Wednesday Breeders' Cup Classic Notes

Awesome Gem – “He's been great for the partners,” said Terry Finley, president of West Point Thoroughbreds, from trackside at Santa Anita Park Wednesday after watching the 6yo gelding gallop for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday.

“Look at the places he's taken us,” added Finley. “It's really been fun to be part of the ride.”

The chestnut son of Awesome Again, purchased for $150,000 as a 2yo at a Barretts sale, has taken his owners from California to New Jersey to Hong Kong to Washington to Illinois while earning $1,695,682 in 30 starts for trainer Craig Dollase.

Third in the 2007 Classic as a 28-1 longshot in the slop at Monmouth Park, Awesome Gem will again try to produce a surprise as a 30-1 morning-line outsider from post 13 under David Flores.

“You'd like to be a little more inside,” said Finley. “But the post isn't going to get us beat. The competition is.”

Colonel John – Colonel John, the only Classic contender returning from last year’s edition of the race, jogged 1m this morning under Paul Turner rather than regular exercise rider Yutta Lang.

“When he breezes, Lang is on him because he’s lighter,” Turner explained. “The horse is doing just great. He went as good as ever this morning. You’d never know he was sick.”

A 4yo son of Tiznow, Colonel John was extremely sick earlier in the year and that was only one of the setbacks that sidelined him for the first half of his 2009 campaign. While training for the Santa Anita Handicap on Mar. 7, he pulled a muscle that knocked him out of the race. To make matters worse, he came down with a fever that morning that ultimately turned into pneumonia and put his life in jeopardy.

Colonel John’s recovery lasted until July, but trainer Eoin Harty’s patience and excellent horsemanship paid off.

In the first start back for the WinStar Farms homebred on July 31, Colonel John closed strongly on Del Mar’s turf course to capture the Wickerr in 1:32 3/5. His final time was just 2/5 off the course record.

Einstein – Trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi was relaxed and happy as she held her Santa Anita Handicap winner while he had his feet washed following a 1m gallop on Wednesday. Einstein also stood in the gate before his morning exercise.

“It’s going to be a tough race, but with a good trip, I think we can get a piece of it,” said Pitts-Blasi. “I love our post and I think we’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know what the plans will be for him after the race, but I hope if he wins they retire him. He deserves it. He deserves to have a good race. He ran good in the Pacific Classic and needs to take a shot here.”

Einstein, a 7yo Spend a Buck horse, has won 11 races from 28 starts over four seasons of racing. In addition to winning the “Big ‘Cap”, he also won the Turf Classic at Churchill and most recently finished second in the Pacific Classic. When asked what makes him so special, Pitts-Blasi replied “It’s his personality and heart, his will to win. He just loves to run.”

Gio Ponti – After arriving on a flight from New York yesterday, Classic hopeful Gio Ponti went to the track Wednesday morning to gallop 7f under Christophe Lorieul, the assistant to trainer Christophe Clement.

“He shipped well and is in tip-top physical shape,” said Lorieul. “Shipping was a problem with him when he was younger and he would get nervous, but now that he is a four-year-old, he handles the travel much better. His coat, his weight, and all else looks very good since he’s arrived.”

The son of Tale of the Cat, widely regarded as one of the top turf horses in North America during his 2009 campaign, had no problem with the synthetic surface of the main track this morning even though his regular exercise rider, Jerry Fogarty, did not make the trip with him.

“I got on fine with him today,” said Lorieul. “He handled this surface very well.”

Gio Ponti, who drew post 7 in the 13-horse field and is a 12-1 morning line choice, competed at Santa Anita twice before and won the Sir Beaufort on Dec. 26, 2008 when the race was taken off the turf and moved to the main track.

He has won four of his last five races and finished a solid second in the other. All were Grade I events, but all were on the grass and at different distances ranging from 1m to 1 3/8m.

“The distance and the synthetic here at Santa Anita were why we chose the Classic instead of the Turf,” Lorieul said. “He’s won here before and the mile-and-a-quarter is probably his best distance of all.”

