It’s Breeders’ Cup week, 36th edition, and action is all hustle and bustle on the Santa Anita tracks in the mornings.
The Breeders’ Cup has come a lot way since the first running in 1984 when it was just seven championship races.
Now the Breeders’ Cup World Championships is 14 races over 2 days.
Friday is Future Stars Friday and it will have five juvenile races while Saturday has nine Cup races including the Mile, featuring Canadian/Ontario bred and owner EL TORMENTA for Sam-Son Farms, trained Gail Cox and jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva.
The POST POSITION DRAW for the 14 races will be held Monday (today) and post will mean a lot to El Tormenta.
**You can watch the post draw either on TVG or Live Streaming on the Breeders’ Cup site or Facebook Page. The first race to be draw will be drawn at 630 p.m. Eastern. **
Jennifer’s Notes – Oct 25-27
Thanks to TVG and Breeders’ Cup, it is easy to watch Breakfast at the Breeders’ Cup show each morning at 930-10 a.m.
Of course, a workout is merely that, a workout. No race traffic, no bad post etc.
However, it is fun to watch how these horses put in their final preps.
These notes are either news related or good or poor workout notes:
1 – The BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE (G1) is easily the highlight of Friday’s Cup races and it is one of the most exciting match-ups of the entire 2-day series.
The three colts who won Win and You’re IN Races – DENNIS’ MOMENT (Tiznow), EIGHT RINGS (Empire Maker) and MAXFIELD (Street Sense) are all monsters.
Eight Rings, co-owned by Toronto’s John Fielding, might be playing catch up to his other 2 rivals. Both DENNIS’ MOMENT and MAXFIELD had workouts on the weekend that were stunning. Eight Rings’ 3 furlong workout on the weekend was okay.
STORM THE COURT (Court Vision) did not have a great workout in company but consider finding out when his workmate runs – Mo Mississippi.
2 – Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, TWO SIXTY looked good in a prep on Friday for trainer Mark Casse. Florida-bred by Canadian Horse of the Year Uncaptured was born on trainer Casse’s birthday 2 years ago. DONNA VELOCE – Juvenile Fillies – big, big move.
3 – EDDIE HASKELL – Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint: Very strong workout on the weekend and it was on the dirt.
4 – OLLIE’S CANDY – DISTAFF, very sharp workout on the weekend , finished strong
5 – MIRTH – Filly & Mare Turf – Sunday – super prep
6 – IMPROBABLE – Dirt Mile – Bob Baffert trainee really good Sunday
7 – WAR OF WILL had a nice workout for the Classic and will wear the blinkers he had on for the first time in the Classic
8 – DOUBLE TOUCH – worked on the dirt Friday and well beaten by stablemate; Turf Sprint
9 – BLUE CHIPPER – 7 for 8 in Korea, first South Korean runner in Breeders’ Cup; just arrived for Dirt Mile
BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC FIELD
MONGOLIAN GROOM upset MCKINZIE in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes and the pair are the top contenders in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) – VANESSA NG PHOTO -COURTESY HORSE-RACES.NET
As intriguing as it is as a betting race, the Classic this year is far from the best field the race has seen in the past.
There are Grade 1 winners in the race – Vino Rosso, and 3-year-olds Code of Honor and War of Will but they are not considered anywhere near the ilk of past Classic winners.
MCKINZIE and MONGOLIAN GROOM (whom I had never heard of until he beat McKinzie in their latest meeting) are the big number horses in the Classic.
Horse – Owner Trainer Breeder
Code of Honor – W. S. Farish Claude R. McGaughey III W. S. Farish
Elate – Adele Dilschneider & Claiborne Farm William I. Mott Claiborne Farm & Adele B. Dilschneider
Higher Power – Hronis Racing LLC John W. Sadler Pin Oak Stud, LLC
Math Wizard – John Fanelli, Khalid Mishref, Cash is King LLC, LC Racing, Saffie Joseph Jr. Lucky Seven Stable
Collarmele Vitelli Stables LLC, Ioannis Zoumas & Bassett Stables
McKinzie – Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman Bob Baffert Summer Wind Farm
Mongolian Groom – Mongolian Stable Enebish Ganbat Calumet Farm
Owendale – Rupp Racing Brad Cox Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC
Seeking the Soul – Charles E. Fipke Dallas Stewart Charles Fipke
Vino Rosso – Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable LLC Todd A. Pletcher John D. Gunther
War of Will – Gary Barber Mark E. Casse Flaxman Holdings Limited
Yoshida (JPN) – China Horse Club, WinStar Farm, LLC & Head of Plains Partners LLC William I. Mott Northern Farm
Of course, with the races held once again on the west coast, Eastern racing fans will have to remember that the Breeders’ Cup races will be later in the day Friday and Saturday. The BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC goes at 8:44 p.m. Eastern.
Friday, Nov. 1 – “Future Stars Friday”
1. $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint 4:12 p.m. EASTERN
2. $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf – Presented by Coolmore America
3. $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
4. $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf
5. $2 million TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
Saturday, Nov. 2
6. $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Post time 2:55 EASTERN
7. $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint
8. $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile
9. $2 million Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf
10. $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint
11. $2 million TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile
12. $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff
13. $4 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf
14. $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic
TV – The Breeders’ Cup will be televised on NBC and NBC Sports with the schedule shown below. All times are Eastern.
