Allicansayis Wow – Allicansayis Wow was declared out of the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Monday after trainer Patrick Biancone discovered that she had suffered an injury to her left front leg.
“She tore the suspensory (ligament). It’s an unfortunate injury and the timing is all wrong, but there is nothing that we can do,” a disappointed Biancone said.
Allicansayis Wow worked 4f in a fast 47 2/5 at Santa Anita on Sunday. According to sources, the 4yo daughter of Street Cry is still slated to be sold at auction later this month.
Evita Argentina – The stretch-running 3yo filly jogged a mile at Santa Anita Monday morning, returning to the track following a Saturday drill that was her final major prep for the Filly & Mare Sprint.
“She’ll gallop up to the race from here,” trainer John Sadler said.
Joel Rosario, who rode the 3yo daughter of Candy Ride in her three most recent outings, including a victory over older fillies and mares in Hollywood Park’s A Gleam Handicap, is the trainer’s choice to ride her again Friday.
“My one concern with the race is whether there will be enough speed in there to give my filly a chance,” Sadler added. “Last year they had Indian Blessing and Dearest Trickski in there to get it going, but they’re not around this time.”
Free Flying Soul/Silver Swallow – Both Free Flying Soul and Silver Swallow continue to train toward the Filly & Mare Sprint to trainer Bruce Headley’s satisfaction.
The veteran trainer reported that Free Flying Soul galloped 1 1/2m Monday, and said the filly “pulled up good after that nice win” in Oak Tree’s Lou Rowan Stakes on Oct. 12. “She’ll have a nice little blowout Wednesday, probably three furlongs.”
Regular exercise rider Mel Batyrkulov will be up for the work. Mike Smith will ride on Friday.
Silver Swallow’s serious work is done, Headley said, and she’ll gallop up to the race. Alex Solis has the call.
Game Face – Grade 1 winner Game Face will run in the Filly & Mare Sprint, not the Turf Sprint, according to trainer Todd Pletcher.
“She’s been very good to us, very consistent,” Pletcher said. “It’s obviously a very tough race, but I’m sure she’ll show up and run hard.”
Jockey Edgar Prado will ride.
Informed Decision – Informed Decision accompanied stablemates Forever Together and Cloudy’s Knight on a four-hour flight from Louisville Monday morning.
The 4yo daughter of Monarchos will seek her 11th victory in 14 lifetime starts in Friday’s Filly & Mare Sprint. The Jonathan Sheppard-trained filly suffered her only loss in six starts this year in the Ballerina over a sloppy Saratoga track.
“That was a muddy nasty track at Saratoga,” Sheppard said before boarding a plane to Southern California. “She cooled out fast after the race.”
Informed Decision is 6-for-6 over synthetic tracks, including victories in the Presque Isle Downs Masters and the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland in her two most recent starts.
Julien Leparoux will return to the saddle for the Filly & Mare Sprint.
Only Green – The 3yo homebred daughter of Green Desert arrived at Santa Anita Sunday afternoon after a flight from Europe and is in quarantine until Tuesday. She is expected to visit the track Wednesday morning. Trainer Freddie Head was traveling Monday.
Only Green won a listed stake, the Prix de Saint-Cyr, at Chantilly on Oct. 15. She broke her maiden in her only start over a synthetic surface in March.
Sara Louise – The 3yo Malibu Moon filly galloped at Santa Anita Monday morning, her main preparations for the Filly & Mare Sprint completed Oct. 31 when she went 4f in 47 4/5 under jockey Richard Migliore.
The filly exits a runner-up finish by a head to Indian Blessing in the Sept. 26 Gallant Bloom Handicap at Belmont Park and won the Victory Ride Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 29.
“We’re very happy with where she is going into this race, with her past two races and her overall pattern,” Rick Mettee, assistant trainer to Saeed bin Suroor, said. “She’s on a positive cycle and I’m confident that she can be competitive.”
Frankie Dettori has the mount aboard Sara Louise on Friday in her first start over a synthetic surface.
