DEL MAR, Calif – The complexion of Friday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar changed less than 24 hours before post time with the news that morning-line favorite Jack Christopher would be scratched due to a shin injury. Bradley Weisbord, racing manager for part-owners Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister, said that Jack Christopher has an issue with his left shin that will prevent him from running. Weisbord said he received a call early Thursday evening from trainer Chad Brown. Earlier in the day, Brown announced that Domestic Spending had to scratch from the BC Turf due to inflammation in his left foreleg. “I’ve been doing this now 14 years and I expect these phone calls, they’re still equally gutting,” Weisbord said Thursday night. “Everyone of your good horses is going to get hurt, you just don’t want it be the 6-5 shot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. You feel bad for Jim Bakke, he only has 12 or 14 in training. You feel bad for the little guys that touch the horse like” exercise rider Peter Roman. Jack Christopher, a son of Munnings, was made the favorite based on two impressive victories, including a 2 3/4-length victory over Commandperformance in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park on Oct. 2. Jack Christopher had earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest figure earned by a 2-year-old in four years. In 2017, the last time the Breeders’ Cup was held at Del Mar, Brown won the Juvenile with the maiden Good Magic. Friday, the maiden Commandperformance will attempt to duplicate that feat. Commandperformance, a son Union Rags – second in the 2011 Juvenile after winning the Champagne – was a troubled-trip second in a Sept. 6 maiden race at Saratoga. His connections, trainer Todd Pletcher and owners Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, treated it as a winning effort and opted to run in the Champagne. Commandperformance was no match for Jack Christopher in the Champagne but finished seven lengths clear of the rest of the field. Pletcher, a two-time Juvenile winner, saw enough in the Champagne and the colt’s subsequent training to give Commandperformance a try in the Juvenile. “The figures came back fast on the race. I think he’s continued to develop, I think he’s going to appreciate the added distance,” Pletcher said. “He got a lot of experience in his first race, ate a lot of dirt. For a maiden only having two starts, he’s got some seasoning.” :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2021: See DRF’s special section with fields, odds, comments, news, past performances, and more for each division Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Commandperformance from post 9 in the now 11-horse field. Pletcher also entered Double Thunder, a son of his 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, who has three wins from five starts. Double Thunder won the Sapling at Monmouth going a two-turn mile and came back with a solid second behind Rattle N Roll in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 9 at Keeneland. Pletcher is putting blinkers on Double Thunder for the Juvenile. He has worked him twice in such equipment. “He needs to continue to step up, but if things were to unfold right and the blinkers move him forward and he gets a good trip I think he could get a piece of it,” said Pletcher, who has Flavien Prat to ride. Bob Baffert, a four-time Juvenile-winning trainer, has entered three in this year’s race. Corniche and Pinehurst are both unbeaten Grade 1 winners. Barossa is coming off a maiden victory going two turns on Oct. 15 at Santa Anita. Corniche, a son of Quality Road, advanced from a 5 1/2-furlong maiden victory on Sept. 4 at Del Mar to winning the Grade 1 American Pharoah at 1 1/16 miles on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita. “I wasn’t sure about him, but then after he did it I felt better,” Baffert said. “He’s come back, had a couple of works that were sort of messed up, but [Saturday] he had a nice work. I think he’s going into it really well, but there’s a lot of speed in the race. It’s all about the trip. In the Breeders’ Cup, the margin for error is so small.” :: Get everything you need with a DRF Breeders' Cup package! Includes PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Mike Smith will have to work out a trip on Corniche from post 11. Pinehurst, a son of Twirling Candy, won a maiden and the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity in a five-week span at Del Mar. He comes into the Juvenile having not run in two months, but Baffert believes he benefited from the freshening. “I think it helped him,” Baffert said. “He ran hard and fast.” Barossa is a work in progress, but Baffert believes the talent is there. He was impressed with the way Barossa hung in with Pinehurst in a workout last Saturday at Santa Anita. “He’s a very immature horse mentally and he’s still getting there,” Baffert said. American Sanctuary, one of two horses sent out by Chris Davis, is a live longshot in the Juvenile. He had trouble soon after the start in the Breeders’ Futurity and was last of 13 early. He made a couple of different moves in the race and finished fourth, beaten just 1 1/2 lengths for second. “We made up a lot of ground in that race,” Davis said. “With a cleaner trip, better post position, better break, we’ll see what happens.” Florent Geroux rides American Sanctuary. Sophie Doyle, who had ridden American Sanctuary, opted to ride Tough to Tame for Davis. Tough to Tame was second, beaten a neck at odds of 37-1, in the Grade 3 Iroquois on Sept. 17. Tough to Tame has to overcome post 10. Pappacap and Oviatt Class finished second and third, respectively, behind Corniche in the American Pharoah. Oviatt Class, trained by Keith Desormeaux, has a similar running style of 2014 Juvenile winner Texas Red, also trained by Desormeaux. Pappacap, trained by Mark Casse, won the Grade 2 Best Pal sprinting here in August and was fourth to Pinehurst in the Del Mar Futurity. Giant Game, a maiden winner going two turns at Keeneland, and Jasper Great, a Kentucky-bred son of Arrogate who won a maiden race going nine furlongs in Japan by 10 lengths, complete the field.