Breeders' Cup Mile: Duntle out after poor workout

Duntle, the talented Ireland-based filly who had been considered a strong candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Mile, will not start in the Breeders’ Cup, according to a representative of the International Racing Bureau.

Duntle, trained by David Wachman, worked on Friday and was shortly thereafter withdrawn from BC consideration, joining a growing list of prospective overseas starters who won’t race in the Mile. As of Friday, the only confirmed overseas Mile runner was Moonlight Cloud, though Excelebration, who races in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes this weekend in England, has long been listed by Breeders’ Cup as a Mile candidate.

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◗ Presvis, the mercurial gelding who won the 2011 Dubai Duty Free Stakes, died of colic this past week at a farm in Normandy to which he had been retired earlier this year.

An 8-year-old campaigned internationally by trainer Luca Cumani, Presvis’s deep-closing style left him at the mercy of racing luck, and his connections learned over time to deal with the horse’s numerous quirks. But Presvis proved well worth the time and trouble, banking more than $6.9 million while winning eight of his 28 career starts.

◗ There are two races of some note Sunday in Europe. At Longchamp, Chinchon is expected to face seven foes in the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris over 1 1/2 miles. World-traveler Chinchon twice has visited the United States, and won the 2010 United Nations Handicap at Monmouth. In his most recent start, this past May, he captured the Group 1 Singapore Cup.

At San Siro in Italy, just seven horses were entered in the Group 1 Gran Premio del Jockey Club Italiano. Retrieve, a former Australian runner, invades for Godolphin, with Frankie Dettori to ride for trainer Saeed bin Suroor. But equally appealing is German invader Novellist, who has run into the likes of Danedream and Pastorius in his two most recent races.

– additional reporting by Byron King