Canadian racing fans will be eager to see how Woodbine Mile (G1) winner EL TORMENTA fits into the Breeders’ Cup Mile field when pre-entries are taken Monday and announced Wednesday next week. It is also possible that E.P. Taylor (G1) victress STARSHIP JUBILEE will be entered in the Filly and Mare Turf and that mare is trained at Woodbine by Kevin Attard.
The Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be held at Santa Anita racetrack Nov. 1 and 2.
The big races of the Cup have a dearth of huge stars, in particular the Classic, but as Bob Baffert was quoted as saying this week, there is no such thing as an easy Classic.
Baffert trains the current Classic favourite MCKINZIE, a solid 4-year-old who won the Grade 1 Whitney although he would not be confused with American Pharoah, Arrogate and the like.
Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, McKinzie finished as the top-rated horse in final polling for the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders’ Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel.
Winner of the Alysheba Stakes (G2) and the “Win and You’re In” Whitney (G1), McKinzie (253 votes), led the weekly Classic Rankings since polling began on June 11.
McKinzie finished six votes ahead of William S. Farish’s 3-year-old Code of Honor (247 votes), who came on strongly during the second half of the year, capturing the Runhappy Travers (G1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).
McKinzie finished with 11 first-place votes, one more than the 10 Code of Honor received in the final Classic Rankings.
Both McKinzie and Code of Honor are expected to be the leading contenders for the $6 million, 1 ¼-mile Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on Saturday, Nov. 2, the culmination of the 36th Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s 4-year-old Vino Rosso, who crossed the wire first in The Jockey Club Gold Cup, but was disqualified and placed second for interfering with Code of Honor in the stretch, finished third in the final poll with 224 votes. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Vino Rosso won the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1) in May.
China Horse Club International, WinStar Farm and Head of Plains Partners’ 5-year-old Yoshida (JPN) (158 votes), second to McKinzie in the Whitney, and fourth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic for trainer Bill Mott, finished fourth in the poll. Yoshida is followed by Hronis Racing’s TVG Pacific Classic (G1) winner Higher Power (129 votes), trained by John Sadler, who finishes in fifth place.
Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s 5-year-old mare Elate (95 votes), also trained by Mott, finished in seventh place. Elate triumphed in the “Win and You’re In” Fleur de Lis (G2) at Churchill Downs and in the Delaware Handicap (G2) at Delaware Park. She was recently second in the Juddmonte Spinster (G1) at Keeneland.
Mongolian Stable’s 4-year-old Mongolian Groom (72 votes), who upset McKinzie in the Awesome Again Stakes (G1) for trainer Enebish Ganbat, finishes in eighth place.
Charles Fipke’s 6-year-old Seeking the Soul (54 votes), winner of the Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill, and fourth in the Awesome Again for trainer Dallas Stewart, finished in ninth place in the final poll.
Rupp Racing’s 3-year-old Owendale (45 votes) enters the Classic Rankings in the final week at No. 10. Trained by Brad Cox, Owendale has won the Lexington Stakes (G3), the Ohio Derby (G3) and the Oklahoma Derby (G3) this year. He also finished third in the Preakness Stakes (G1).
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