The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com)DARE AND GO'S PACIFIC CLASSIC VICTORY UNDERLINES HIGHS AND LOWS
The highs and lows of Thoroughbred racing were evident across the entire landscape of Del Mar racetrack Saturday as Dare and Go played spoiler and stopped Horse of the World Cigar's winning streak at 16 by catching him in the stretch and pulling away to win the $1,000,000 Pacific Classic by 3 1/2 lengths.
There were the shouts and high fives in the victorious camp of trainer Richard Mandella, and there were the solemn strains of disappointment among those closest to Cigar - trainer Bill Mott and jockey Jerry Bailey. For those relatively few in the record crowd of 44,181 who cashed a ticket for $81.20 on a $2 wager, there was instant gratification. For those who wagered on Cigar - many just to have a record of the day in which everyone thought he would race into history - the paper now was nothing more than a sad reminder of a lost opportunity.
Overall, though, there was a sense of history lost as Cigar missed setting a modern-day record of 17 consecutive victories.
Winning trainer Mandella, reflecting on the previous day's excitement, acknowledged: "It's a great feeling. But I'm tired after it's all over. That's the way it usually is in these big deals. When it's over, you're exhausted, having worried about it.
"At least going in as the outsider, we weren't under such great pressure, and we got to enjoy it a whole lot. We really had a ball."
Both Dare and Go and Siphon came out of the race in good shape, Mandella said. What's ahead? "My inclination - and I wouldn't want to be stuck with this - is to stay home and run [Dare and Go] in the Goodwood [at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting]. That way, I can keep him home and not travel too much going into the Breeders' Cup."
That means the long-term goal is the Breeders' Cup Classic at Woodbine in Toronto, Canada, on October 26, where he most likely will hook up with Cigar again as the 1995 Horse of the Year will run what figures to be the final race of his career.
The future for Siphon, who had a streak of four straight victories cut off in the Pacific Classic, is not as clear-cut, because he is not eligible for the Breeders' Cup without being supplemented, and Mandella said he didn't think the owners, at this point, were thinking in those terms.
Winning jockey Alex Solis, still exhilarated over the victory, said this morning, "It's a terrific feeling. I never have felt something like this before. It's the thrill of a lifetime. It's amazing to beat a horse like Cigar and win this race, it's such a prestigious one. It's kind of a little sad seeing Cigar get beat, but it was going to happen some day. Pulling up, I had mixed emotions. I was kind of sad and happy at the same time. He did so much for all of us in racing. He's kind of our hero right now."
Cigar was loaded on a van near his barn at 6:05 this morning and headed north to Ontario Airport where he was to begin his return flight to New York. He was followed by two vehicles carrying the Mott party of eight. The plane was scheduled to take off shortly after their arrival at the airport - sometime around 9.
Before departing, trainer Mott met with about a dozen members of the media and passed along the following thoughts:
"It's disappointing. But everyone involved knows if you lead them over there often enough, they'll get beat. I have no regrets [about the race]. We can't put this horse in a vacuum.
"The most basic thing in racing got us [beat] - pace. Pace makes the race. Ever since I've been involved in racing I've heard that one. And yesterday it was certainly true. We were concerned about Siphon and his speed. Jerry [jockey Jerry Bailey] and I talked about it and we thought he was our biggest concern. Maybe we gave him too much respect. But he beat us at Hollywood [in the Gold Cup when Mott and Bailey ran second to him with Geri] and he appeared to be a genuine speed horse.
"We thought the fractions would be realistic and that we could stay close by him. We knew he'd gotten away with a half in :47 and change [:47 2/5] in the Gold Cup and we thought a half in :46 and change or so here would be likely. But he went faster [:45 4/5] and we went with him. There aren't too many horses who can run the mile in [1]:33 and change [Cigar's mile in the Pacific Classic was 1:33 3/5] and still have enough left to be around at the end of a mile and a quarter."
Cigar seemed not to suffer any ill effects from the race. Mott told the media, "He came out of the race fine and he ate up last night. This morning he seems to be fine; his legs are OK. I think he knows he got beat, though. His attitude was lower than I've seen it in a while.
"We're not unhappy with the horse. He's been wonderful. He's been special for everyone involved with this - the fans, the horsemen, the media. But I've been preparing myself for this. Along with the glory, the joy and the success, there also has to come some disappointment. That's how it works. So we'll accept it and go on.
