PACIFIC CLASSIC PREVIEW: WAR EMBLEM INTO THE FRAY.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer DEL MAR Del Mar is the name of several places in the United States of America:
First held in 1864, it was named for William R. for an equivalent $1 million purse. But the question answers itself. At the head of the deepest field of handicap-division thoroughbreds assembled in 2002, War Emblem is where a Kentucky Derby winner and top championship candidate should be, on a stage befitting be·fit·ting adj. Appropriate; suitable; proper. be·fit  ting·ly adv.Adj. 1. the star of the sport. ``One of the biggest problems in horse racing is that people try to take care of their lead, or whatever,'' said War Emblem trainer Bob Baffert, referring to the Horse of the Year and 3-year-old titles. ``We're not taking that approach. We're just going to go ahead and throw him against the older horses and see what happens.'' This approach not only is honorable but smart. War Emblem has much more to gain than to lose when he mixes it up in a Pacific Classic-record field of 14 horses, including five rated among the top 10 Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. contenders on one authoritative list. Win this 1 1/4-mile race, repelling the early challenges expected from fellow speed types Sky Jack and Bosque Redondo, and he becomes the first 3-year-old to beat elders in an important race this season, while probably putting to bed the doubts about his ``one-dimensional'' front- running style. Win the Travers, and War Emblem merely would have been picking on horses his own age. Get beaten in the Pacific Classic, and it would be no disgrace, just a case of a 3-year-old not quite ready to tackle the big boys. Get beaten in the Travers, and War Emblem might find his presumed 3-year-old championship in some jeopardy. ``I think if he (War Emblem) loses to the older horses, he's not going to lose too much stature,'' said Bobby Frankel, who saddled Medaglia d'Oro for victory in the Travers and will have Milwaukee Brew in the Pacific Classic as the trainer seeks his seventh victory in the race. ``If he loses to another 3-year-old, well, then, it can affect it a little bit.'' When War Emblem and jockey Victor Espinoza, wearing the green-and-white silks of the late Prince Ahmed Salman of Saudi Arabia, break from post position 6 at the head of the Del Mar straightaway straight·a·way adj. 1. Extending in a straight line or course without a curve or turn. 2. Unhesitating; immediate: a straightaway denial. n. this afternoon, the colt will be making his first start against older horses after seven victories in 11 starts against 2- and 3-year-olds. He will be making his first appearance in California and the first west of Louisiana CODE, OF LOUISIANA. In 1822, Peter Derbigny, Edward Livingston, and Moreau Lislet, were selected by the legislature to revise and amend the civil code, and to add to it such laws still in force as were not included therein. for the son of Our Emblem, whose big victories came at the Illinois and Kentucky Derbies, the Preakness in Baltimore and the Haskell Invitational in New Jersey. He will be the first Kentucky Derby winner to race at Del Mar in the year of his Churchill Downs triumph. War Emblem is a 2-1 morning-line favorite ahead of 3-1 Milwaukee Brew, 6-1 Sky Jack and 6-1 Momentum in a race that has produced only one winning favorite in 11 years. The tactical question is how War Emblem will handle early pressure from Sky Jack, the Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions. winner, and Bosque Redondo, the San Bernardino Handicap winner who serves as a rabbit for stablemate Noun 1. stablemate - a horse stabled with another or one of several horses owned by the same person stable companion Equus caballus, horse - solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times Came Home. War Emblem likes to lead from gate to wire, and, as demonstrated by his eighth-place finish in the Belmont Stakes after a stumbling start, he's discombobulated dis·com·bob·u·late tr.v. dis·com·bob·u·lat·ed, dis·com·bob·u·lat·ing, dis·com·bob·u·lates To throw into a state of confusion. See Synonyms at confuse. when he can't get to the front. Like War Emblem, Came Home is a 3-year-old. Each carries 117 pounds, getting a seven-pound break from the older horses. The Pacific Classic has been won twice by 3-year-olds - Best Pal in 1991 and General Challenge in 1999. After War Emblem tore through a 5-furlong workout in 57 3/5 seconds Tuesday, Baffert wondered aloud if the colt had tired himself out. If he didn't, and he's at his Derby-Preakness best, he should outrun out·run tr.v. out·ran , out·run, out·run·ning, out·runs 1. a. To run faster than. b. To escape from: outrun one's creditors. 2. the other speedsters and go on to win. Otherwise, at least he'll have lost in the right place. AT A GLANCE --Winner gets $600,000 of $1 million purse. --Post time is 2:42 p.m.; it's the fifth race on a 12:30 p.m. card. --ESPN coverage begins at 2 p.m. --To get to Del Mar from Los Angeles: Take San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405, and the part of Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y[1]) is one of the principal north-south highways in Southern California, and the major beltway of I-5 running through Southern California. (405/5) south about 100 miles to Via de la Valle exit, exit right. --Pacific Classic and Del Mar record for 1 1/4 miles is 1:59 2/5 by Bertrando (1993). --Pacific Classic record for winning margin is 5 1/2 lengths by Skimming (2001). CAPTION(S): box Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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