Report: No Pacific Classic, Travers for Hot Rod Charlie

Hot Rod Charlie, who will skip the Pacific Classic (G1) according to the Daily Racing Form, will not run in the Travers (G1) according to a social media post from Tim Wilkin of the Albany Times Union.

The colt’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, had previously said he was pointing Hot Rod Charlie, who was disqualified after crossing the wire first in the Haskell (G1) on July 17, but that destination was not certain.

“We’ll only run him if he just tells us he’s ready to rock and roll,” O’Neill said in a Horse Racing Nation Barn Tour on Friday.

Co-owner Bill Strauss said after the race that the Aug. 28 Travers was unlikely for Hot Rod Charlie.

"I don’t think so," Strauss told reporters after the race. "It’s not on our path, it was never on the path. We’re going to see how he comes out, and as they say in the game, we’ll let the horse tell us where we want to go. But I don’t think we’re going to go to Saratoga next month. I think we’ll stay (at Del Mar) for a little while."