Show-Off Colts Meet in Pacific Classic Showdown

The roar of a healthy young stallion echoed down the Michael McCarthy shed row. "Is that him?" asked Aron Wellman. Yep, it was him. On the eve of his showdown with Nysos and Fierceness in the $1 million Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) Aug. 30 at Del Mar, Journalism was airing his equine grievances, which included the momentary inability to go out and run over a bunch of horses. It's not that he's a bully. Far from it. It's just that he's used to getting his way. But he can be appeased. "Carrots," said Felipe Rivera, McCarthy's worldly foreman. "He's crazy for carrots. The other day when he got back from schooling, I made a mistake. He hesitated at the feed room (the source of those heavenly carrots) and would not go to his stall. I tried taking him outside and around the other way, but he stopped again. "There's no way you can make a horse do something he doesn't want to do," Rivera continued. "So I called over to bring me a couple carrots. He ate them, then he walked right into his stall." There's nothing like a marquee 3-year-old to spice up the scene. Just ask the folks spending the summer in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., who awaken each morning glowing in the knowledge that dual-classic winner Sovereignty lives just down the block, available for worshipful viewing. Journalism has provided that kind of pizzazz, thanks to his comprehensive swing at the 2025 Triple Crown and a record to die for. It also helps that he is blessed with an ownership group that, unlike Sovereignty's absentee Middle Eastern potentate, is accessible and entertainingly eclectic, from Wellman's Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners in the vanguard, to New York's Robert LaPenta, the Coolmore lads of Ireland, Norton Herrick's Elayne Stables 5, John and Leslie Malone's Bridlewood Farm, and Journalism's breeder, the Chilean powerhouse Don Alberto. Then there is Journalism's jockey, Umberto Rispoli, for whom the word "irrepressible" was invented. (Or, if you prefer, irrefrenabile in his native Italian.) Asked if a brief summer squall bothered his colt during their final workout, Rispoli replied, "He never got wet. Ran right between the raindrops." Later, as he watched the colt cool out, the rider sketched a scenario in the sand for Wellman, adding a whistling sound effect as he passed an imaginary Nysos, then Fierceness. Voila! Or whatever that is in Italian. The three colts make for great potential theater. And yet, the suggestion that the field for the 2025 Pacific Classic is among the best ever assembled requires context. In order to be among the best, it would have to rival the first running in 1991, which was part of the American Racing Championship Series. The group of eight was riddled with major stakes winners, led by Unbridled, winner of the 1990 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Farma Way was the Fierceness of his day, capable of great moments punctuated by the occasional disappointments. The victorious Best Pal was a local hero and among the best of his generation, but going into the race his 3-year-old record fell shy of what Journalism has accomplished. In 1996, Cigar towered over a group that included two-time defending Pacific Classic winner Tinners Way and Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) winner Siphon. The shock winner was Siphon's stablemate, Dare and Go. Free House, Gentlemen, and Touch Gold made for a pretty salty trio in the 1998 Pacific Classic. Candy Ride (ARG) and Medaglia d'Oro, a classy pair, put on a grand show in 2003, then went on to invigorate the breed. In 2016, the Hall of Fame was waiting at the end of the race for 1-2 finishers California Chrome and Beholder. And even though Flightline sang a one-horse tune in 2022, never forget that the distant runner-up, Country Grammer, won the Dubai World Cup (G1). Nysos, from the Bob Baffert barn and owner Baoma Corp., rekindles memories of his sire, Nyquist, who swept the 2015 Best Pal Stakes (G2) and Del Mar Futurity (G1) by daylight before going on to fame and stallion fortune as an undefeated winner of the Kentucky Derby. His lightly raced son has a silky way of going, able to accelerate without notice, and despite never running farther than a mile and one-sixteenth would seem to have no weaknesses. Fierceness, on the other hand, is an equine schizophrenic. He has matured into a gorgeous 4-year-old, Austin Butler with dark mane and tail, who brings the imprint of the Todd Pletcher stable and breeder and co-owner Mike Repole to a test that would seem to be right in the bay colt's wheelhouse. For those who need reminding, Fierceness ran perhaps the best race of his life over the Classic's mile and one-quarter at Del Mar when he was second last fall to Sierra Leone in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Fierceness won the Alysheba Stakes (G2) in May like a colt who was angling for top dog, and his second behind the uncatchable Raging Torrent in the subsequent Metropolitan Handicap (G1) was hardly an embarrassment. There have been times, though, that Fierceness will lose the plot and throw in a clunker, like he did in the recent Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. But at least the son of City of Light never runs two bad races in a row. "We certainly hope that's right," said Sophie Green, Pletcher's traveling assistant, as she watched her charge pause in the main track chute before a gallop Friday morning. "His works since the Whitney have been very good." Fierceness, also winner of the 2023 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita Park, has run huge races in both of his California appearances. Green was phone-recording every move for the boss, who figured to be pleased with the look of his horse, but horrified at the attire of exercise rider Carlos Aguilar, on loan from trainer Jonathan Thomas. Aguilar was sporting a red football jersey with bold "21" in white, front and back, and "Taylor" stitched across the shoulders. "I love it," the former Pletcher assistant Thomas said. "There's no bigger fan of the Dallas Cowboys than Todd. And there's not a day goes by without Carlos wearing some kind of Redskins shirt." Aguilar was happy with the way Fierceness went through his paces. "Much better than yesterday, his first day here," Aguilar said. "More focused. But you have to think there was maybe a little jet lag, and he needed to look around a little." Reverse karma, if that is such a thing, could be at work. The NFL season is upon us, and there has been no more bloodthirsty rivalry than the one between Dallas and Washington, now called the Commanders. The "Taylor" of Aguilar's jersey honored Sean Taylor, the all-world Redskins safety who was mortally wounded in a home invasion in November of 2007, only his fourth season as a pro. "He's my all-time favorite player," Aguilar said, pulling up his shirt and protective vest to display a ribcage tattoo of Taylor in action. "I've got a lot of Redskins memorabilia—helmets, jerseys, everything. Maybe I should send something to Todd." Not a bad idea, although Pletcher probably would prefer a trophy for winning the Pacific Classic.