Dr. Venkman ghosts his opponents on the way to Pat O’Brien Stakes win at Del Mar

DEL MAR — Trainer Mark Glatt wasn’t totally happy to have Dr. Venkman breaking along the rail going into Saturday’s Grade II Pat O’Brien Stakes.

But it worked out perfectly. The 5-year-old gelded son of Ghostzapper ran close to the shortest race possible, broke through an opening in the stretch and then held off two challengers in the final strides to win the $250,000 race and earn an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Jockey Umberto Rispoli saved ground early in the race marred by the breakdown of Spirit of Makena in an incident that saw jockey Mirco Demuro taken to a nearby hospital for observation.

“Umberto rode a very patient race and when it opened up, he was able to get through,” observed Glatt. “When Dr. Venkman took the lead he started to pull up, so maybe I was a little nervous there.”

Rispoli said Dr. Venkman “knows how to run his races.”

“He’s a smart horse, a fighter,” Rispoli said. “I just kept him on the fence and looking ahead. No one else wanted to be on the rail. I saw that the inside was going to be my gap. That’s a good spot where you get momentum.”

Favorite Speed Boat Beach grabbed the lead as expected ahead of trainer Bob Baffert’s second horse (Maymum) out of the gate but drifted inward toward Dr. Venkman, tired in the stretch and finished fifth just behind his stablemate.

Meantime, Dr. Venkman, Stronghold (Antonio Fresu) and Express Train (Hector Berrios) moved forward at the top of the stretch of the seven-furlong dirt test for older horses.

A year ago, Dr. Venkman was preparing for the Pacific Classic at this point of the season after winning the San Diego Handicap. He finished fourth in the Pacific Classic and finished second in a pair of Grade III races before running fourth in the Grade I Bing Crosby at Del Mar on July 25.

Spirit of Makena’s problems began when he broke through the gate before the start and had to be reloaded. He trailed down the backstretch before suffering a front left forelock injury, tossing Demuro, who was removed from the far turn by an ambulance. Trained by George Papaprodromou, Spirit of Makena was removed by a van and evaluated. The 7-year-old son of Ghostzapper faces surgery.

Work,  but no word

Journalism worked five furlongs in exactly one minute Saturday morning.

But there was still no word from primary owner Aron Wellman or trainer Michael McCarthy about the 3-year-old’s status for next Saturday’s Pacific Classic.

“No idea,” said McCarthy when asked about the Pacific Classic. “We’ll talk about it in the next day or so. Aron’s got a lot of moving parts. We’ll see what happens across the country today.”

On the other side of the country, Sovereignty — who won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes ahead of Preakness champion Journalism — impressively won the Travers at Saratoga.

The decision on Journalism will have to be made by Tuesday’s draw for post positions for Del Mar’s premier $1 million race.

Rispoli was aboard Journalism for Saturday’s workout. “I thought he went very well,” McCarthy said of the son of Curlin. “Full of run all the way with a solid gallop out … a solid five-eighths.”

Two other Pacific Classic nominees worked amidst raindrops Saturday. Ultimate Gamble ran six furlongs in 1:11.20. Indispensible worked five furlongs in 58.00 seconds, the second-best time among 69 runners at the distance. Journalism had the 30th-fastest time.

Heavy favorite

Few horses will go off as a shorter favorite than Sweet Azteca will Sunday in the featured Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Stakes — a 6½-furlong dash for fillies and mares.

The 5-year-old daughter of Sharp Azteca led this sprint almost wire-to-wire last year and won by 7 lengths as the 1-9 favorite. She is the 2-5 morning-line favorite in this year’s edition, which has drawn five starters.

Sweet Azteca has won six of eight career starts, the most recent victory coming in the Grade II Great Lady M Stakes over Kopion at Los Alamitos on July 5. Her wins include the Grade I Beholder Mile at Santa Anita and back-to-back Great Lady M Stakes. Juan Hernandez will be aboard the Richard Baltas-trained Sweet Azteca, who is looking to parlay another win in the Rancho Bernardo into a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Fillies and Mares Sprint.

Two other horses to watch in the Rancho Bernardo are Formula Rossa (undefeated in two starts) and Chismosa. The 5-year-old daughter of Clubhouse Ride will be facing Sweet Azteca for the fifth time and finished ahead of her once.

Notable

Favorite Mr. Disrespectful (Hector Berrios) hit the finish line a nose in front of Canani (Kyle Frey) in the seventh race Saturday. But a stewards inquiry upheld a claim of foul by Frey and declared Canani ($20.60) the winner with Mr. Disrespectful dropped to second. Mr. Disrespectful came out and twice bumped Canani deep in the stretch as the leaders raced side-by-side.

• The Jeff Mullins-trained Intrepido (Berrios) topped a pair of Bob Baffert horses to win a mile-long run for maiden 2-year-olds. Provence, the 1-2 favorite under Hernandez, ran third.

• Jockey Kazushi Kimura won three races Saturday with Spearfish ($4.60 in the second), Ten Figures ($14.80 in the fifth) and Yellow card ($4 in the eighth). Rispoli had two wins.