first 11 starts of his career on the turf, breaking his maiden at odds of 46-1 at second asking sprinting at Santa Anita last June. The handsome chestnut snapped an eight-race skid with a nose defeat of Saturday's GII Del Mar H. upsetter Astronaut (Quality Road) going a mile in Arcadia May 1, then switched to the dirt to post a half-length victory June 9. A 9-1 chance in the San Diego, Tripoli drew eight of eight and despite covering ground on both turns, stayed on bravely to drop a half-length decision to Express Train (Union Rags).

Pedigree Notes:

A $450,000 Keeneland September acquisition, Tripoli is the 15th top-level winner for his Hill 'n' Dale-based stallion and his first on conventional dirt. Stephanie's Kitten was a winner of the GI Darley Alcibiades S. over a synthetic track at Keeneland in 2011. He is stakes winner number 105 and graded/group winner 51 for Kitten's Joy and is the seventh Grade I/Group 1 winner produced by a daughter of Tapit.

Tripoli was produced by a stakes-placed daughter of 2001 GII Schuylerville S. winner Touch Love (Not For Love), whose MSW daughter Starfish Bay (Elusive Quality) is the dam of MSW & MGSP Blind Ambition (Tapit). Love Train is responsible for the winning 3-year-old filly For the Good Times (Empire Maker) and the unraced 2-year-old filly Starship Jessica (Hard Spun). She was most recently bred to English Channel.

Saturday, Del Mar
TVG PACIFIC CLASSIC S.-GI, $1,002,000, Del Mar, 8-21, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:02.37, ft.
1–TRIPOLI, 124, c, 4, by Kitten's Joy
1st Dam: Love Train (SP, $146,499), by Tapit
2nd Dam: Touch Love, by Not For Love
3rd Dam: Smartenof, by Smarten
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. ($450,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Hronis Racing LLC; B-Blue Devil Racing Stable, LLC (KY); T-John W. Sadler; J-Tiago Josue Pereira. $600,000. Lifetime Record: 14-4-3-3, $811,960. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Tizamagician, 124, c, 4, Tiznow–Magic Union, by Dixie Union. ($150,000 Ylg '18 FTSAUG). O-MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $200,000.
3–Dr Post, 124, c, 4, Quality Road–Mary Delaney, by Hennessy. ($200,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $400,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-St. Elias Stable; B-Cloyce C Clark (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $120,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 4HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 6.50, 6.90, 3.90.
Also Ran: Sheriff Brown, Independence Hall, Express Train, Royal Ship (Brz), Cupid's Claws, Magic On Tap. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Pacific Classic Contenders Put In Final Works

Summer Wind Equine's Magic On Tap worked five furlongs under jockey Abel Cedillo in :59 flat this morning for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in a final prep for the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic which is now one week away. It was one of five works, at Del Mar and Saratoga, by nominees for the signature event of the summer season.

“It went well. We're running in the Pacific Classic,” Baffert said via text of Magic On Tap's exercise.

Working with stablemate Private Mission, who Del Mar clockers also timed in :59 for five furlongs, Magic On Tap completed a series of three workouts since finishing fifth in the $250,000 Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 17.

A stumble at the start severely compromised the 5-year-old son of Tapit's chances in the 1 1/16-mile San Diego Handicap, the major prep for the 1 ¼-mile TVG Pacific Classic. Magic On Tap had arrived at Del Mar with a record of three victories in six career starts and earnings of $228,800 and was fresh from a win in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., in May.

Later in the morning, Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella sent MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm's Tizamagician out for a five-furlong work in one minute flat with an interim clocking of :36.20 under exercise rider Austin Solis, the son of retired Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis.

“He looked great. Couldn't be better,” Mandella said of the 4-year-old son of Tiznow.

Tizamagician has five wins in 18 career starts and earnings of $427,851. He stamped himself as a TVG Pacific Classic contender by winning the 1 ½-mile Grade 3 Cougar II Stakes on July 18.

Perry and Denise Martin's Mo Mosa, trained by Michael Maker, went five furlongs in 1:00.60 at Del Mar under exercise rider Marcelo Medina in a team work with stablemate Fight On. Track clockers recorded splits of :11.2; :23.0; :35.2, and a final quarter in :25.1.

“It was a great work, we were very pleased with it,” said Nolan Ramsey, in charge of the Del Mar string for Maker. “We need to speak with the owners. The Pat O'Brien is an option, but it (Pacific Classic) is still on the table for discussion.”

Mo Mosa finished fourth — behind TVG Pacific Classic nominees Express Train, Tripoli, and Royal Ship – in the San Diego Handicap shipping in from a stakes victory in May at Lone Star Park in Texas.

Cupid's Claws, owned by Flawless Racing and partners and trained by Craig Dollase, worked five furlongs from the gate at Del Mar in 1:00 under Umberto Rispoli.

“He looked good and he finished up very well,” Dollase said. “It's a go for the Pacific Classic.”

At Saratoga, Todd Pletcher-trained Dr Post worked four furlongs in :49.22, 27th of 80 at the distance. “We're pleased with his workout and he'll go west,” Pletcher said. “He is scheduled to ship on Tuesday.”

TVG Pacific Classic nominee The Great One went six furlongs in 1:13.20, but trainer Doug O'Neill said the 3-year-old is more likely to stay in competition with his age group peers in the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes on August 29. Trainer Mike McCarthy said Independence Hall, who worked Friday, still has the Charlestown Classic as the main target.

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