Seventh Street – The 4yo daughter of Street Cry galloped Monday morning at Santa Anita, her main preparations for the Filly & Mare Sprint completed with an Oct. 31 move through 5f in 1:02 2/5 under jockey Aaron Gryder.
Seventh Street comes into the Filly & Mare Sprint off a runner-up finish to Swift Temper in the Sept. 12 Ruffian Handicap at Belmont after winning the Aug. 2 Go For Wand for Godolphin Stable on a sloppy track at Saratoga.
“She’s never run on the synthetic, so obviously there’s a little concern, but she tries hard every time,” Rick Mettee, assistant trainer to Saeed bin Suroor, said.
Sweet Hearth – see Dirt Mile
Ventura – The defending Filly & Mare Sprint champion Ventura galloped about 1 1/4m on Cushion Track under exercise rider Salvador Martinez at Hollywood Park Monday and will be shipped to Santa Anita Tuesday, Humberto Ascanio, chief assistant to trainer Bobby Frankel, said.
Regular rider Garrett Gomez will again be aboard the 5yo mare, a Juddmonte Farms homebred coming off a victory over males in the Woodbine Mile on Sept. 20.
Ventura worked 5f in 59 4/5 breezing Friday at Hollywood Park.
“Ventura has done this before," Ascanio said of the daughter of Chester House. "She's a real professional."
Courageous Cat – The 3yo Storm Cat colt was the final workout runner on the track Monday morning, with a 5f move in 1:01 under regular rider Garrett Gomez on the Santa Anita turf course.
It was the best of only two works on firm grass for the colt, who entered the track just before its 10 a.m. close for training.
“It looked OK,” said Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who observed the move from the clubhouse stands behind the winner's circle. “He's doing fine.”
The Mile will be Gomez’ first time aboard the winner of the Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga. He has been ridden by four different riders in his first seven starts.
A close-up third in the Jamaica Handicap at BelmontPark in his last appearance, Courageous Cat broke his maiden against older horses on the grass in June. His three stakes appearances have come against straight 3-year-olds. He is 5-3-0-1 on grass.
Court Vision – Court Vision had a steady gallop over Aqueduct’s main track this morning in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.Assistant trainer Michelle Nevin was aboard the recent winner of Keeneland’s Shadwell Turf Mile.
“He’s just as good as a horse could be right now,” trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said.“We’re thinking he’s gonna run a big, big race.If he gets the trip he’s gonna be right there.We think he’s one of the horses to beat in that race.”
Like the Juvenile-bound, Dutrow-trained D’ Funnybone, Court Vision will depart New York on a flight to California at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“I really can’t wait to get him on the plane because he was very exciting in his last start,” Dutrow said.“We got a huge race out of him at Keeneland and him winning that race has brought his confidence to the next level over the last three weeks.”
Jockey Robby Albarado has the mount in the Mile.
Cowboy Cal – The Todd Pletcher-trained, Cowboy Cal has remained in California since his win in the Oct. 10 Oak Tree Mile at Santa Anita.
On Sunday, CowboyCal worked 4f around the dogs over Santa Anita’s turf course in 48 seconds.
“He worked there yesterday, worked very well,” Pletcher said from New York.
Although based in New York throughout the spring and summer, CowboyCal has won two of three starts over Santa Anita’s turf course.
“He certainly likes the track out there and he’s a consistent, hard-trying horse,” Pletcher said.
Jockey John Velazquez has the mount.
Delegator/Gladiatorus – The two Godolphin runners in Saturday’s Mile remained in quarantine Monday morning after arriving on Sunday.
Saeed bin Suroor trains both horses.
Delegator, a 3yo by Dansili who won the Celebration Mile at Goodwood during the summer and was third behind Rip Van Winkle and Zacinto in the Queen Elizabeth II last out, will have Frankie Dettori aboard again.
Gladiatorus, a 5yo by Silic, won the Premio Vittorio di Capua at San Siro on Oct. 11 after running fifth in the Prix du Moulin du Longchamp. Ahmed Ajtebi will ride on Saturday.
