Breeders' Cup Mile: Ribchester looks like the boss

DEL MAR, California – A young man from overseas named Billy Garritty walked between barns on the Del Mar backstretch Tuesday morning. An hour earlier he’d sat on the back of Ribchester for the first time as Europe’s top miler of 2017 took an easy turn around the dirt track here.

“He was bouncing out there,” Garritty said. “Full of life.”

Ribchester’s regular rider, John Murphy, stayed home in England this week at trainer Richard Fahey’s yard in Malton, North Yorkshire, but gave Fahey a similar report last Thursday when Ribchester had his first gallop since a second-place finish Oct. 21 in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Yes, just two short weeks ago, Ribchester raced hard over testing ground at Ascot, his sixth start – all Group 1’s – in an ambitious campaign that began March 25 in Dubai. Outwardly, Ribchester has given the right signs – energy good, coat good, weight good. The horse is made of iron, Fahey says. But what lies beneath the surface, whether Ribchester can stand up to the demanding schedule, won’t be known until jockey William Buick asks the question Saturday in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Ribchester, winner of three prestigious miles this year – the Lockinge, the Queen Anne, and the Prix du Moulin – and a fancier of firm turf, can’t run much below his best and win, not with better-rested World Approval and Suedois, plus 11 other challengers, lying in wait.

World Approval, who will be a shorter price than his 9-2 morning line, is flying right now. As trainer Mark Casse hot-walked a horse around his Del Mar shedrow Tuesday, World Approval stuck his head out of his stall and pinned his ears. Business as usual.

“Still the meanest one around,” said Casse’s son and assistant, Norman.

Norman Casse has been training World Approval at Churchill Downs since the 5-year-old gelding turned in the two best one-mile turf performances in North America this year, winning the Fourstardave at Saratoga and the Woodbine Mile. World Approval has thrived since Casse cut him back from longer distances, and he has thrived since the Woodbine Mile. Norman told Mark the gelding’s five-furlong breeze Oct. 12 was the best Churchill dirt work he’d ever seen from one of their horses.

Jockey John Velazquez, the BC Mile winner in 2012 with Wise Dan and in 1998 with Da Hoss, rides World Approval. He has a mount with tactical pace and a good post, 5. Midnight Storm in post 1 and Heart to Heart next to him are the main speed of the Mile.

“I’d love to be right behind them,” Mark Casse said. “Our horse loves a target.”

Second behind Tepin in her BC Mile win two years ago was the David O’Meara-trained Mondialiste, and O’Meara tries the Mile again with Suedois. Suedois shipped to run in the BC Turf Sprint a year ago, but suffered a stress fracture that took him out of the race. He came back in strong sprint form this year, but hit his highest level since with a tactical change, being taken farther off the pace, and a stretch to one mile. The new, improved Suedois won a Group 2 in Ireland before bagging his biggest prize, the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland.

“He likes being held up and passing horses,” jockey Danny Tudhope said. “He’s a horse you can put anywhere in a race. He’s quick enough to get out in a nice position.”

At Keeneland, Suedois outfinished Heart to Heart and Ballagh Rocks. Both are back for the Mile. Heart to Heart, a hard-trying front-runner, is a 13-time winner who is 0 for 6 in Grade 1 starts. He breaks from post 2, and while Ribchester and the 3-year-old Ireland-based filly Roly Poly prefer forward placements, Heart to Heart and Midnight Storm look faster.

Bill Mott, Ballagh Rocks’s trainer, hopes all the speed shows up and the leaders fly. “Hopefully they back up a little bit,” Mott said. “That’s what he needs.”

Midnight Storm was third in the 2016 BC Mile despite breaking from post 13. He has since been mainly kept to dirt, and his most recent grass start, a fourth in the Del Mar Mile, didn’t show his best.

“He was coming off a layoff and maybe a little rusty,” said trainer Phil d’Amato. “I’ve seen continued improvement and energy from him.”

Roly Poly is in career-best form but might prefer a straight course and drew poorly in post 12. One post farther out is Blackjackcat, who loves the Del Mar course and has emerged as California’s best turf miler. The French horses Karar and Zelzal are 4-year-olds with upside. Karar is saddled with post 14 and probably doesn’t have the talent to overcome it. He beat Zelzal in the Prix de la Foret last month, but Zelzal should improve on firmer ground. The other four in the race are Om, Lancaster Bomber, Home of the Brave, and Mr. Roary, all good horses that probably are not good enough for this.