At Del Mar on Monday, MAST TRACK (Mizzen Mast), TRES BORRACHOS (Ecton Park)
and AWESOME GEM (Awesome Again) posted their last major works in preparation for
Sunday’s $1 million Pacific Classic (G1).
Grade 2 winner Tres Borrachos, most recently runner-up in the Hollywood Gold
Cup (G1), was the first of the threesome to work under skies clearing from thick
early morning fog.
With Pacific Classic rider Joe Talamo aboard, the Beau Greely charge drilled
five furlongs in :59 1/5 on the Polytrack. Tres Borrachos reeled off his first
three furlongs in :35 1/5 and his final two in :24.
“He went super,” an elated Greely said. “I’m very happy with the work.
Everything is looking good. The horse seemed very happy and I’m very happy.”
Next up was Mast Track, the 2008 Hollywood Gold Cup hero, who ripped his
five-eighths in :59 4/5, breezing, under exercise rider Jose Dominguez. Clockers
caught Mast Track in fractions of :12 1/5, :23 4/5, :35 4/5 and :48, and the
Bobby Frankel trainee was caught galloping out six furlongs in 1:13 2/5.
“He’s a good worker and very fast,” chief assistant trainer Humberto Ascanio
said after the drill.
Third in last year’s Pacific Classic, Mast Track is coming off a near-miss
runner-up effort in the San Diego H. (G2).
Winding up the day’s three works was Grade 2 veteran Awesome Gem’s sharp
half-mile drill in :47 4/5. The Craig Dollase pupil posted splits of :12 3/5,
:24 3/5 and :36 2/5 beneath exercise rider Juan Olivera.
“One of the best works for him that I’ve seen a long time,” Dollase noted.
“He finished up nice and had a spirited gallop-out.”
Awesome Gem, who had a target in front of him in the form of another worker,
went whizzing past that worker by the time they reached the seven-furlong pole,
an eighth of a mile past the finish line.
Before the move, Dollase said he was just expecting a maintenance work, since
Awesome Gem ran two weeks ago in the Longacres Mile H. (G3), where he finished
second.
“He’s not a very good work horse,” Dollase said, adding, “So we’ll see what
‘Gem’ decides to do.”
After the drill, Dollase was smiling.
Awesome Gem is preparing for his third straight Pacific Classic. Runner-up in
2007, he was seventh last year. Prior to his Longacres excursion, Awesome Gem
was a rallying second in the Eddie Read (G1) on turf.
Left to finish serious work toward the Pacific Classic are multiple Grade 1
victor COLONEL JOHN (Tiznow) for trainer Eoin Harty and RICHARD’S KID (Lemon
Drop Kid) for trainer Bob Baffert. Both are slated to work Tuesday.
Scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon at Del Mar were multiple Grade 1 star
EINSTEIN (Brz) (Spend a Buck) and Grade 2 winner PARADING (Pulpit). Parading,
trained by Shug McGaughey, was shipping from New York, and Einstein, trained by
Helen Pitts-Blasi, was coming from Kentucky.