Ferneley – The 5yo Irish-born son of Ishigura jogged one more day Monday following a sharp 5f work Friday in 58 4/5.
“This is the best since he’s been here [in the United States in the summer of 2008],” Cecil said.
Ferneley earned an automatic bid to the Mile by capturing the Del Mar Mile, but Cecil said after the race it was unlikely that he would run in the Breeders’ Cup because of the supplemental fee. However, Cecil said that by finishing second in the Woodbine Mile the horse’s earnings encouraged the owner, Silver Springs Stud Farm, to send Ferneley on to the Mile.
Goldikova – The defending champion arrived at Santa Anita Sunday afternoon after a flight from Europe and is in quarantine until Tuesday. She is expected to visit the track Wednesday morning. Trainer Freddie Head was traveling Monday and is expected at Santa Anita on Tuesday.
Goldikova enters the Breeders’ Cup off a rare loss, but it was not at her preferred distance. She finished third a half-length behind the winner in the 7f Prix de la Foret on Oct. 4 at Longchamp in Paris. She made the lead in the quickly run race – the final time was 1:19 1/5 - but was headed 100 yards from the finish.
At 1m on turf, the 4yo Anabaa filly is 9-2-0 in 11 starts. She has won six straight mile races against males and females since losing to Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Zarkava in May of 2008.
Justenuffhumor – – The 4yo son of Distorted Humor galloped about 1 1/2m under exercise rider Danny Wright Monday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for a start in Saturday’s Mile.
Justenuffhumor had a six-race winning streak snapped in his most recent race, a sixth-place finish in the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland as the 7-5 favorite.
“We hope it was the soft turf. The Keeneland turf course is a different kind of course anyway because of the sand base,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin from New York. “That’s what we’re going to tell the world all week heading into the race.”
Justenufhumor , who had previously captured the Bernard Baruch and Fourstardave Stakes at Saratoga, had suffered defeat only once previously, a ninth-place finish over Keeneland’s Polytrack surface in his career debut last year.
“His only two bad races were at Keeneland. Last year, he didn’t like the artificial track and this year he didn’t like the soft turf,” McLaughlin said. “Everything in between he liked.”
Alan Garcia will have the return mount on the colt.
Karelian – The Shadwell Turf Mile runner-up arrived safely on Monday along with a large contingent of Kentucky-based horses and was bedded down in Jenine Sahadi’s barn.
“Jenine said he was perfect,” said trainer Rusty Arnold, who will arrive on Wednesday. “He’ll go to the track and jog tomorrow, just to make sure he’s doing ok and then gallop into the race,.”
Jockey Rajiv Maragh will ride.
Mr. Sidney – The 5yo son of Storm Cat owned by Circle E Racing and trained by Bill Mott worked Sunday at Keeneland with a 4f breeze in 48 2/5.
He arrived at Santa Anita Monday morning on a Tex Sutton charter.
Also pre-entered for the Dirt Mile, the winner of Firecracker at Churchill Downs on July 4 is likely to run in the Mile.
Kent Desormeaux, who has been aboard for all but two of Mr. Sidney’s 12 career starts, will have the mount. He was third in the Shadwell Turf Mile behind Court Vision in his last start on Oct. 10 at Keeneland.
Whatsthescript – The Irish-bred horse was a walker Monday morning after turning in a bullet six-panel drill on HollywoodPark’s Cushion track Sunday in 1:11 4/5.
“It was a good work for him,” trainer John Sadler noted Monday morning at his Santa Anita barn. “And we’ve got Kent Desormeaux to ride for Saturday.”
The 5yo bay “will jog tomorrow at Hollywood, then come over (to Santa Anita) Wednesday,” Sadler said. “He’ll gallop up to the race from there.”
Whatsthescript was a closing third in last year’s Mile, finishing less than four lengths behind winner Goldikova. He’ll have to face her again this year and comes into the race off a third-place finish in the Oak Tree Mile on Oct. 10.
