Five Victorious Riders Hold Fond Pacific Classic Memories
August 16th, 2007BY GENE WILLIAMS
Football immortal Vince Lombardi often was quoted as having said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
That may be a little strong for Thoroughbred racing, a sport that requires its athletes to go out numerous times every day in search of victory. If winning were the only thing, that would be quite a hill to climb for jockeys, small men with big skills.
Jockeys can be fragile and winning is even more fragile. But there are five special riders who will be getting a leg up on special horses next Sunday for the 17th running of Del Mar’s premier event each summer – the $1-million, Grade I Pacific Classic.
They are special because they have won the Pacific Classic and are back to try again this year. One – Corey Nakatani – is the reigning Pacific Classic champion and he is back hoping for a repeat performance by the indomitable Lava Man. Another – Alex Solis – ended a 16-race victory skein by the great Cigar when he guided Dare And Go to a smashing upset in 1996.
Still another – David Flores – booted the second 3-year-old, General Challenge, to victory in the race. It was extra special because the horse was bred and owned by John and Betty Mabee, with John being the force behind establishing the race. The Mabees also bred and owned the initial Pacific Classic winner, Best Pal in 1991.
Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith will forever hold the memory of his victory aboard Came Home in 2002 because of the circumstances surrounding his choice as the rider – hand-picked by the owners, trainer and fellow Hall of Fame rider Chris McCarron.
Nakatani, Solis, Flores and Smith are all based in Southern California, while the fifth winning rider is an expatriate now plying his trade most of the year in New York. That would be Garrett Gomez and he has the most amazing story of all. He has won three Pacific Classics and is one of only two riders to score back-to-back victories, Eddie Delahoussaye being the other. He booted home Skimming in 2000 and 2001 and returned from personal problems to score with Borrego in 2005.
The Pacific Classic lives in a special niche in each rider’s memory and they all have special things to say about it.
Nakatani looks on the 2006 victory as “another stepping stone for Lava Man. I ride a special horse and I ride with a lot of confidence. Hopefully, I can get the job done again.
“As for whether it’s a special race, yeah, it is the Pacific Classic, but from a rider’s standpoint, I see it as a matter of getting in position and working to win.”
Smith’s take on the race is quite different. “Winning a race like this is what it’s all about,” he said. “Anyone who says that it’s just another race has no appreciation of the sport.
“Winning everyday races is important. Putting in your time and getting the best effort out of each horse you ride is important. But when you’re fortunate enough to jump into that kind of class and win that kind of race, that stuff goes down in history. You forget about your everyday races, but you don’t forget about your Pacific Classics, Santa Anita Derbys, Kentucky Derbys, Breeders’ Cups, Belmonts.”
Looking back on his ride aboard the 3-year-old Came Home, Smith said, “It was very special to win that race because of [co-owner] Trudy McCaffery, who was a very lovely lady, and [co-owner] John Toffan and [trainer] Paco Gonzalez who were very good to me. To pick up the horse McCarron won his last race on, and be hand-picked by him is the ultimate. McCarron and Paco and Trudy all talked about it and decided I was the man for the job. It meant a lot to me and it still does.”
Flores says he rides the race like he rides any other race, but didn’t hesitate to make the point it is a special race. “This is a Grade I and a million-dollar race,” he said. “It’s one that you want to put your name on for the record. Del Mar puts a painting up, too. It’s nice to have one – or more,” he said with a chuckle.
“The day I won on General Challenge,” he said, “my horse had shown speed before, but that day I was right off [the lead]. I was in inside position and by the time we got to the backside, he just took off running and I just let him do his thing. By the time I reached the top of the stretch, I was gone.”
Scoring with the longest-priced winner [$81.20] and beating Cigar in the doing will live forever in the mind and heart of Solis, who said, “It was an incredible experience. Cigar was getting ready to break Citation’s record of 16 straight wins. We had so many people here [record crowd of 44,181]. My horse was working well for the race.
“It was one of those times when you visualize a race and it comes out just the way you visualize it.” Dare And Go, trained by Richard Mandella, rolled along fourth in the field of six for much of the race before making a swooping move to score an easy 3 1/2-length win over the two-time Horse of the Year.
In rating his Pacific Classic victory, Solis said, “This is the most important race we have at Del Mar, and that one was one of the most important races we had in the country. So it’s a big accomplishment.”
What would he tell a young rider looking for a Pacific Classic in the future? “You just have to keep working hard and look for the next champion horse, and keep improving so you can ride that kind of horse some day.”
Gomez shares his cohorts’ feelings on the Pacific Classic’s status in racing, saying, “It’s Del Mar’s pinnacle race and one of California’s marquee races. I feel very fortunate to have won it three times.”
Recalling those wins, Gomez said of the Skimming victories, “He had to work a little in his first one, but the second one was easy.” Skimming, giving trainer Robert Frankel his fifth and sixth Pacific Classic wins, led gate to wire in both races, but was under pressure all the way in the first race, while cruising through the next one.
Gomez called Skimming “a super horse at Del Mar,” winning two San Diego Handicaps preceding the two Pacific Classics.
Of his victory aboard Borrego, Gomez said, “That was a very satisfying Pacific Classic for me because I had a lot of faith in Borrego, but up until that point, he had been running some good races, but hadn’t broken through. That was his break-out time. Then he went on to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park.”
