Finger targets Pacific Classic after Japanese Triple Crown bypass

Finger is headed to Del Mar, not a sweep attempt in Japan’s Dirt Triple Crown, and that turns one summer race into a much bigger statement about where Japanese dirt horses can land on the world stage. The colt’s next target is the $1 million Grade I Pacific Classic on Saturday, August 22, a 1 1/4-mile dirt race that offers a free berth and travel allowance into the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 30-31.

The shift matters because Finger is not arriving as a curiosity. He is 4-for-8 with $1,303,486 in earnings, and his recent form reads like a horse that has been taking the right steps at the right time. He broke his maiden by about 9 1/2 lengths, won the Listed Bluebird Cup, ran second in the Keihin Hai, turned the tables in the Haneda Hai and then made all the running in the $1.06 million Tokyo Derby at Oi Racecourse on June 10 under Keita Tosaki.

That last win is the one that pushed him into this conversation. Finger handled the Tokyo Derby from the front, a useful trait for Del Mar if he shows the same pace and toughness against older horses. The Pacific Classic is not just another graded stakes on the calendar. It is Del Mar’s richest and most prestigious race, and in 2026 it again sits inside the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, where the winner earns automatic entry into the World Championships. Breeders’ Cup says the 2026 Challenge Series spans 14 countries on five continents, and 46 Challenge Series winners went on to the 2025 World Championships at Del Mar, where Forever Young won the Classic.

Finger’s pedigree gives the story another layer. He is by Gun Runner out of Estilo Talentoso, a graded stakes mare who won the GIII Bed o’ Roses Stakes and placed in the GI Madison Stakes and GI Derby City Distaff. Japanese connections bought Estilo Talentoso for $600,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, and she was covered by Gun Runner in 2022 before export to Japan. That cross produced a colt now being aimed at American elite company.

For Japan, the move is bigger than one horse. Finger’s campaign is a direct shot at the older dirt ranks in the United States, with Forever Young already setting the standard for what that challenge can look like. If Finger runs through the Pacific Classic, the next stop is not just another race. It is the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and that is where the collision course becomes real.