Zacinto – The 3yo colt by Dansili, who runs in Saturday’s Mile, was out for a walk on the turf course with Michael Stoute-trained stablemates Conduit and Spanish Moon after clearing quarantine Monday morning.
Zacinto finished second behind Rip Van Winkle in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot most recently.
Regular rider Ryan Moore has the mount in Saturday’s race.
Dynaforce – The daughter of Dynaformer will be making her second consecutive start in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, having finished a troubled seventh last year over the Santa Anita grass course.
The 6yo mare, owned by Dr. John Chandler and trained by Bill Mott, had an unpublished work last Tuesday at Belmont Park, going 1:05 4/5 on a sloppy training track under exercise rider and assistant trainer Leanna Willford.
“It was a real messy day,” Willford said. “She walked the next day and was fine.”
Dynaforce was a distant sixth in the Flower Bowl on soft turf at Belmont in her last start on Oct. 3, nearly two months after upsetting the field in the Beverly D. at ArlingtonPark in August.
Regular rider Kent Desormeaux will be aboard.
Forever Together – The defending Filly & Mare Turf champion Forever Together arrived at Santa Anita Monday morning following a four-hour flight from Louisville.
Trainer Jonathan Sheppard reported that Forever Together had worked in company with stablemate and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint contender Informed Decision at Keeneland on Sunday.
The workouts, clocked in 1:00 for five furlongs by their trainer, were unpublished due to the absence of track clockers.
Sheppard is one trainer who is ecstatic about the back-to-back runnings of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita and is confident that Forever Together will return in the same top form she brought to the Filly & Mare Turf last year.
“I’m looking forward to it, but it’s going to be a very tough race with a lot of tough horses in it,” the Hall of Fame trainer said from Louisville before boarding a plane for Southern California.
Forever Together has won two of five races this year, including the Diana at Saratoga.
“I feel she was compromised by the trips in a couple of her races and she didn’t run her best race on the soft ground in her last race at Keeneland (First Lady on Oct. 10),” Sheppard said.
Julien Leparoux will be aboard the 5yo daughter of Belong to Me once again for her Filly & Mare title defense.
Magical Fantasy – The stretch-running daughter of Diesis is on a major roll with four straight graded stakes wins and walked the Paddy Gallagher shedrow for a second day Monday following a 5f work Saturday on the Santa Anita turf course accomplished in 1:00 4/5.
“She’ll go back to the track tomorrow and gallop up to the race,” the affable Irish conditioner noted. “She seems happy in herself. She’s doing very well.”
The millionaire ($1,039,231) 4yo filly began her career in England, running five times overseas as a 2yo. She was subsequently shipped to Gallagher in Southern California and has run a dozen times in the U.S., being handled by Alex Solis on each of those occasions.
Solis will be aboard again on Friday in the 10-furlong race.
Maram – Trainer Chad Brown recalled the highlight of his young career before sending Maram to the track for her morning gallop Monday at Santa Anita, the location of her upset victory in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
“It meant a lot. I worked here for Bobby (Frankel) in the past and to come back here and win a race like that, at a place where I was just learning years ago, it was special,” the 32-year-old native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., said. “I always liked Santa Anita.”
Maram, who was undefeated in three starts as a juvenile, didn’t make her first start this year until Aug. 8 at Saratoga, where she won an overnight stakes at Saratoga.
“She had some setbacks earlier in the year. It just took some patience to get her through all of that,” Brown said. “They were just minor setbacks that added up to needing some time.”
Maram returned at Belmont on Oct. 12 and suffered her first defeat, finishing third in the Pebbles Stakes after a slow start and wide trip.
“She had a lot of trouble trip-wise. It wasn’t what I was looking for, but that’s racing. I’ve been on the other end of some good trips, so that’s what happens,” Brown said. “Hopefully she got something good out of the race, more importantly, that we can build off of.”
Jose Lezcano will have the return mount aboard Maram.
Midday – The Juddmonte Farms homebred 3yo filly visited the turf course at Santa Anita Monday morning shortly after clearing quarantine.