Friday, November 1, 4:00-8:00pm – Future Stars Friday on NBC Sports
Saturday, November 2, 3:30-8:30 – Championship Saturday on NBC Sports
Saturday, November 2, 8:00-9:00pm – Classic on NBC
More Breeders’ Cup Notes – Woodbine’s Leading Trainer has hopes for Got Stormy in the Mile; War of Will in Classic
Mark Casse boasts a strong Breeders’ Cup contingent, led by Grade 1 Preakness-winner War of Will (Classic) and Grade 1 Fourstardave champ Got Stormy (Mile). Additional Casse contenders include Perfect Alibi (Juvenile Fillies), Two Sixty (Juvenile Fillies) and Peace Achieved (Juvenile Turf). Jack and Noah and Proven Strategies are on the overflow list for the Juvenile Turf Sprint and Juvenile Turf, respectively.
Gary Barber’s War of Will joins a talented group in a wide open edition of the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic set for Saturday, November 2 at Santa Anita Park.
The War Front bay contested all three legs of the Triple Crown including a troubled effort in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby where he was placed seventh; a subsequent redemption with a 1 1/4-length score in the Grade 1 Preakness; and an off-the-board effort in the Belmont Stakes.
War of Will has since finished fifth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga and third in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx.
War of Will breezed a half-mile in 47.40 on Friday morning at Santa Anita, and was sporting a new piece of equipment: blinkers. According to horseracingnation.com, the colt will wear the blinkers when he starts in the Classic.
“I didn’t want him to be too keen, but he really has reacted well to them,” Casse said of the equipment, “so we’ve had them on for some time. He actually focuses but doesn’t get too rank.
“I thought he went extremely well. I think he looks great but he’s got to pick up his game. He’s going to need his A plus game. We figure if he comes with it, he’s got a shot. It’s tough. He’s playing against the older boys now.”
Got Stormy has posted four consecutive triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures dating back to a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Rule at Churchill Downs in May. She followed that effort with a score in the Fasig-Tipton De La Rose on August 3 at Saratoga; a track-record setting score against the boys in the Grade 1 Fourstardave; and a last-out second in a swiftly-run Grade 1 Woodbine Mile on September 14.
Casse said the lengthy stretch run of the Woodbine turf course was not to Got Stormy’s advantage last out.
“I thought her Woodbine Mile was good,” said Casse. “She’s a true miler. She can get a little farther if the turf is really hard, but she had two things against her last time – the turf had some give to it; and a mile turf race at Woodbine is not like a mile anywhere else. One of her strong suits is her ability to quicken and it’s not as effective on that long stretch. She will be much more effective at Santa Anita and I would think we will get a hard, firm turf course there as well.”
Perfect Alibi posted back-to-back graded stakes sprint wins at Saratoga this summer under Irad Ortiz, Jr., taking the Grade 2 Adirondack at 6 1/2-furlongs and the Grade 1 Spinaway going seven furlongs. Last out, with Jose Ortiz up, in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades, the dark bay daughter of Sky Mesa ran second to British Idiom.
Casse said Perfect Alibi didn’t handle the Keeneland surface last out.
“I think she struggled with the track at Keeneland. It was opening day and the track was very loose,” said Casse. “I knew down the backside she was going to struggle because the pace wasn’t that fast and Jose was having to ask her to keep up. When she won the Adirondack and the Spinaway, she was into the bit with much faster splits. I thought Jose rode her well but we’re excited to get Irad back.”
Two Sixty, a Florida-bred daughter of the Casse-trained multiple graded-stakes winner Uncaptured, has won two of four starts, all at Gulfstream Park, including a last-out score in the Florida Sire My Dear.
In her two non-winning efforts, Two Sixty ran third in the slop on August 9 and lost her rider on August 31.
“The race where she lost the rider, she was in a good place and a horse bumped her and it may have knocked her off stride a bit and Zayas went flying,” said Casse. “One thing about her, in the races where she’s had a good trip she’s won impressively. Obviously, she hasn’t run against the company she’ll face next, but the colt who won the other have of the division [Chance It, Reality Stakes], he ran a fifth of a second faster but had a few 90 Beyers coming into that race.
“I think her Beyer puts her right in there with everybody and in her second time going two turns, she should improve,” added Casse. “A lot of the other fillies have yet to go two turns.
Two Sixty breezed four furlongs in 48 flat on Friday at Santa Anita.
“She worked well,” said Casse. “Aaron Gryder worked her for us. They had just put up a big white tent in the infield and Aaron said she was watching that tent for a quarter of a mile. You can see her cocking her head and she lost focus. I’d call War of Will’s work this morning an A plus and Two Sixty’s work a B.”
JSM Equine’s Peace Achieved is on a three-race win streak heading into the Juvenile Turf, including a maiden win at Ellis Park on July 27; a 2 1/2-length score in the Juvenile at Kentucky Downs; and a narrow neck win the Grade 3 Bourbon at Keeneland last out on October 6.
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