Clement is scheduled to arrive from New York Thursday to supervise final preparations.

Girolamo – The 3yo son of A.P. Indy headed out with the second set of Godolphin Stables’ U.S.-trained Breeders’ Cup starters at 5:50 a.m. on Wednesday, galloping around the Santa Anita track ahead of the Classic.

Winner of the Jerome Handicap last out on Oct. 9 at Belmont, Girolamo stretches out to the 1 1/4m distance of the Classic for the first time in his six-race career, and will also be making his first start on a synthetic surface. He comes off a trio of victories in New York, two at one mile and another at 7f, and breaks from post nine in a field of 13.

“He’s coming out of those one-turn races where he’s stalked 45 and change; he’s not usually quick coming out of the gate,” said Rick Mettee, United States assistant to trainer Saeed bin Suroor.

“In a big field like that you don’t know if they’re standing in the gate longer how they’re going to break out of there, but once he does get out I expect him to be forwardly-placed.

He’s been stalking in all of his races, albeit at a shorter distance. Since he’s going from a mile to a mile and a quarter, that last quarter you’re going to be holding your breath.”

Mine That Bird – This year’s Kentucky Derby winner back-tracked to the ¾-pole and then proceeded to gallop 1½ m on Wednesday under the watchful eye of trainer Chip Woolley and co-owner Mark Allen.

“He went good and looked good,” said Woolley. “I’m really excited. I guess for sentimental reasons, I would have liked the eight hole like we had in the Derby, but the one is perfect. The thing is this is the Classic and you’re running against the best 13 horses in the world. You could run the best race of your life and still be eighth.

“The thing about the Derby is that it’s the first time the horses are going a mile and a quarter and we had confidence because we knew our horse would love the distance. In the Classic, these are all seasoned racehorses that have gone the distance.”

Despite the fact that Mine That Bird has yet to run back to his Derby performance, Woolley feels he has the Birdstone gelding back in top form. He enters the Classic off a sixth-place finish in the Goodwood Handicap at Santa Anita on Oct. 10.

“When we had to miss the Travers, things started to go downhill. Waiting 10 weeks between races wasn’t good. But, the Goodwood did what it was designed to do and it set him up great for this race.”

Quality Road – The 3yo colt, who arrived on the grounds Tuesday, jogged a mile Wednesday morning in his first visit to Santa Anita’s track in preparation for his date in Saturday’s Classic.

The early favorite for the Kentucky Derby after winning the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park in March before incurring an injury, Quality Road made his first start against older horses in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Oct. 3 and was a solid second to Summer Bird.

“We feel like a mile and a quarter is not an issue,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who confirmed the Classic was always the target in his comeback that started with a victory in the 6 1/2f Amsterdam at Saratoga after a four-month layoff. “He’s certainly run races that have shown us he can go the distance.”

Quality Road’s last two starts have both come on “off” tracks, an issue Pletcher won’t have to deal with here. It will be his first start on a synthetic track.

John Velazquez will be aboard the son of Elusive Quality, who was moved from trainer Jim Jerkens’ barn to Pletcher’s in April.

Regal Ransom – The 3yo Distorted Humor colt was on the track Wednesday morning with fellow Godolphin starters Gayego (Sprint) and Midshipman (Dirt Mile) at about 6:40 a.m., completing a gallop over the Santa Anita track en route to a start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The Super Derby winner drew post 11 in a field of 13 at the Breeders’ Cup draw on Tuesday.

“He’s a pretty handy horse around the gate and he usually breaks fairly sharp,” said Rick Mettee, United States assistant to trainer Saeed bin Suroor. “You would think in a race that doesn’t have a lot of speed on paper, he would be forwardly-placed if he breaks good.

“He’s in the 11 hole, but that’s a pretty good run; you’ve got from the head of that chute to the turn so naturally he should be able to get a good spot in there. If not on the lead then he might just sit off it; I don’t know what Quality Road will do and he’s drawn outside of us.”

