DEL MAR, Calif. – Express Train will make his first start in four months when he takes on Flightline and Country Grammer in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic on Saturday at Del Mar, a schedule not by design, but by necessity. Express Train was intended for the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 30, but dissatisfaction with the way Express Train was performing in the morning caused his trainer, John Shirreffs, to pass, even skipping a work that weekend. But in the weeks since, Express Train has come around, his last two works more like what Shirreffs has come to expect from a 5-year-old he’s had in his care for more than three years now. And so, despite the layoff, despite the competition, Express Train heads into battle Saturday, perhaps overlooked owing to recency bias, but possessing one critical attribute to this race, a prior victory at the Pacific Classic’s 1 1/4-mile distance. :: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more “He’s improved in every way,” Shirreffs said of the progress Express Train has made here since the start of the meet. “When he gets on the track, he wants to go. He’s come a long ways. He’s gotten better week to week, and his last two works were really good.” Shirreffs said Express Train was body sore all over following his second-place finish to Stilleto Boy, another Pacific Classic entrant, in the Grade 2 Californian on April 30 at Santa Anita. That followed the biggest win of his career, going 1 1/4 miles in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, which at the time ran his win streak to three. He was in peak form. And then Shirreffs was forced to back off. “His last race was tough on him,” Shirreffs said. “He was hurting everywhere.” Express Train, a Union Rags horse owned by the CRK Stable of Lee and Susan Searing, has won seven times in 18 starts, but he’s 3 for 5 at Del Mar, where he has won races three straight summers, including the San Diego last year. Express Train landed post 4 when six horses were entered Tuesday in the Pacific Classic. He is 12-1 on the morning line of Del Mar’s Jon White. The brilliant, unbeaten Flightline, starting from post 5, is a prohibitive 1-5 favorite. Country Grammer, who starts from post 2, is 4-1, with Royal Ship, who defeated Country Grammer in this year’s San Diego, 8-1. :: Get Del Mar Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day. The field is bookended by longshots. Extra Hope, 30-1 on the morning line, starts from the rail, with Stilleto Boy, 20-1, in post 6. This is the 32nd running of the Pacific Classic, the track’s signature race. John Sadler, who trains Flightline, has won it three times in the last four years. Bob Baffert, trainer of Country Grammer, has won it a record-equaling six times. Richard Mandella, trainer of Royal Ship and Extra Hope, has won it four times. The Pacific Classic is scheduled to be the 10th race on an 11-race card that begins at 1 p.m. Pacific.