The Pacific Classic

Lava Man is headlining a field of 13 horses in his attempt to win his second straight Pacific Classic. He drew the rail in the post position draw that was made special by the attendance of his groom, Noe Garcia, who was severly injured when a drunk driver rearended him last month and severed his arm.

The race is scheduled to go off at 4:44 PDT Sunday and will be televised on ESPN2.

1. Lava Man (Slew City Slew), Corey Nakatani, 124, Doug O'Neill, 5-to-2;
2. Albertus Maximus (Albert the Great), Joseph Talamo, 117, Gary Mandella, 15-to-1;
3. Sun Boat (GB) (Machiavellian), Michael Baze, 124, Mike Mitchell, 6-to-1;
4. Awesome Gem (Awesome Again), David Flores, 124, Craig Dollase, 15-to-1;
5. Student Council (Kingmambo), Richard Migliore, 124, Neil Howard, 15-to-1;
6. Porfido (Chi) (Mash One [Chi]), Joel Rosario, 124, Bobby Frankel, 30-to-1;
7. Salty Humor (Distorted Humor), Jon Court, 124, Sean McCarthy, 30-to-1;
8. Arson Squad (Brahms), Alex Solis, 124, Bruce Headley, 30-to-1;
9. Tiago (Pleasant Tap), Mike Smith, 117, John Shirreffs, 6-to-1;
10. Big Booster (Accelerator), Garrett Gomez, 124, Mike Mitchell, 9-to-2;
11. A. P. Xcellent (A.P. Indy), Victor Espinoza, 124, John Shirreffs, 8-to-1;
12. Time Squared (Fusaichi Pegasus), Julien Leparoux, 117, Patrick Biancone, 15-to-1; and
13. Hello Sunday (Fr) (Poligolote [GB]), Brice Blanc, 124, Bobby Frankel, 20-to-1.

Tiago for the Derby Anyone?

If you aren't a die hard handicapper, you may just need a reason to like a horse for the Derby. Here's a good reason to like Tiago.

The partnership of Kelli Mitchell and Bill Terrill have once again teamed up and bought themselves a future star. Their most famous past endeavor resulted in partnering on Lost In The Fog who they purchased as a weanling and sold as a yearling to Southern Chase Farm. This year, the standout of their consignment may very well be their Macho Uno colt. He is out of a mare named Sea Jewel (who is MGSP) and is a half sister to Giacomo (Derby winner) and this years contender, Tiago. I'm wishing Kelli and Bill all the luck in the world that Tiago will run well in the Derby and shine the light on their own colt.