Dullahan Spoils Pacific Classic Party

There was no victory in the Pacific Classic for either side of the Richard's Kid fiasco, as east coast invader Dullahan spoiled the party in track-record time.  Dullahan, with Joel Rosario up, rolled late down the center of the track to defeat Game on Dude and jockey Chantal Sutherland by a half length, stopping the clock in 1:59.54.  Sutherland dropped the left rein with a sixteenth of a mile to go, causing Game on Dude to drift out and end up traveling 15 feet further than Dullahan according to Trakus.  Richard's Kid got a less than ideal trip and finished third, with Rail Trip rounding out the superfecta. Following Rail Trip across the line were Suggestive Boy, the filly Amani, Jaycito, Where's Sterling, Akkadian, and Riveting Reason.

Dullahan, a three-year-old son of Even the Score, owned by the Donegal Stable and trained by Dale Romans completed the mile and one-quarter distance of the Del mar synthetic surface in 1:59.54, shattering the previous track record set by Acclamation in last year's edition of the million dollar race by more than a full second.

After the race, Jerry Crawford of the Donegal Racing partnership said that both the Pacific Classic and the 2013 Dubai World Cup have been in the gameplan for Dullahan for quite some time, which makes sense given the 3-year-old colt's affinity for synthetic surfaces.  Crawford would not commit to running in the Breeders' Cup Classic even though he is a Breeders' Cup chairman, stating that they will give the horse a couple of weeks and see what's best for him.  He also credited Dale Romans' training job with Dullahan's success and soundness, and paid respect to Bob Baffert, trainer of Game on Dude.

Leandro Mora, current trainer of Richard's Kid in Doug O'Neill's absence, was visibly upset about Espinoza's ride.  Mora's key instruction was for Espinoza to keep Richard's Kid off the rail, but he inside the whole way around and they got into some traffic trouble. 

However, I'm not convinced that either a better trip for Richard's Kid or both reins in Sutherland's hands would have allowed the second or third place finishers to beat Dullahan, who got a perfect ride and was moving like a freight train coming down the stretch.  It was a thrilling finale to a great Pacific Classic Day.