Goodwood likely next target for Richard's Kid

Benoit & Associates

Richard's Kid is heading to Dubai instead of running in the Breeders' Cup.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Bob Baffert was in Saratoga on Saturday when Richard’s Kid won the Pacific Classic and El Brujo the Pat O’Brien, but he was back on the scene Tuesday morning, making plans for those horses and several others in his barn.

Baffert said Richard’s Kid, who won the Pacific Classic for the second straight year, would likely make his next start in the Goodwood Stakes, now scheduled to be run this year at Hollywood Park.

Others likely for the Goodwood include Crowded House, who was second in the Pacific Classic; Awesome Gem, who finished last in the Pacific Classic; and Crown of Thorns, the second-place finisher in the Pat O’Brien.

Though Baffert has often voiced his dissatisfaction with the Polytrack surface here, he admitted that Richard’s Kid “likes this place.”

El Brujo may not race again until the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, a race he earned a berth in through his victory in the Pat O’Brien. Both El Brujo and E Z’s Gentleman are owned by Arnold Zetcher. E Z’s Gentleman, scratched from the Pat O’Brien, is being pointed to the Ancient Title during the Oak Tree meet -- “he likes Hollywood,” Baffert said -- so El Brujo likely will skip that race.

Baffert still has no plans for Lookin At Lucky, who has not had a workout since winning the Haskell at Monmouth one month ago. Lookin At Lucky got sick after that race, and currently is in light training at Del Mar, where he merely jogged on Tuesday morning.

Concord Point, the West Virginia Derby winner, should race this month.

“I’m trying to make the Super Derby or the Pennsylvania Derby with him,” Baffert said.

Back to turf for The Usual Q.T.

Whereas many horses who ran in the Pacific Classic will come back in the Goodwood, the synthetic surface experiment appears to be over for The Usual Q.T., who finished fifth as the favorite, marking his sixth loss, without a win, on synthetic surfaces. He is an accomplished grass horse, his biggest wins coming in the Hollywood Derby and Eddie Read Stakes, and his trainer, Jim Cassidy said grass will be in his future.

“That’s my intention. But,” Cassidy said, referring to running as the favorite in the Pacific Classic, “I couldn’t turn this down.”

Attendance up, handle down with week to go

After six weeks of racing, ontrack attendance was up slightly and overall handle down slightly when compared with last year.

The average ontrack crowd is 18,605, compared with 18,179 a year ago, an increase of 2 percent. A Saturday post-race concert by the band ZZ Top is expected to help bolster the Labor Day weekend attendance.

Daily average handle is $11,662,311, a dip of 7 percent from last year’s $12,527,694 at a similar point in the meet.

There have been 17 fewer races run this year, so the per-race handle is actually up 3.5 percent from last year, $1,043,457 per race compared with $1,008,035, further indication that in the current economic climate, less is more.

Cal Cup Mile on agenda for Where’s the Remote

Where’s the Remote has been given the California Cup Mile at Hollywood Park on Oct. 30 as a long-range goal after winning consecutive optional claimers on turf last month.

Trained by Mike Mitchell for Gregory Unruh, Where’s the Remote won an optional claimer for statebreds on Aug. 7 and returned to win an optional claimer against open company last Saturday.

“This was perfect we got two allowance races under his belt,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell is hoping for another allowance race in early October as a prep to the California Cup Mile on turf for a 4-year-old gelding Unruh bought privately from breeder Bud Johnston earlier this summer.

– additional reporting by Steve Andersen