Richard's Kid – The 3yo son of Lemon Drop Kid galloped the Santa Anita oval Wednesday morning following his final tune-up on Monday for the Classic. He went 4f for trainer Bob Baffert in 47 2/5 in that move in company with stablemate Limestone Edge.

Richard’s Kid is coming off a solid third-place finish in the Oct. 10 Goodwood Stakes here under jockey Alex Solis, who retains the mount in the Classic.

Baffert, watching his runners work from the Santa Anita apron, said he expects the 24-1 Pacific Classic upset winner to come running at the end of Saturday’s 1 ¼m test.

“If he’s in the lead I’ll head back to my car,” Baffert dead-panned. “He’s a horse that falls back and lays off the pace. When he gets a run in he’s got about a good two-and-a-half furlong move, so pace is going to be a factor.

“He’s a small horse so hopefully they don’t jostle him around too much. He’s gotta really step it up in this company. And you know with those European horses, they’re the X-factor, they came in here last year and humiliated everybody and they’re good horses this year too.”

Rip Van Winkle – Trainer Aidan O’Brien said some questions he had about the 3yo colt vanished after Rip Van Winkle went to the track Wednesday morning. He said the son of Galileo showed him he is ready for the Classic.

“It’s his movement and his enthusiasm,” O’Brien said. “The way he was when he came over, he was a bit quiet and maybe a little bit lethargic after the long journey. So it worries you. But the moment he stepped out here it all came rushing back. That’s what makes him different.

“Whatever kind of a mind he has everything else just goes away. He must get a massive rush of adrenaline and then he has the movement to go with it. It’s very unusual.”

Rip Van Winkle has not competed since winning the 1m Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at a Ascot on Sept. 26, where he edged Zacinto and Delagator, both of whom are entered in the Mile. The colt has had some foot problems in the interim and O’Brien didn’t like the way he looked after the flight from Europe. But his opinion changed once the colt left the quarantine area went to the track.

“This morning going around the track I was very happy,” O’Brien said. “You get that feeling. He won’t do much the next few days and you won’t really know until you run. Listen, I was really happy with him and I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s going to happen.

O’Brien said Rip Van Winkle is completely recovered from problems with his right rear foot.

Summer Bird – The 3yo son of Birdstone blew along through a 2-minute clip at Santa Anita Wednesday morning, breaking off from the quarter pole to the wire in his traditional pre-race training pattern under exercise rider Leo Atempa.

Trainer Tim Ice said he’ll jog Thursday and gallop Friday en route to a start in Saturday’s Classic.

“I’m very happy with how he’s going,” said Ice. “As far as strategy goes, we’ll see how he breaks; hopefully he’ll break how he has in his previous races and be up close. It looks like the other speed is on the outside so I figure (jockey Kent Desormeaux) can get him ducked down there on the rail and maybe start moving his way out to make sure he’s got room down the backside when he asks him to run.”

Summer Bird breaks from post position 3, inside the unbeaten Zenyatta who drew post 4.

“I like our post, I think it’s a good post,” Ice said. “I think it’s great for racing that Zenyatta is in there, but I’m not scared of her. The way I look at it, there’s 12 horses in there that I have to beat. But it’s great for racing that she’s in there.”

According to Ice, Summer Bird heads into the Classic in fine form. He’s been subjected to weekly weigh-ins at trainer Patrick Biancone’s barn (where he is stabled for the Classic) and last Monday he tipped the scales at 1,150 pounds.

“We weighed him the Tuesday after he got here and he was 1,120 pounds,” said Ice. “We weighed him the following Tuesday he had gained 10 pounds, up to 1,130. Then Sunday we worked him in the afternoon between races and the Tuesday after that we weighed him and he was down to 1,119; we gave him Lasix for that work and he drew up a little bit, but they’re going to do that with Lasix. But when we weighed him again this past Monday, he had gained 31 pounds in a week. That’s a horse that’s doing good.”

Summer Bird also received a visit from retired Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day on Wednesday. Day stopped by the barn to drop off a halter for the White Horse Heroes Award Luncheon to be held at Santa Anita on Thursday. Classic contenders wear the halters, which are then auctioned off at the auction honoring horse racing’s unsung heroes. The funds go to the Race Track Chaplaincy of America.

