Baffert and Brown square off in Breeders' Cup Juvenile

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Six months after Justify and Good Magic finished 1-2 in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, their trainers, Bob Baffert and Chad Brown, are back here with 2-year-olds they hope are their future stars.

Baffert will send out Game Winner, while Brown will saddle Complexity and Standard Deviation in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the last of five Breeders’ Cup races for 2-year-olds to be run Friday at this historic venue.

The Juvenile, run at 1 1/16 miles, drew a full field of 14, including the winners of all five Grade 1 dirt races run in the U.S. for 2-year-olds this year.

However, the race lost a significant player Saturday morning when trainer Shug McGaughey revealed that Code of Honor, the runner-up to Complexity in the Grade 1 Champagne, was scratched from the Juvenile due to a 103-degree temperature.

McGaughey said he hoped Code of Honor could recover in time to make a race like the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct on Dec. 1.

Game Winner, a son of Candy Ride owned by Gary and Mary West, won three races in 43 days, including the Del Mar Futurity and American Pharoah, the two Grade 1s on the Southern California circuit.

“He thrives on training and racing, and he looks the part,” said Baffert, who has three wins and three seconds in the Juvenile. “If you look at him, he’s a specimen of a horse. He has us pretty excited not only for the Breeders’ Cup but for the Derby next year.”

Baffert said Game Winner has continued to train well, breezing twice at Santa Anita in company with the stakes-winning 3-year-old Ax Man.

“I’m anticipating a good run,” said Baffert, whose colt will break from post 9 under Joel Rosario. “There might be something in there getting ready to explode too, and that’s what the Breeders’ Cup is all about. You hope you’re the guy that’s exploding.”

It was Brown who exploded in last year’s Juvenile, winning it with Good Magic, who was a maiden entering the race after a second-place finish in the Champagne. This year, Brown brings the Champagne winner, Complexity, to the Juvenile.

Last year, Brown knew Good Magic would excel around two turns. Complexity, a son of Maclean’s Music who won his first two starts on the lead, is a bit more of a question mark at the trip.

“I feel he can handle it. Last year, I felt like the other horse was looking for it,” Brown said. “This horse is an exceptional talent, and exceptionally talented horses can do lots of different things in the afternoon.”

Jose Ortiz rides Complexity from post 5.

Standard Deviation, like Complexity owned by Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables, won his maiden going seven furlongs at Saratoga before finishing third with a wide trip in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland.

“He looks to me like a horse that’s getting better, and he’s looking for two turns,” Brown said.

:: Want to get the latest news with your past performances? Try DRF’s new digital PPs

:: Visit our Breeders' Cup one-stop shop for PPs, Clocker Reports, and more

Brown is adding blinkers to the colt’s equipment after he felt Standard Deviation ran spotty in the Breeders’ Futurity.

Jerry Hollendorfer has brought two horses to the Juvenile, the Hall of Fame trainer’s first appearance in the 35-year history of this race. Gunmetal Gray finished second to Game Winner in the American Pharoah, while Dueling was second to Game Winner in a maiden race before winning his maiden by 2 3/4 lengths going two turns at Santa Anita.

Hollendorfer is adding blinkers to Dueling’s equipment despite his coming off a win.

“Mike Smith rode the horse last time and when he got off him said this horse won pretty nicely, but he said he absolutely needs some little blinkers to help him concentrate a little more,” Hollendorfer said.

Smith is not riding Dueling – Manny Franco is – as he had already committed to ride Well Defined in the Juvenile. Well Defined, trained by Kathleen O’Connell, is coming off a 7 1/2-length victory in the In Reality division of the Florida Stallion Series. While Well Defined won that race on the lead, O’Connell is convinced he can stalk if need be.

“If somebody wants to go, I think he can sit, and I got the perfect, patient rider on him,” O’Connell said.

Mind Control won the Grade 1 Hopeful and missed the Breeders’ Futurity due to a temperature. John Velazquez was on him in the Hopeful and was named to ride him the Futurity but had chosen to get back on Code of Honor. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Mind Control.

Knicks Go will try to validate his front-running, 70-1 upset in the Breeders’ Futurity. Signalman, second to Knicks Go in that race; Tight Ten, second in the Grade 3 Iroquois; Mr. Money; Topper T, a recent private purchase transferred to Bill Mott; and the maiden Derby Date complete the field.