"We'll get him back to New York and see how he's doing. If he's doing OK in five weeks or so, we'll look at running in the Woodward [Stakes, $500,000, 1 1/8 miles at Belmont Park September 14]. Another possible race for him could be the [Jockey Club] Gold Cup [$750,000, 1 1/4 miles at Belmont Park October 5]. Then there's the Breeders' Cup [Classic]. But how he's doing is going to determine his schedule. And I need to talk to Mr. [owner Allen] Paulson. There are people who are talking to him about the horse and where he'll run. Anyway, we've got to be sure to save something for that last race [Breeders' Cup Classic]."
And what of Cigar's conqueror in the Pacific Classic? "I hope Dare and Go is in our next few races. I'd like another shot at him. I'd like to try to get our reputation back. I'm sorry that the streak was broken, but it doesn't mean the pressure is any less. I don't feel that way. He's still a very special horse. That hasn't changed."
Cigar's win streak wasn't the only one to go down in the wake of Dare and Go's rush to the wire. Tinner's Way had won the past two Pacific Classics and his trainer, Robert Frankel, had trained the winners of the past four Classics. But it wasn't Tinners Way's day, as he was pulled up on the turn for the home when jockey Eddie Delahoussaye believed the horse had taken a bad step and didn't want to take a chance of injuring him.
As it turns out, Frankel was still baffled by the horse's action. "We don't know what's wrong," Frankel said, adding that x-rays didn't reveal any problem. The only thing Frankel could come up with at the barn this morning was that an aluminum shoe he was wearing on his right front foot may have caused him to bobble, leading Delahoussaye to fear for something worse and pull him up.
Frankel blamed himself for the problem, saying he had the shoe put on in order to protect an old abscess on the foot. "I've run hundreds of horses in that kind of plate and it hasn't been a problem before." He said he was gratified that the problem wasn't any worse, but expressed anger with himself for switching shoes.
Both Luthier Fever and Dramatic Gold were reported to have come out of the race all right. Luthier Fever won the $500,000 participation bonus put up by MGM Grand Hotel for running in the three races that made up its Classic Crown - the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic.
SEVERAL DEL MAR RECORDS FALL ON PACIFIC CLASSIC DAY
Along with setting an attendance record on track during Saturday's Pacific Classic Day, Del Mar hung up some other records, also.
Off-track attendance was 31,020, outstripping the previous standard of 30,940 set Saturday August 15, 1992. The off-track figures, combined with the record on- track attendance of 44,181, gave Del Mar a total of 75,201, far and away the largest crowd ever for the seaside course.
The total handle of $20,813,571 exceeded the previous record of $15,506,324 set on Saturday, August 19, 1995, and Saturday's out-of-state handle of $8,048,522 was well above the previous record of $4,539,475 set last year.
10 SET TO GO IN GRADE III LA JOLLA HANDICAP AS DEL MAR DERBY PREP
Ten 3-year-old hopefuls for September 2's Del Mar Derby are expected to start in today's Grade III La Jolla Handicap for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles over Del Mar's Jimmy Durante Turf Course. If all start, the purse will be $132,850, with $82,850 gong to the winner.
Heading the field are Caribbean Pirate and Ambivalent, who won the divisions of the Oceanside Stakes on Del Mar's opening day, July 24. Also expected to start is Roar, a highly regarded son of Forty Niner.
HALL OF FAMER CHRIS MCCARRON SCORES 100TH DEL MAR STAKES WIN
In a career already filled with amazing milestones, Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron reached another one Saturday as he chalked up his 100th stakes victory at Del Mar by riding Track Gal to the winner's circle in the Grade III, $104,800 Rancho Bernardo Handicap, two races after the Pacific Classic.
Of the honor, McCarron, who is racing's all-time leading money winner with more than $197 million, said, "It certainly is an accomplishment that I'm very proud of. Anytime my name can be mentioned in the same breath with Bill Shoemaker, I feel very privileged and honored to think that I was able to do something that Bill's accomplished. I'm real pleased." McCarron passed Shoemaker as Del Mar's all-time stakes-winning jockey during last summer's meeting.
SHORE LINES: Del Mar race fans are set to enjoy another of the track's "5- Star Mondays." All it takes is $5 and a discount coupon from any Carl's Jr. restaurants in San Diego County. That provides grandstand admission, an official program, a reserved seat, a hot dog and a small soft drink or beer, a $12.50 value normally .... Dernier Empereur, winner of Friday's Escondido Handicap, came out of the race fine, said trainer Ben Cecil, and he'll now train up to the Grade II, $300,000 Del Mar Handicap on August 31 .... Trainer John Sadler said Track Gal, winner of Saturday's Rancho Bernardo Handicap, reported that the mare came out of the race in good shape. "She came back good; no problems. I'm not sure what's next for her. She's an honest filly. There might be a chance that there'll be another race for her here," Sadler said.
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