Making Money Betting Beholder in Pacific Classic

Beholder (above winning the 2014 Zenyatta Stakes) will take on males for the first time in her career on Saturday in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar. (BENOIT photo)
Saturday’s $1-million, Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar has been widely billed as the Beholder show.
A two-time champion, the now 5-year-old mare has seven prior Grade 1 scores to her credit and career earnings of more than $3.6-million. However, the Pacific Classic will mark the first time that Beholder faces males and it also will be her first time going a distance of 1 1/4 miles.
From a pace perspective, known speedster Bayern figures to be on the early lead. The 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner is at his best when he can run on a loose lead and set soft fractions, which makes outsider Midnight Storm an interesting player. It appears that Midnight Storm has the early speed to go with Bayern and soften him up enough for horses racing in the second and third flight of the field, exactly where Beholder figures to be running.
While it’s hard to build a strong case against Beholder, in order to make money on a budget betting Beholder we’ll have to look at some outsiders who might have a chance to factor at longer prices.
Of all the horses in the field, Red Vine rates a long look as one who could pull off a potential upset. Until recently, the 5-year-old had run primarily on the turf, where he was always a consistent performer. Since being switched to the dirt by trainer Christophe Clement for owners Jon and Sarah Kelly, Red Vine has blossomed into a star.
His 105 Beyer Speed Figure in his most recent start in the Grade 3 Salvatore Mile Stakes was the second best of his career, a point lower than his prior race - also on the dirt - a two-length score in the Majestic Light Stakes at Monmouth in May.
Red Vine also appears to be one of the few horses who generally runs midpack, yet he still has the ability to sit close enough to the pacesetters should they go slower up front than expected. I like that jockey Joel Rosario, who always seems to school fellow riders when he returns to California, flies out to ride for Clement, for whom he rode 2014 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, among other horses.
Another potential value horse in the field is Bob Baffert-trained Hoppertunity.
A multiple graded stakes winner last year, Hoppertunity has had to work hard to hit the board most of this year, albeit against very stiff competition. What I like about Hoppertunity is that he might be overlooked by the betting public, following races in which he was beaten by Pacific Classic rivals Catch a Flight, Bayern and Hard Aces. Despite that, I think Hoppertunity will relish the added distance of the race and looks like he’s coming into a big race.
That said, if I were to advise anyone looking to bet Beholder and still make some money on the race, I would do the following: Play a trifecta using Beholder in the top two spots, along with the only two horses who I think can beat her, Red Vine and Hoppertunity. In the third spot, we’ll include Catch a Flight and deep closing longshot Imperative.
Limited by a $20 budget, my $18 trifecta play would look like this:
$1 trifecta: 5,8,9 with 5,8,9 with 5,6,7,8,9 
$1-million Pacific Classic StakesDel Mar, Saturday, Race 9, 9:10 p.m. ET1 ¼ miles, dirt, 3-year-olds and older

PP

Horse

Jockey

Trainer

Owner

Odds

1

Class Leader

Mike Smith

John Sadler

Lane's End Racing

TBD

2

Bailoutbobby

James Graham

Doug O'Neill

Calara Farms, Great Friends Stable, K. Jewgieniew, S. Keh and R3 Racing

TBD

3

Bayern

Rafael Bejarano

Bob Baffert

Kaleem Shah

TBD

4

Hard Aces

Victor Espinoza

John Sadler

Hronis Racing

TBD

5

Red Vine

Joel Rosario

Christophe Clement

Jon and Sarah Kelly

TBD

6

Imperative

Corey Nakatani

Richard Baltas

KM Racing Enterprise

TBD

7

Catch a Flight

Flavien Prat

Richard Mandella

Haras Santa Maria de Araras

TBD

8

Hoppertunity

Martin Garcia

Bob Baffert

Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman

TBD

9

Beholder

Gary Stevens

Richard Mandella

Spendthrift Farm

TBD

10

Midnight Storm

Tyler Baze

Philip D'Amato

Dye, Marjorie Post, A Venneri Racing Inc. and Little Red Feather Racing

TBD