A field of 10 runners, with potential to show up for Del Mar's signature
$1-million Pacific Classic Saturday, August 28, is set to go the post in
Saturday's 69th running of the Grade II, $200,000 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16
miles on the main track.
A victory in the "Win and You're In" event
guarantees a spot in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
The field is bolstered by three from the Bob Baffert
barn, including 2009 Pacific Classic winner Richard's Kid. His running mates
are Sangaree and Mythical Power. Sangaree posted three straight seconds in
Hollywood Park's Mervyn LeRoy Handicap and the Californian, both Grade II
events, and the Grade I Triple Bend Handicap, while Mythical Power comes to the
race from a fourth in the Grade II Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows.
Richard's Kid, who also is entered in Friday's Cougar
II Handicap, will carry high weight of 122 pounds, including Russell Baze,
all-time leading jockey in victories. Richard's Kid will spot his foes from
four to nine pounds.
Millionaire Battle of Hastings, whose 19-race career
has been exclusively on turf, takes to the main track for the first time in the
San Diego,
making him something of a mystery horse in the race. Though winless in four
outings this year, Battle of Hastings' preparation for the San
Diego includes two bullet workouts at 5 furlongs on Hollywood Park's synthetic oval for trainer Jeff
Mullins.
Trainer Doug O'Neill made good on an earlier comment
by supplementing Enriched, who was third behind a crawling pace in Saturday's
Grade I Eddie Read on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. The horse was added to the
roster through a $2,000 payment.
Here's the lineup from the rail, with weights and
jockeys: Enriched, 117, Patrick Valenzuela; Isle of Giant's, 113, Alonso
Quinonez; Deal Breaker, 115, Rafael Bejarano; Tres Borrachos, 114, David
Flores; Sangaree, 116, Martin Pedroza; Red Eye Express, 114, Victor Espinoza;
Battle of Hastings, 118, Joe Talamo; Richard's Kid, 122, Russell Baze; Mythical
Power, 117, Martin Garcia, and Dakota Phone, 117, Joel Rosario.