Twice Over – Veteran trainer Henry Cecil watched the 4yo colt make his first visit to the track early Wednesday morning. Twice Over, a Juddmonte Farms homebred, enters the Classic off a half-length victory in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket on Oct. 17 that is the biggest victory of his 15-race career.

Cecil said the Classic was not a target for Twice Over prior to the Champion.

“In the back of my mind I always hoped that he was up to doing that, but having won the Champion Stakes and come back in very good form, I think he’s entitled to take his chance,” Cecil said. “Take a look at the betting. If he’s fourth or fifth favorite, he’s entitled to run, isn’t he? There’s nothing to lose and hopefully everything to gain.”

Regular rider Thomas Queally will be up on Twice Over, who will be competing over a synthetic surface for the first time.

Zenyatta – The unbeaten champion mare was scheduled to arrive in Barn 66 late Wednesday morning after being vanned across town from her training base at Hollywood Park, where she galloped on the main track under regular exercise rider Steve Willard.

In addition to facing males for the first time in her career, Zenyatta will run 1 1/4 m for the first time, a furlong longer than she has ever tried. The added distance should not be a deterrent, according to trainer John Shirreffs.

“A Street Cry won the Melbourne Cup at two miles,” said Shirreffs in reference to the sire of Zenyatta. Shocking, a 4yo son of Street Cry, won the Melbourne Cup, Australia's biggest race, on Tuesday.

Zenyatta, unbeaten in 13 starts for owners Jerry and Ann Moss, will leave from post four in a field of 13 under regular rider Mike Smith.

Zenyatta, a 5yo mare, seeks to punctuate her career by becoming the first female to win the Classic. Three others have tried – Jolypha was the closest, finishing third as a 3yo in 1992. Horse of the Year Azeri finished fifth as a 6yo in 2004, and Triptych was sixth as a 4yo in 1986.

Breeders' Cup Classic Notes

To keep everyone up to date on the Breeders' Cup, I am going to share with you the official notes that the Breeders' Cup Notes Team puts together.

Below are the notes on the Classic.

Awesome Gem – The 6yo gelding jogged on Cushion Track at Hollywood Park Monday under exercise rider Juan Olivera before shipping to Santa Anita for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic Saturday.

Assistant Sergio Martin supervised for trainer Craig Dollase, who was at Santa Anita.

David Flores, who rode the chestnut to victory in the Hawthorne Gold Cup in his last start on Oct. 3, has the call back.

Awesome Gem, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, will be making his third Breeders' Cup start. He finished third in the Classic in 2007 and sixth in the Mile last year. Dollase said the veteran came out of a 6f work in 1:13 here Friday in top shape.

He was cross-entered in both races this year but Dollase said he will go in the Classic.

"I liked the bigger purse and the mile and a quarter," explained Dollase.

Bullsbay – see Dirt Mile

Chocolate Candy – see Dirt Mile (second on preference list in Classic)

Colonel John – Trainer Eoin Harty said that Colonel John, who was pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic and the TVG Breeders' Cup Mile, definitely will run in the Classic on Saturday.

The 4yo son of two-time Classic winner Tiznow, who finished sixth here in last year's Classic, worked 5f in 59 4/5 handily at Santa Anita under regular exercise rider Yutta Lang after the break on Monday morning.

This was the final work for Colonel John, who will be "eased on up to the race" according to Harty. Garrett Gomez, the horse's regular jockey, will ride him in the Classic.

Einstein – Trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi reported that Einstein was doing well one day after working a half mile in 47 4/5 at Santa Anita on Sunday in his final major preparation for the Classic.

On Monday, the Santa Anita Handicap winner walked the shedrow and will return to the track on Tuesday to jog.

“Turf is probably his preferred surface and I know he loves Churchill, but I have to say this is his favorite track,” said Pitts-Blasi referring to Santa Anita. “I was happy with his work. This track plays fast and I never moved on him. He did it well within himself.”

