Journalism breaks into top 10 after San Diego Handicap win
Journalism surged into the NTRA top 10 after a troubled San Diego Handicap win at Del Mar, outrunning a last-place start and a compact field in 1:42.65.
Journalism moved into the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s weekly top 10 after his San Diego Handicap victory at Del Mar, a jump that gives the son of Curlin a national profile to match the attention he has been building at the track. Magnitude stayed No. 1 in the poll with 26 first-place votes, but Journalism’s rise was the week’s notable shift after a Grade II performance that came with both style and circumstance.
The San Diego Handicap, run July 18 at Del Mar, was a Grade II test at 1 1/16 miles on dirt for 3-year-olds and up with a $300,000 purse. Journalism and jockey Umberto Rispoli reunited for the race after a troubled start, with Journalism away last from the gate and, in Del Mar’s video recap, spotting the field several lengths early before moving on the far turn and taking control in the stretch. He finished in 1:42.65, enough to turn a rough beginning into a clean stakes win.
That is what made the poll movement matter. Journalism was not just winning a summer stakes at Del Mar, he was doing it in the San Diego, a race that has long carried extra weight on the way to the second half of the season. A preview of the race had already cast it as a major stepping stone toward the $1 million Pacific Classic, and Journalism’s result put him squarely on that path. The NTRA framed the effort as an adventurous Grade 2 win, and the result backed up the label: he was last, then patient, then best when the race tightened up late.
For Michael McCarthy, the question now is not whether Journalism belongs in the conversation. It is how quickly a horse with one big Del Mar breakthrough can turn national buzz into a deeper résumé against more established older runners. The top-10 slot shows voters are rewarding the quality of the San Diego and the way Journalism recovered from the break. The next start will tell whether the jump was the start of a climb, or just the week when the sport’s perception finally caught up to what he had already shown at Del Mar.
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