Midday, winner of the Nassau Stakes on August 1 at Goodwood, arrived at Santa Anita on Saturday afternoon after a flight from Europe. She is trained by Henry Cecil.
Pure Clan – The Flower Bowl Invitational winner arrived at Santa Anita on Monday morning following a flight from Kentucky.
Trainer Bob Holthus reports that she will go to the track on Tuesday and gallop up to the race after completing her final major preparations at her home track on Sunday morning, breezing an easy 3f in 37 3/5 at Churchill Downs.
“It was a nice easy work,” Holthus said. “She was just galloping. She’s been doing great since the Flower Bowl.”
With regular rider Julien Leparoux opting to stay aboard defending champion Forever Together, jockey Garrett Gomez has picked up the mount on Pure Clan.
Rainbow View – see Ladies Classic
Rutherienne – The Christophe Clement-trained Rutherienne, somewhat of a longshot in the Filly & Mare Turf, arrived in Southern California last Friday.
“It’s ambitious, it’s the Breeders’ Cup, but she hasn’t run too many bad races in her life and I think she’ll stay a mile and a quarter over that turf course because it’s downhill,” Clement said.
Rutherienne, who has won 11 of 22 career races, will team up with jockey Alan Garcia in the Filly & Mare Turf.
Visit – The 4yo filly Visit galloped about 1 1/4m on Cushion Track under exercise rider Marco Briones at HollywoodPark Monday and will be shipped to Santa Anita Tuesday, according to Humberto Ascanio, chief assistant to trainer Bobby Frankel.
The Juddmonte Farms homebred finished fourth in the Filly & Mare Turf last year, beaten by 1 1/2 lengths in her United States debut. She is winless in seven starts this season, but has finished a close second twice to Magical Fantasy, most recently in the Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 10.
“Visit has been real unlucky, and the filly that beat her in the last race is a real good filly,” Ascanio said of Magical Fantasy, who has won four straight turf stakes on the Southern California circuit.
Visit worked 4f Friday at HollywoodPark in 48. John Velazquez will ride the filly for the first time in Fridays Filly & Mare Turf.
Allegre – The newly purchased 4yo bay son of Orientate took his first test over the Santa Anita turf course Monday morning and clocked 1:01 3/5 for 5f around the dogs.
Trainer Brian Koriner called the workout “very nice. He just cruised around there.”
Koriner bought the horse privately following the colt’s third-place finish in the W.R. Cluer Memorial Handicap at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.
“He looked like a nice horse,” Koriner said, “and the race [Breeders’ Cup Turf] looked like it was coming up light. Also, I think he’ll be a nice horse around here.”
Koriner’s assistant and exercise rider Colleen Hartford was in the irons for the work.
Jockey John Velazquez will ride in the Turf on Saturday.
Conduit – The winner of the 2008 Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf cleared quarantine Monday morning and walked around the turf course at 10 a.m.
This year, the 4yo Irish-bred son of Dalakhani won the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July, and comes into Saturday’s race off a steady fourth (beaten 2 ¼ lengths by Sea of Stars) in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 4.
Trainer Michael Stoute is expected to arrive on Tuesday.
Ryan Moore, who rode the colt to victory at Santa Anita last year, will be back in the irons.
Dar Re Mi– Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s 4yo filly arrived at Santa Anita Sunday on the Breeders’ Cup charter from England.She is eligible to clear the 42-hour quarantine period Tuesday and is likely to make her first appearance on the track on Wednesday morning.
The daughter of Singspiel trained by John Gosden won three consecutive Group I stakes versus females, the Pretty Polly, the Yorkshire Oaks and the Prix Vermeille, before finishing fifth versus males in Europe’s biggest race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, on October 4.
Monzante – The 5yo gelding jogged on Cushion Track at HollywoodPark Monday under exercise rider Jose Dominguez and will be shipped to Santa Anita Tuesday, according to trainer Mike Mitchell.
