Beer Can Man, Degree of Risk on the bubble for Breeders' Cup
ARCADIA, Calif. – There will be some anxious moments for the people behind Beer Can Man and Degree of Risk next week prior to the announcement of pre-entries for two Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar.
Beer Can Man, a 3-year-old colt who is a candidate for the Turf Sprint on Nov. 6, and Degree of Risk, who is being pointed to the Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5, each placed in a graded stakes in his last start and may need to be chosen by a panel of racing executives to get into the Breeders’ Cup.
The Turf Sprint at five furlongs will have a maximum of 12 runners and is expected to have more than 12 pre-entries when the list is assembled on Oct. 25. If a race draws more entries than the maximum number of starters, the panel of executives will rank the contenders in an order of preference to determine who gets into the field.
Beer Can Man was second in the Grade 3 Turf Monster Stakes on Sept. 25 at Parx Racing. On Sunday, Beer Can Man worked a half-mile in 48.40 seconds at Santa Anita as part of preparation for the BC Turf Sprint.
“I hope he gets an opportunity,” trainer Mark Glatt said. “He’s 2 for 2 on the course. He’s a specialist at that distance.”
Beer Can Man, owned by the Little Red Feather Racing partnership and Sterling Stables, won the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes for 2-year-olds on turf at Del Mar last year. On Aug. 13, Beer Can Man won an allowance race at five furlongs on turf.
Glatt knows that if Beer Can Man gains a spot in the Turf Sprint it will be the most difficult race of the colt’s career.
“It won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
Degree of Risk worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 for trainer Eoin Harty on Sunday. Retired jockey Aaron Gryder, now an executive with Santa Anita’s parent company – 1/ST Racing – was aboard.
Owned by Godolphin Racing, Degree of Risk was third in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at a mile on Sept. 19 at Woodbine and was moved to Santa Anita shortly after that race.
“I figured I’d get him out here as soon as possible,” Harty said.
The Juvenile Turf also is expected to have more pre-entries than the maximum of 14 starters.