Pacific Classic: Mandella puts Geaux Rocket Ride to bigger test

There is a dry quality to Richard Mandella’s sense of humorthat keeps reporters on their toes. The impish glint in his eyes can be sensed evenon the other end of a telephone call 1,800 miles away.

Just as easy to sense this week was Mandella’s pride inGeaux Rocket Ride, a 3-year-old in whom he has shown a lot of confidence.Enough to challenge the colt to be tested by older horses and the 1 1/4-mile distanceSaturday in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

“I wouldn’t be there if I wasn’t optimistic,” the Hall of Fame trainer said duringa break from training Thursday morning. “I’d be looking for the 3-year-old racethe next day. I hope I’m glad I didn’t do that.”

No Shared Belief Stakes for this lightly raced colt. Mandellawas buoyed by Geaux Rocket Ride’s July 22 win over Kentucky Derby winner Mage inthe Haskell (G1) at Monmouth Park. So, too, was morning-line writer Jon White,who made the son of Candy Ride the 5-2 program favorite for Saturday’s $1 millionrace that is an automatic qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“He’s just a very talented horse that acts like he’s run 15times,” Mandella said in the conversation for Horse Racing Nation’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. “Every race has been that way. I just thought he was readyfor that kind of thing.”

Mandella also thoughtthe $350,000 colt owned by Jim and Dana Bernhard’s Pin Oak Stud was ready in Aprilfor the Santa Anita Derby (G1). After a debut win in January, Geaux Rocket Rideestablished his bona fides with a second-place finish March 4 in the San Felipe(G2) that was worth a 96 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form.

Unfortunately, onlyhours before the Santa Anita Derby on April 8, another number came up evenhigher.

“He had a103-and-change temperature that morning,” Mandella said. “Obviously, wescratched and didn’t run. We let him have enough time to get over it and comeback, and that worked.”

Dreams of aKentucky Derby may have been shattered, but Mandella had been down this roadbefore. Four years ago he had to scratch morning-line favorite Omaha Beach fromthe Kentucky Derby. Mandella heard a cough three days before the race, and heordered a scoping that revealed an entrapped epiglottis.

Ever patient withhis horses and ever mindful of their well-being, Mandella rewrote the scriptfor Geaux Rocket Ride. One might say he has continued to do so since a June 4comeback resulted in a 1 3/4-length victory and a 90 Beyer from the AffirmedStakes at Santa Anita.

Mandella rarelygoes to the Haskell. The only other time he went before this summer was in2000, and he won with Dixie Union. As confident as he might have felt six weeksago, he admitted he did not expect Geaux Rocket Ride to perform as well as hedid.

“Well, you don’texpect to beat the Kentucky Derby winner and the horse that (Bob) Baffert hassaid all along is a really good horse,” Mandella said. “If he doesn’t know whatone is, nobody would.”

Baffert’s horseArabian Knight was the even-money favorite that day, and he was leading untilthe field turned for home. Geaux Rocket Ride passed him, and Arabian Knightwilted. Mage took up the challenge in the stretch, and Geaux Rocket Ride puthim away, too. Under Mike Smith’s urging, the margin opened to 1 3/4 lengths.

“Surely, whenyou beat those convincingly, I’m not saying surprise,” Mandella said. “But it’sa nice thing to have happened.”

A career-high100 Beyer came with that win, and so did more respect from the internationalfutures market for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Bovada shortened Geaux RocketRide to a 10-1 third choice. Only Belmont and Travers (G1) winner Arcangelo at5-1 and Whitney (G1) victor White Abarrio at 6-1 were shorter Saturday morning.

The Breeders’Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita will be 1 1/4 miles, just like the PacificClassic. Considering how Geaux Rocket Ride widened his lead at the end of the 11/8-mile Haskell, Mandella was asked how that might translate to Saturday’srace.

With thataudible glint, Mandella said, “It’s just another eighth.”

After waitingfor the reaction and the requisite follow-up question, he expanded on that.

“Watching theHaskell, there’s no reason to think that it should make a difference,” Mandell said.“The difference could be whether Baffert’s horse needed a race, and he’llimprove quite a bit this time.”

Arabian Knightis back and is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line. Even with jockey FlavienPrat stepping in for the absent John Velázquez, he still may be expected tobring the early speed.

So might his 5-year-oldstablemate Defunded, the 4-1 third choice in the 11-horse field. He won theHollywood Gold Cup (G1) in May before his wide-running, fourth-placedisappointment July 29 as the odds-on favorite in the San Diego Handicap (G2).

“There’s plentyof pace,” Mandella said. “Both of Baffert’s horses have speed. Stilleto Boy hashad some speed on and off. And Doug O’Neill’s horse Slow Down Andy, he’s gotspeed. ... So there’s speed in there. You’ve got a quarter-mile through thefront stretch, and it’ll all sort out by the time they get around the cornerthere.”

Breaking fromthe rail post for the second race in a row, Geaux Rocket Ride may be expectedto stay close to the early leaders. Only once in his three victories was hemore than 1 1/2 lengths behind at any call. Not that Mandella was tipping hishand about this weekend.

“I think allthose horses can run,” Mandella said. “It’s just a matter of who’s thereSaturday.”

Mandella, 72, haswon the Pacific Classic four times, most recently with Beholder in 2015. Thatfour-time Eclipse Award winner was the first and still only filly to win therace. Now he tries to make Geaux Rocket Ride the first 3-year-old in nine yearsand only the sixth ever to win Del Mar’s signature race that is about to be runfor the 33rd time.

“We’ll knowSunday,” Mandella said, putting off any conclusions until the morning after.

Geaux RocketRide is one of the five horses Mandella entered in Saturday’s graded stakes atDel Mar. He also has Sumter (15-1) in the Del Mar Mile (G2), Coffee in Bed(12-1) in the Torrey Pines (G3), Lane Way (5-1) in the Green Flash Handicap(G3) and Planetario (4-1) in the Del Mar Handicap (G2), the finale on the11-race card.

Planetario is a5-year-old turf specialist who was bred in Brazil and came to Mandella earlythis year. A three-time Group 1 winner in South America, the Il Doge horse is4: 1-1-0 in the U.S. with a win in the San Juan Capistrano (G3) and afifth-place finish last out in the United Nations (G1) at Monmouth Park.

The intercontinentaltravels of Planetario inspired a signature response from Mandella. He ordered upa little ham on wry when he was asked if he had any questions before seeing thehorse on the racetrack.

“No,” Mandellasaid firmly. “He spoke with such an accent, we couldn’t understand him.”