Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Connie and Michael looks to build on last

Barbara D. Livingston
Connie and Michael is only a maiden winner, but was made the second choice for the BC Juvenile Fillies.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Count Santa Anita linemaker Jon White among those who were dazzled by Connie and Michael's rousing debut at Keeneland on Oct. 17. So impressed was White by Connie and Michael's front-running, 7 3/4-length score, that he installed her as the 4-1 second choice on the morning line behind Oak Leaf winner Blind Luck in Friday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Don't overlook Visit in Filly and Mare Turf

Barbara D. Livingston
Visit is winless on the year but could be dangerous in the F&M Turf.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The closest Visit has come to winning this year is two second-place finishes to Magical Fantasy in major turf stakes for females in California.

She is winless in seven starts in 2009, and that record could be perceived as a reason not to include her among selections for Friday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita.

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Inside speed galore in Sprint

Barbara D. Livingston
Zensational (above) could face early challenges from Cost of Freedom and Fatal Bullet in the BC Sprint.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The post position draw for Saturday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita added a little further intrigue to the race after Zensational, the track's 7-5 morning-line favorite, drew the rail. Nine of the 11 horses pre-entered for the six-furlong Sprint were entered on Tuesday, with Square Eddie opting for his first preference, the Turf Sprint, and Kodiak Kowboy withdrawing due to illness.

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Lookin at Lucky gets tough Juvenile spot

Barbara D. Livingston
Lookin at Lucky drew the far outside post, No. 13, in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile for trainer Bob Baffert.

ARCADIA, Calf. - The Breeders' Cup Juvenile just got a whole lot tougher for unbeaten Lookin at Lucky, who drew post 13 in a 13-horse field that will race 1 1/16 miles.

While trainer Bob Baffert downplayed the post, many handicappers will agree the draw transformed Lookin at Lucky from one of the most solid favorites Saturday to perhaps one of the most vulnerable.

"At least he's going to be in the clear," Baffert said.

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Midshipman figures out front in Dirt Mile

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Midshipman looks like he may be the lone speed in the BC Dirt Mile.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The complexion of the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile changed dramatically since pre-entries were announced Oct. 28, with six horses that originally made it into the body of the race opting for other races or electing not to come.

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Zenyatta and 'Rip' are Classic favorites

Dwayne Loo
Zenyatta, shown putting in her last BC workout Saturday, drew post 4 for Saturday's $5 million BC Classic.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Ladies' Day for the Breeders' Cup is Friday, when five of the six BC races run that day at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting will be exclusively for female horses. But the Queen runs Saturday, when Zenyatta, unbeaten in 13 previous starts against females, runs against males for the first time in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

On Tuesday afternoon, Zenyatta drew post 4 in a field of 13 when post positions were drawn for the 26th Breeders' Cup, to be run Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita.

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

King Ledley most seasoned in Juvenile Turf

When it comes to the $1 million Juvenile Turf, trainer Darrin Miller hopes that experience will count for something.

Miller is the trainer of King Ledley, whose eight starts represent the most of any of the 12 runners entered in the one-mile turf race. King Ledley made all eight of his stars in Ireland, winning once and finishing second or third in several group stakes. He was purchased privately by Tom and Bonnie Hamilton's Silverton Hill Stable before his third-place finish in the Goffs Million Sprint at the Curragh.

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Goldikova's draw no concern to trainer

Barbara D. Livingston
Goldikova is weighed upon her arrival at Santa Anita on Sunday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Goldikova will start from the outside post in a field of 11 when she attempts to defend her title in Saturday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita.

For trainer Freddie Head, the post is not an issue. He is convinced that the 4-year-old filly is capable of defending her title, and justifying her role as the favorite in the Mile.

"She might be better a year later," he said on Tuesday. "She's had a better trip [to California] this year than last year. She was quieter."

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Neko Bay rested for Dirt Mile

While all the focus on John Shirreffs's stable will center on Zenyatta in the $5 million Classic, the trainer was quite happy to get Neko Bay into the $1 million Dirt Mile.

Neko Bay was one of six horses to draw into the Mile off the preference list. A 6-year-old son of Giant's Causeway, Neko Bay has just one race this year, a classified allowance win over several stakes winners here on Oct. 9. It was his first start since last December.

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 00:00

Pletcher has added shooter

The Todd Pletcher-trained Aikenite stamped his credentials for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile by finishing third in the Grade 1 Hopeful, followed by a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.

But the past month at Belmont Park, it was clear Pletcher had another colt worthy of a start in the Juvenile. The problem for Eskenderya was that his only win was in a non-graded stakes, leaving him stuck on the also-eligible list of Juvenile pre-entries.