BC Mile: Frankel will cope with rolling 11

ELMONT, N.Y. - Bobby Frankel withdrew one horse, then watched his first-team miler draw an outside post when entries were taken and post positions assigned Wednesday morning for the Breeders' Cup Mile.

Leroidesanimaux, made the 7-5 morning-line favorite, drew post 11 in a field reduced to 12 by the Wednesday declaration of Three Valleys, Frankel's other prospective Mile starter. Three Valleys was found to have mucus in his lungs, a sign of infection, and was removed from consideration for the Mile. His next start could come in the Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park on Nov. 26.

All systems are go for Leroidesanimaux, but ideally, Frankel would have preferred a draw nearer the inside.

"I'd rather have been in a little bit further, but what are you going to do?" Frankel said.

Leroidesanimaux is one of four horses - along with Gorella, Host, and Majors Cast - supplemented to the race, and the fees from their entries boost the Mile's total purse from $1.5 million to $2,025,000.

The Mile is a one-turn race on the Belmont turf course, and begins with a long run down the straightaway, so post position alone should not be a determining factor. But the Mile typically features a hectic scramble for position, and often is roughly run, so where a horse winds up heading into the turn and at the top of the stretch is all-important.

Singletary, last year's Mile winner, is a come-from-behind horse, and trainer Don Chatlos was happy with his starting position in post 9.

Chatlos said he wanted a spot where Singletary's jockey, David Flores, "didn't have to have in his head coming out of the jocks' room exactly what he was going to do. All he has to do now is break and ride with his instincts."

The speed in the Mile often collapses, but Leroidesanimaux is a different kind of front-runner - the kind who doesn't slow down in the stretch. Frankel figures his horse either will be on the lead or sitting just behind the headstrong Sand Springs early in the race.

Frankel said he was "sure" that jockey John Velazquez "is going to let him run out of there, and we'll see what Sand Springs does. He could be sitting second, he could be on the lead."

Limehouse, who will be one of the longest prices in the field, drew farthest outside in post 12, while Host, winner of the Shadwell Mile in his last start, has post 1, a spot that can lead to a traffic-filled trip in such a full field.

The field

Breeders' Cup Mile
Purse: $2,025,000; 1 mile, turf; Grade 1

* Track odds