The gray/roan son of Maria's Mon worked 7f in 1:28 4/5 at Hollywood Friday and will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano, under whom he posted his biggest victory in the 2008 Eddie Read Handicap.
Monzante is cross-entered in the Dirt Mile but Mitchell said he would run in the Turf at 1 1/2 m, a distance he has never run before.
“I think he'll love it,” said Mitchell. “He got beat a nose going a mile and a quarter in the Whittingham (the 2008 Charles Whittingham Handicap) and was flying at the end.”
Presious Passion – The 6yo gelding by Royal Anthem galloped two miles on the main track Monday morning with regular exercise rider Fernando Espinoza aboard. He completed his serious work for Saturday’s Turf with a 1m drill in 1:39 4/5 here on Oct. 25.
Presious Passion tuned up for the Breeders’ Cup by winning the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes on the Santa Anita grass on Oct. 11.
Trainer Mary Hartmann, based in New Jersey, will arrive at Santa Anita Tuesday afternoon.
Regular rider Elvis Trujillo will be aboard Saturday.
Red Rocks – The son of Galileo, who upset the Breeders’ Cup Turf as a 3yo in 2006 at Churchill Downs, remained in quarantine Monday after arriving from Europe on Sunday.
The 6yo, who finished 10th in the Turf here last year when trained by Mark Hennig, is again in the care of Brian Meehan, who saddled the Irish-bred for his Breeders’ Cup score.
This will be the fourth Breeders’ Cup Turf start for Red Rocks, who finished third at Monmouth in 2007 before last year’s Santa Anita try. Frankie Dettori, who has been aboard in all his Breeders’ Cup starts, gets the call again Saturday.
Spanish Moon – The Michael Stoute-trained 5yo by El Prado cleared quarantine Monday morning and was out on the turf course with stablemate Conduit for a leisurely stroll.
Spanish Moon has won two of this three starts this year and was beaten a nose by Eastern Anthem in the Dubai Sheema Classic in his only loss.
Kieran Fallon will be aboard instead of regular rider Ryan Moore in the Turf because this will be the first time Spanish Moon and Conduit will compete against each other.
Summer Bird – see Classic
Telling – According to trainer Steve Hobby, Alex and Jo Ann Lieblong's Turf contender Telling arrived at Santa Anita in good order on Monday following a Tex Sutton flight from Kentucky. The upset winner of the Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga will be ridden on Saturday by Javier Castellano.
The Turf will mark Hobby's first appearance in a Breeders' Cup race.
Thursday on a firm Churchill Downs turf course with jockey Jesus Castanon aboard, Telling worked a 5f around the dogs in 1:08 1/5. Hobby indicated that the 5yo son of A. P. Indy will gallop up to Saturday's engagement.
“Surprisingly he's a Grade I winner who had never worked on grass in his life," Hobby said. "He was lost out there the first part of it. He got going once he figured it out, and galloped out strong. You can't read much into the time.”
Telling enjoyed a productive '08 campaign, winning four of nine starts en route to banking $149,566, but from a class perspective, he legitimized himself by posting a 33-1 upset in the Aug. 15 Sword Dancer. It was his first and only graded stakes win, and the lone tally from seven starts this season.
“He excels at 12 furlongs,” Hobby said. “We thought about the Sword Dancer last year, but at the time he wasn't training quite right.”
Telling finished fifth in the 1 1/4m Arlington Handicap on July 11, but according to Hobby, the result didn't tell the story of how well he ran.
“He finished really fast that day, and galloped out past everyone,” Hobby said. “He didn't win, but we pretended that he did, and decided he deserved a shot (at the Sword Dancer).”
Settled mid-pack behind a fast pace in the Sword Dancer, Telling rallied to take the lead at the top of the stretch, and held safe to win by two lengths over the multi-millionaire Better Talk Now.
“You couldn't have drawn it up any better,” Hobby said. “It was the thrill of thrills.”
Careless Jewel – Careless Jewel, an impressive winner in each of her last five starts, enjoyed an easy 1 1/2-mile gallop over Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface on Monday morning under regular exercise rider Moises Guce.
