Tripoli came off the rail, went around frontrunning Tizamagician to take the lead turning into the stretch, and went on to win the $1 million Pacific Classic by 1 1/4 lengths at Del Mar.
Tripoli ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.37 to earn his first stakes victory under Tiago Pereira, the Brazilian-born jockey who won with his only mount on the 11-race card. It was Pereira’s first win in a million-dollar race in the U.S.
“When it was time to run, I had plenty of horse,” Pereira said. “But once we got in front, he started looking around, waiting on other horses. I looked around and knew we were not going to get caught.”
The 4-year-old colt trained by John Sadler paid $15, $7.80 and $4.80 at 6-1 odds.
Tripoli earned an automatic berth into the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 6.
Tizamagician returned $7.60 and $5.20. Dr. Post, who shipped in from New York for trainer Todd Pletcher, paid $4.20 to show.
