Pacific Classic: 10 nominees include Journalism, Fierceness

Ten horses were nominated for next Saturday's Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar, a win-and-you’re-in for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The nominees include Preakness and Haskell (G1) winner Journalism. The son of Curlin is scheduled to work Saturday morning, after which trainer Mike McCarthy and primary owner Aron Wellman are expected to announce whether they will run in the Classic or wait for another race.

Fierceness, last year’s Travers (G1) winner, also was on the nomination list. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the son of City of Light also is nominated for the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga next Sunda. Friday morning owner Mike Repole put a post on X asking fellow readers to help him decide whether to run Fierceness in the Pacific Classic or the Gold Cup. Del Mar responded with a tweet of a picture of the beach.

The probables for the Pacific Classic remain Nysos, Mirahmadi, Midnight Mammoth and Tarantino. Also on the list of nominees were John Sadler’s Indispensable, Mark Glatt’s Ultimate Gamble and Lure Him In from the Sam Wilensky barn. 

Baeza, the runner-up in the Jim Dandy (G2) and third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, is also on the list of nominees. But unless trainer John Shirreffs has a change of heart, the colt is expected to wait and run in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx on Sept. 20.

Another glaring but expected absence from the list of nominees was White Abarrio. The 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner initially targeted the Pacific Classic only to have trainer Saffie Joseph and the connections pull the plug a week ago and opt to stay back east to run in the Gold Cup. 

Entries for the Pacific Classic will be drawn Tuesday.