Trainer Josie Carroll was expected to arrive either Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning to oversee the filly’s final preparations for Friday's Breeders' Cup Ladies’ Classic.
“She's doing beautiful," Guce said. "She went nice and easy." Jockey Robert Landry has been aboard for all of Careless Jewel's victories and he will ride the Alabama Stakes winner in the Ladies’ Classic. The Tapit filly turned in a bullet 6f workout of 1:11 on Oct. 27 at Santa Anita.
Cocoa Beach - The 2008 Ladies’ Classic runner-up galloped over the track this morning and is already finished with her main preparations for this year’s edition of the race.
She turned in her final drill for trainer Saeed bin Suroor on Oct. 31, going 5f in 59 2/5. The work was the second for the 5yo daughter of Doneraile Court since she shipped to Santa Anita on Oct. 6, also making an Oct. 24 move of 4f in 47.60. She comes into the Ladies’ Classic following a third-place finish in the Oct. 10 Lady’s Secret Handicap here, finishing 1 1/2 lengths behind the unbeaten Zenyatta and runner-up Lethal Heat. In that race, she bobbled at the start but closed with a game bid between runners.
“She’s the better work filly especially here on the synthetic,” assistant trainer Rick Mettee said. “Since Saratoga she’s trained really well, and the same can be said since she came back from Belmont. We ran on the grass a couple times up at Saratoga and the last time (in the Aug. 29 Ballston Spa Handicap) she got real soft turf when she ran up there. We just tried to keep her and Music Note separated.”
Lethal Heat – Following a bullet work in 46 3/5 for 4f on Sunday, trainer Barry Abrams said “She ratified her Del Mar form that she is still at the top of her game. She’s always been a good work horse, but she’s even stronger than when she was at Del Mar [where she finished third to Zenyatta in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes].
“She’s had a lot of good races against good horses, but they’ve just been the preliminaries. Now we’re ready for the main event. She’s been knocked down [beaten] a few times and she’s got up to come back like Rocky Balboa.”
Lethal Heat has been pre-entered in both the Ladies’ Classic, which will be run on Friday and is her first preference, and the Turf Sprint on Saturday, and Abrams remains adamant that he still plans to run the 4yo daughter of Unusual Heat in both races.
Octavio Vergara was in the irons for Sunday’s work. Abrams explained his choice of Vergara as wanting “a jockey’s mentality aboard the horse every day.” Vergara gallops the horse each day. The filly walked Monday.
Her regular rider, Alex Solis, will be aboard for her Breeders’ Cup races.
Life Is Sweet – The 4yo filly galloped once around the main track at Hollywood Park on Monday under exercise rider Isabelle Bournez.
“She's coming up to the race very good,” trainer John Shirreffs said of the multiple stakes winner who has raced in the shadow of stablemate Zenyatta the past six months. She is scheduled to ship to Santa Anita Tuesday.
Life Is Sweet worked 6f in a bullet 1:11 4/5 at Hollywood Park Friday. She won three straight graded stakes at Santa Anita last winter, including the Santa Margarita Handicap.
Owned and bred by Pam and Marty Wygod, Life Is Sweet is a full sister to Sweet Catomine, winner of the 2004 Juvenile Fillies and the 2004 Eclipse Award winning 2yo filly champion. Regular rider Garrett Gomez has the Ladies’ Classic call.
Mushka – The winner of the Spinster, via disqualification, may have a final work on Tuesday in preparation for her date in the Ladies’ Classic on Friday, according to trainer Bill Mott. The 4yo filly last worked on the Polytrack at Keeneland on Oct. 26.
Kent Desormeaux will ride the daughter of Empire Maker, who is 2-for-2 on synthetic tracks after her Spinster score, in which she was impeded by unofficial winner Proviso. Ten of her 16 career starts have come on the grass.
Music Note - The 4-year-old A.P. Indy filly had her final prep for the Ladies’ Classic on Oct. 29 when she went five furlongs in 59 2/5, third fastest of 35 timed works at the distance. It was her second work at Santa Anita since shipping to California from Belmont Park on Oct. 6. She went the same distance Oct. 21 in 1:01 2/5.