Jockey Julien Leparoux was aboard for Einstein’s last seven races, including a second last time out in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, will be back aboard on Saturday.

Gio Ponti – The Classic-bound Gio Ponti galloped 1 1/4m on Belmont Park’s main track this morning. Gio Ponti, a four-time Grade I winner on turf this season, will be ridden by jockey Ramon Dominguez in the Classic Saturday.

Gio Ponti is flying to California Tuesday morning.

“The horse had his final workout Saturday (4f over Belmont Park’s Widener turf course in 52 2/5, breezing) and is doing very well,” trainer Christophe Clement said.

Gio Ponti is widely regarded as the most accomplished American-based turf horse currently in training and would have been one of the favorites in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. His connections, however, have opted to run the 4yo on a Pro-Ride surface that Gio Ponti won the Sir Beaufort over last December at Santa Anita.

“It’s a bigger question mark than running him on the turf that’s for sure, but he’s won over it before,” Clement said. “I’m very excited about running him Saturday and think he deserves a shot in the Classic.”

Girolamo – The 3yo son of A.P. Indy walked the Godolphin shedrow Monday morning following his final prep for Saturday, a Nov. 1 move through 5f in 59 1/5. This speedy frontrunner, unbeaten in his 2009 season, carries a three-race win streak into the Classic. His most recent score came in Belmont Park’s Oct. 11 Jerome Handicap.

That 3yo season has been much better than the bay colt’s 2yo campaign, when he broke his maiden at first asking but ran fourth in the Belmont Futurity in September of 2008, then finished sixth in the Champagne less than a month later after being bumped at the start. He missed nearly 10 months of training following that start.

“He was off from October of his 2-year-old year until August of his 3-year-old year, which left only a few options for bringing him back,” said Godolphin assistant trainer Rick Mettee.

“It was either run him off the layoff in a race like the King’s Bishop or shoot for an allowance race, and we didn’t want to go into that tough of a race off that long of a layoff, so we picked a couple of easy spots for him for overall fitness and confidence reasons both.”

Jockey Alan Garcia, aboard for all but one of the colt’s six lifetime starts, will be in the saddle for Girolamo’s Breeders’ Cup start. He is cross-entered for the Classic and the Dirt Mile, with the Classic listed as his first preference. Mettee said his chosen race will be announced tomorrow at the post position draw.

Mastercraftsman – see Dirt Mile

Mine That Bird – The Kentucky Derby winner, with jockey Joe Talamo aboard, worked five furlongs in 1:01 2/5 on Monday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for his start in the Classic.

“He worked super, really super,” said trainer Chip Woolley just moments after watching the workout. “I was looking for 1:02, but it was just what we wanted. He really looked good getting over the ground and was just gliding out there. I was a little concerned after that last workout (58 1/5 on 10/26) that he would get into the bridle today, but he was nice and relaxed and galloped out really strong.

“The last work doesn’t look like it did any damage. Whenever you have a bullet workout, a horse tends to get into the bridle in a race. Let’s just say that I was really glad that that work was two weeks before the race.

“What really has helped him is that they’ve tightened the track. It’s really helped him fire off the ground. He’s like a jackrabbit with the way his hind end pushes him forward.”

Woolley said that Mine That Bird has really come around since finishing sixth in the Goodwood Handicap at Santa Anita on Oct. 10.

“He really needed that last race,” said Woolley. “He had gone flat on me and I trained him all I could, but it’s not the same as a race. He’s gotten stronger, you could see it a few days after that race. He has really blossomed. Even (trainer) Richard Mandella (who had the horse when he finished last in the Juvenile last year) said he looks good.”

Jockey Calvin Borel, aboard for the Derby win and the Goodwood, has the mount in the Classic.

Quality Road – Florida Derby winner Quality Road had an “easy jog” over Belmont Park’s main track this morning according to the colt’s trainer, Todd Pletcher.

