Statement Win for Crack Dab in The Pacific Classic

By Nynl Stables on August 23, 2020 • ( 1 )

The Pacific Classic (Grade 1) (BC)- $750.000 Purse
DMR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
August 22, 2020

Three weeks ago, Crack Dab finished second in the Whitney, a result that should have made him one of the top choices here in the Pacific Classic. However, that would not be the case, as he would go off at odds of 26/1. More than likely, others thought along the same lines I did for not picking him and that is that we wanted to see another big result against this kind of company. Crack Dab had won four in a row before the Whitney, but they were not against the likes of the opposition he would meet here. Also, three weeks may not be long enough of a rest, a concern that was expressed by Mb Stables over Tactical, the horse that won the Whitney and would end up being the post time favorite. After ten furlongs in the Pacific Classic, Crack Dab would show that he can handle anyone time and time again, and will punch his ticket to the BC Classic. It was a great win for Gdp Inc, who overall had a great day on Saturday, from coast to coast. It is the first time that both he, and jockey J Stein, have won this race. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 2:00.61, the fastest running of the race since 2012. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.30)- The beginning of the race saw three of its biggest names jumping out to the front positions. In the lead down the frontstretch would be the heavy favorite, Tactical, out of Mb Stables. Coming out of the Whitney, he had been seen by many as not only the one to beat here but also the top threat for the BC Classic (and he is still is a top contender for that), however Mb Stables was moderately concerned about the short rest for him here. Jumping out to the lead is not something we expect from, either. Running alongside him would be Splash Mountain, from John Henry, who’s also one not expected to be on the lead early though not quite as unusual for him. Royal Assembly, the reigning KYD winner from Nakamura Stables was third, and running in a stalking position, so this was an interesting start to the race. Charleys Latte held fourth for Estero Farms, running to the inside of Royal Asembly. In line right behind them were Geronimo (Nakamura Stables) and Instagooglefacetweet (Threshold). Having A Blast (Mb Stables) was next on the rail, and coming up on his outside would be our eventual winner, Crack Dab, from Gdp Inc. At this time, he would have just under five lengths to make up on the front runners while running in the second line. Following him would be County Medical (Crocker Ggs) and Charlemagnes Command (Serenity Stables). Trailing are Wolfmoon Bay (Night Rider Stables) and Achilles (Diablo Diablo).

(¾ Mile- 1:11.04)- At the front, Tactical and Splash Mountain go at one another side by side down the backstretch, and open up a lead of a length and a half over third place. That now belongs to Charleys Latte, who pokes a head in front of Royal Assembly as each of them look to move down to possibly prepare for a pass of the leaders while in the turn. Having A Blast advances a tad, to now become level with Geronimo and Instagooglefacetweet in the middle of the pack. Meanwhile, Crack Dab was making his intentions known here as they got closer to the turn, and moved out to a four wide position to take advantage of the money lane. He was still a length behind those three, but everyone knew that he would be coming soon. Meanwhile, County Medical would stay on the rail, perhaps hoping to follow Having A Blast through some of the traffic. We weren’t seeing much from the others yet.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Moving around the turn, Charleys Latte was looking quite strong, taking the third lane and completing the pass of both Tactical and Splash Mountain to take the lead. When you put that sentence together, it seems like it would be a winning move based on name recognition, but there were a few challengers coming. For Mb Stables, he had to be glad to see that Having A Blast was one of them as Tactical was not looking like a winner here. He had moved down a lane, a move that County Medical right behind him was hoping for, although some indecisiveness on lane choice by Having A Blast at the top of the stretch, likely cost County Medical a little bit. Then, we have Crack Dab. As the field made it to the top of the turn, we could see that his move to the fourth lane was going to look pretty good. He would make it work, and would get closer to the leaders, though the three closer horses in front of him were not all necessarily making it easy. He was now fifth, a head in front of the lacking response Royal Assembly, and within a length and a half of Charleys Latte. Instagooglefacetweet and Geronimo were coming up empty, as was Charlemagnes Command. Wolfmoon Bay and Achilles were too far back now.

(Finish- 2:00.61)- Charleys Latte leads into the stretch, but begins drifting out, and this allows Having A Blast to get closer on the inside while the steady stride of Crack Dab allowed that one to cut into the gap without that much trouble. In the final half furlong, J Stein asked his horse for a little more run, and he would respond with an additional gear that no one else in this field would have. As a result, he would go on to take the win by half a length, something that might have been a little larger if the still drifting Charleys Latte did not make him drift a bit as well. Charleys Latte does take second over Having A Blast. A late run by County Medical saw him just miss in the photo for show, and he settles for fourth. Splash Mountain, Tactical, and Royal Assembly, the early leaders, take home 5th, 6th, and 7th for their efforts. The final order is Achilles, Charlemagnes Command, Instagooglefacetweet, Geronimo, and Wolfmoon Bay.

About The Winner- Crack Dab, trained by Gdp Inc and ridden to victory by J Stein, is a four year old gelding by Safecracker, and is out of S S Drabby. He was bred by Gdp Inc in New York as a first quarter two year old, and they have been together throughout! Congratulations to the connections! The win is his ninth in 24 starts, his fourth stake win, and second graded win. HIs career earnings are now $1,179.140.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Crack Dab

Gdp Inc

Stein J

26.45

1^1/2