ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher said he pre-entered 11 horses on Monday for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held Nov. 5-6 at Churchill Downs. However, Bribon was not among them.
Owner Derrick Smith elected against paying the $180,000 supplemental fee to make Bribon eligible for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Instead, Bribon will run in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont Park as a prep for the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 27.
STICKNEY, Ill. – Hawthorne will have a representative at the Breeders’ Cup this year, with Giant Oak pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon, trainer Chris Block confirmed Monday.
“We did pre-enter him, and the intention, barring any problems between now and then, is to run,” said Block, who trains Giant Oak for the Virginia Tarra Trust.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Astrology and Blue Laser, originally considered possible contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, both worked at Churchill Downs on Monday morning, after which the connections of the two juveniles confirmed neither’s name was in the box when pre-entries closed for the race later that afternoon.
The Breeders’ Cup Classic might have one of its strongest fields ever, with the likes of Zenyatta, Blame, Quality Road, and Lookin At Lucky all pointing toward it, but it doesn’t appear as though the presence of that Fearsome Foursome is going to keep the field size down. Pre-entries to the Breeders’ Cup were due Monday and were to be announced Wednesday, and the potential field for the Classic, like an Energizer bunny on steroids, kept growing, and growing, and growing.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Jimmy Toner glanced at his stopwatch after Winter Memories had concluded a five-furlong workout over Belmont Park’s inner turf course Monday morning and was shocked at what it read: 58.50 seconds. Admitting that he can be a little quick on the trigger finger, Toner figured to hear a slower time when he called the official track clockers.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Sunday morning marked the first of 12 consecutive days of Clocker Reports leading up to the 2010 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs Nov. 5-6. And with it came the first major decision of the Breeders’ Cup season: Stay onsite in Louisville where a handful of Breeders’ Cup horses were scheduled to work, including Classic contenders Haynesfield and Espoir City, or head up the turnpike to Keeneland where only two Cup hopefuls were expected to breeze.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Gio Ponti worked on the grass Sunday at Belmont Park, but trainer Christophe Clement said that no final decision had been on whether North America’s reigning turf champion will start in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on grass or the $5 million Classic, a 1 1/4 mile dirt race, both at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6.
ALBANY, Calif. – Our Minesweeper, a 3-year-old who won his first three starts, including a pair of stakes victories, last year rallied from last to pull off an upset victory in Saturday’s $55,100 Oakland Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.
Making his first start in five months while meeting older for the first time, Our Minesweeper was the longest shot in the field of six in the six-furlong race and paid $40.20.
He was last early as Summer Excess, the other 3-year-old in the race, and Restless Youth dueled for the lead through an opening 21.64-second quarter.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Premier Pegasus may be bound for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6 after winning Saturday’s $59,800 Jack Goodman Stakes at Hollywood Park.
Myung Kwon Cho, who bred, owns and trains Premier Pegasus, said in the winner’s circle that he will consider a pre-entry when such nominations are due on Monday. “I’m considering it now,” Cho said.