Quality Road, who most recently finished a narrowly beaten second to Summer Bird in a thrilling Jockey Club Gold Cup Oct. 3 at Belmont Park, is flying to California Tuesday with the rest of Pletcher’s Breeders’ Cup horses.

Off his strong placing to Summer Bird in the 10f Gold Cup last month, Quality Road appears to be back on the top of his game. He did miss the Triple Crown series and a good chunk of his 3yo campaign because of foot/hoof issues earlier this season.

“The horse is doing great, I mean we’re really pleased with him,” Pletcher said. “We’re just like everybody else trying the synthetic for the first time, hoping he handles it.”

Jockey John Velazquez has the mount aboard Quality Road, who has never raced on the West Coast before.

Regal Ransom – The 3yo Distorted Humor colt walked the shedrow of Godolphin’s Santa Anita barn one day after clicking through a handy 5f in 59 1/5, seventh of 61 timed works at the distance.

His Nov. 1 move under jockey Richard Migliore was a hair slower than his previous drill at Santa Anita on Oct. 26 when he went 5f in 58 2/5 for trainer Saeed bin Suroor. Assistant Rick Mettee said the UAE Derby winner was the most impressive worker of nine Godolphin Breeders’ Cup contenders sent through their final paces over the weekend.

“I think he’s impressed the most since he’s been here,” Mettee contended. “He seems to really grab this track. Of all the ones, he’s impressed the most, but obviously he’s in a tough spot.”

Regal Ransom shipped in to Santa Anita from New York on a Tex Sutton flight Oct. 19 along with stablemate Girolamo and several other New York-based runners.

“We had a group of nine or ten ship out about a month ago and then Girolamo and Regal Ransom came,” Mettee said. “Regal Ransom shipped about two weeks after he ran in the Super Derby and Girolamo had just run in the Jerome, so those two came via charter. We had a private plane bringing the first load out.”

Regal Ransom comes into the Classic off a Sept. 19 victory in the Super Derby with Migliore in the irons. The UAE Derby winner, who finished eighth in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, had one start at Santa Anita as a 2yo. He tired to eighth as the beaten favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Norfolk Stakes after pressing the pace into the stretch.

Although the Classic is listed as his first preference, Regal Ransom is also pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Mettee said the colt’s connections would wait until entry time to announce the call, but either way Richard Migliore retains the mount.

Richard's Kid – The Pacific Classic winner stepped onto the track around 6:45 a.m. under exercise rider Joey Steiner, breezing in company with stablemate Limestone Edge through 4f in 47 1/5.

He tracked the workmate through the head of the stretch, then passed him and drew off coming down to the wire. The 4yo son of Lemon Drop Kid has been training steadily at Santa Anita since Baffert purchased him for owner Arnold Zetcher in May. He last turned in a 6f breeze in 1:12.80 here on Oct. 27.

“The workmate was under control,” Baffert said of Limestone Edge, who broke off in front of Richard’s Kid under exercise rider Janell Gruss. “I had the radio on him so (Gruss) just held (Limestone Edge) a little. It wasn’t a race, just a little target for him to run at.

“He’s ready, that was just a nice little cruising to keep him fresh. All he runs is the last half of a mile anyways, that’s his style, so I don’t have to do too much with him.”

Richard’s Kid comes off an Oct. 10 third-place finish behind Gitano Hernando and Colonel John in the Goodwood at Santa Anita. He won the Pacific Classic Sept. 6 at odds of 24-1.

“I wish I had bet on him,” Baffert joked. “I had no idea (he was going to win), are you kidding me? But he looked great today, everything went well. I’m so relieved right now, as long as they can all come out of their works great, we’ll be in good shape.”

Jockey Alex Solis, who rode Richard’s Kid in the Goodwood, will have the mount for the Classic. Richard’s Kid will walk the shedrow in Baffert’s Barn 5 Tuesday morning.

Rip Van Winkle – The Sussex Stakes winner trained by Aidan O’Brien arrived at Santa Anita at 7:15 Sunday evening with the Coolmore contingent of seven horses. The 3yo colt will be eligible to clear the 42-hour quarantine Tuesday and is expected to visit the track for the first time on Wednesday morning.