Music Note comes off back-to-back wins in New York for Godolphin Stable, taking the Oct. 3 Beldame Stakes at Belmont and the Aug. 29 Ballerina at Saratoga. She ran third in the 2008 Ladies’ Classic behind Zenyatta and stablemate Cocoa Beach.
“Any time you have two good fillies going into a race like this, it’s a good feeling,” assistant trainer Rick Mettee said. “Regardless of where Zenyatta runs, it’s still a tough race with horses like Careless Jewel and the others, but I’m happy with the way she came out of her work and she seems to be sitting in a good position.”
Proviso – The Juddmonte Farms homebred galloped about 1 1/4m on Cushion Track at Hollywood Park Monday under exercise rider Marco Briones and will be shipped to Santa Anita Tuesday, according to Humberto Ascanio, assistant to trainer Bobby Frankel.
Proviso will be making her first start for the Frankel stable since being disqualified from first to second in the Spinster Stakes at Keeneland for interference in the stretch in her United States debut Oct. 11. The 4yo daughter of Dansili was a Group 3 stakes winner and Group 1 stakes-placed for trainer Andre Fabre in France.
“We’ve breezed her a couple of times since we got her after the Keeneland race,” Ascanio said. “She’s a nice filly to be around.”
Proviso worked 4f in 48 4/5 at Hollywood Park Friday. John Velazquez has the Ladies’ Classic call.
Rainbow View – Augustin Stable’s homebred 3yo filly went to the track at 6:30 a.m. Monday. She was shipped to Santa Anita after finishing second as the favorite in the E. P. Taylor at Woodbine on Oct. 17.
Trained by John Gosden, Rainbow View competed in six consecutive Group 1 races in Europe this year, finishing second to Midday in the Nassau Stakes on Aug. 1 at Goodwood and winning the Matron at Leopardstown on Sept. 5 before heading off to North America.
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 HollywoodPark 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 BelmontPark’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 BelmontPark’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 winand the Goodwood, has the mount in the Classic.
Quality Road – Florida Derby winner Quality Road had an “easy jog” over BelmontPark’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 BelmontPark, 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.
With the release of the official list of who is going to run in the Breeders' Cup next week at Santa Anita, we can finally begin the over analysis of the two best days of racing (in terms of quality.)
Over the next few days, I'll break down all the races one by one but here a few quick thoughts of the races.
The Classic could be one of the better in recent memory if the unbeaten Zenyatta joins the fray. She's entered in both this race and the Ladies Classic but her connections are leaning towards meeting the boys for the first time. If she is able to wrap up her career a perfect 14-for-14, she'll have to beat the likes of Belmont and Travers winner Summer Bird and Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird among others. This should be a great betting race.
If Zenyatta does opt to run against the big boys, the Ladies Classic will be another wide open race which could only have seven horses. But all of them have a chance to win.
It's great to see some returning BC champs on the card including Turf champ Conduit, and Mile victress Goldikova, both Euro invaders. The Euros should be very tough again this year and they always win a race when you least expect it.
Not sure we will see the next Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby winner in either of Juvenile races. As usual, deep fields in those events but no standouts.
As for the other races, they will present plenty of handicapping challenges but isn't that one of the fun things about Breeders' Cup?
My love of horse racing started when I was a kid watching racing at Aqueduct and Belmont in New York. I then moved my tack to Louisville to attend the University of Louisville's Equine Administration program. While finishing up my degree in 1996, I began an internship at Churchill Downs and landed a full-time job there upon graduation in 1997. While rounding the final turn of my Churchill tenure (ok, 2003), I began co-hosting the Kentucky Winners Circle Radio Show with E.J. Clark (for those in Louisville: Saturdays, 11am, WKJK-1080 on your AM dial).
I moved back to New York in November 2004 but my love of racing has endured. I still co-host the radio show and attend the races frequently.
