Adare Manor seemingly ran out of competition long ago in Southern California’s older female division going long on dirt. Indeed, the five-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo has won her last seven starts in graded stakes for which she started as an odds-on favorite.
Realities require new challenges, and Adare Manor will look to become only the second female ever to win Del Mar’s signature event, the $1 million Pacific Classic (G1), on Saturday. Adare Manor was installed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite for the 1 1/4-mile Pacific Classic and will have eight male challengers.
The winner of the Pacific Classic will receive an automatic bid into the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) over the same track and distance in November, but chances are, win or lose, Adare Manor will be competing in the Distaff (G1) on Breeders’ Cup weekend. She earned an automatic berth to the race winning the Clement L. Hirsch (G1) for a second time earlier in the meet.
Adare Manor can get a leg up on her rivals for division honors with a win, given the volatility of results in major stakes on the East Coast this summer. She will look to emulate Beholder, a four-time champion and Hall of Fame inductee, who dominated the 2015 edition of the Pacific Classic by more than eight lengths.
The depleted older male ranks in Southern California lack a standout, but the potential remains for some. Dr. Venkman, who enters with just five lifetime starts, has won three times, including a one-length tally over Katonah in the San Diego H. (G2) in late July.
Argentinean import Full Serrano steps up in class following a successful U.S. debut on Aug. 3. A minor stakes winner on turf over the Pacific Classic distance in his homeland, Full Serrano remained eligible for an entry-level allowance upon his arrival in American and dutifully won at that class level by more than two lengths going a mile on the dirt.
The connections of Full Serrano, owner Hronis Racing, and trainer John Sadler have dominated the Pacific Classic in recent years with Flightline (2022), Tripoli (2021), Higher Power (2019), and Accelerate (2018).
The Pacific Classic has attracted one ship-in from the East. Il Miracolo has won a pair of Grade 3s during his 21-race career and was most recently second in the Philip H. Iselin (G3) at Monmouth Park to the Southern California-based Subsanador.
In addition to Adare Manor, trainer Bob Baffert also starts Reincarnate, who has placed in three of four outings this year, including the Santa Anita H. (G1), Hollywood Gold Cup (G2), and Cougar II (G3). Multiple graded-placed Mixto remains eligible for his first allowance condition, There Goes Harvard has not placed since winning the 2022 Hollywood Gold Cup (G1), and California-bred None Above the Law would very much be a surprise winner.