O’Brien was traveling from Ireland on Monday and is expected at Santa Anita on Tuesday.

Summer Bird – The 3yo son of Birdstone returned to the track for the first time after drilling 5f under exercise rider Leo Atempa in a speedy 59 2/5 on Oct. 31, his final work at Santa Anita in preparation for the Classic.

He stepped on following the maintenance break around 8:15 a.m. and jogged a simple circuit under the watchful eye of trainer Tim Ice, who said he will gallop Tuesday and two-minute lick a quarter of a mile Wednesday morning.

Ice has been tightening his colt up for his first race over the Pro-Ride surface since the Belmont Stakes winner arrived via Tex Sutton flight from New York on Oct. 12 after an Oct. 3 score in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He quickly got a chance to check out the Santa Anita oval, jogging over the surface Oct. 13.

“He’s a good shipper,” Ice said. “It wasn’t a long flight, the trip was pretty easy, and he looked great when he got off the plane. He was feeling too good to leave him in the stall another day, so we just took him out and jogged him.”

Summer Bird’s most recent work was fourth of 72 timed at the distance and his third over the Pro-Ride surface – he turned in 5f works in 1:00 2/5 and 1:02 on Oct. 25 and Oct. 17 respectively, the former between races at Santa Anita with regular rider Kent Desormeaux in the irons, the latter with jockey Alonso Quinonez up.

“I thought he handled the October 17 work well, he got off the pole a little slower than I would have liked but he picked it up,” Ice said. “The rider was just unsure because it was his first time getting on him, but once he got him into the work I thought he worked great. We weren’t looking for anything faster than that anyways, and overall, I thought the work was great because he handled the track; he just looked smooth going over it. Our big work was when Kent worked him and he told me he handled it well, like a duck to water.”

Summer Bird is a leading Eclipse Award contender in the champion 3yo male category after his sweep of the 2009 Belmont, Shadwell Travers Stakes, and Jockey Club Gold Cup, a feat that had not been accomplished since Easy Goer’s trio of wins in 1989.

Twice Over – The recent upset winner of the Champion Stakes arrived at Santa Anita Saturday afternoon following a flight from England. He cleared the 42-hour quarantine Monday morning and went to the track.

The 4yo Juddmonte Farms colt trained by Henry Cecil arrives at the Breeders’ Cup on a three-race winning streak. He returned to the races on Sept. 9 after a two-month break between starts and scored a win in a conditions race at Doncaster.

He followed that victory with a win in a listed stakes at Goodwood on Sept. 23 and then won the Champion on Oct. 17 at Newmarket at odds of 14-1.

Zenyatta – The unbeaten 5yo mare jogged twice around the 4f training track adjacent to trainer John Shirreffs's barn at Hollywood Park Monday morning to the satisfaction of her conditioner.

Shirreffs said a final decision as to whether Zenyatta runs in the Classic or Ladies’ Classic will be reached Tuesday after he confers with owners Jerry and Ann Moss.

“The Mosses were in New York the last couple of days and flew home last night,” said Shirreffs of the Beverly Hills residents. “They stopped on the way back and picked up two poodles in Tennessee. Cocoa, their old dog, just passed away.”

Shirreffs said Zenyatta would gallop on the main track here Tuesday and, if she is entered in the Classic, ship to Santa Anita Wednesday. Regular rider Mike Smith has the call.

Zenyatta worked 6f in 1:12 4/5 under Smith at Hollywood Park Saturday.

Zenyatta, undefeated in 13 starts, won the Ladies Classic last year. She has never raced against males and would seek to become the first female to win the Classic if she starts in that race.

Zenyatta went to the training track at 9:40 with her regular team. Groom Mario Espinoza led her out of her stall, and pony boy Fred Wilson escorted her to the track with exercise rider Steve Willard.

The champion mare was easy to spot with four blue bandages and her name printed on a purple Breeders' Cup saddle towel.

“She looked good,” said Shirreffs.