Bravazo beats the rain in work for Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With rain in the local forecast for Friday, a few Breeders’ Cup hopefuls were out for their final pre-race works a day earlier than planned Thursday over a fast track at Churchill Downs.

In all, five BC runners were on clocker John Nichols’s tab, most of them well before dawn and under the bright Churchill lights. First to go was Bravazo (Dirt Mile), who went five furlongs in 59.80 seconds for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

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Bravazo, the Calumet Farm 3-year-old homebred whose best efforts after finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby include runner-up finishes in the Preakness and Haskell, most recently was seventh in the Sept. 22 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx.

“This horse has done nothing but improve following the Derby,” said Lukas. “The last race wasn’t too much, but this colt has danced in every dance and shows up each time. There’s not much more you can ask of him, but I wish we could’ve gotten a little more lucky in a couple of his starts.”

Also, Finley’sluckycharm (Filly and Mare Sprint) went a half-mile in 47.80 seconds in preparing for her final start in the care of trainer Bret Calhoun. The 5-year-old mare will make her eighth start at Churchill – she’s 6 for 7 here – and 19th overall prior to being sold at Fasig-Tipton on Nov. 4.

“She’s trained strong and I’m really happy with her,” said Calhoun, who won the 2010 Filly-Mare Sprint at Churchill with Dubai Majesty. “We’re certainly going into this the right way.”

Also, the Tom Amoss duo of Lone Sailor (Classic) and Serengeti Empress (Juvenile Fillies) both went a half-mile in 48.20 seconds in separate solo works under the lights, both with strong gallop-outs.

A bit later in the morning, Queen’s Plate winner Wonder Gadot (Distaff) went a half-mile in 47 seconds for trainer Mark Casse.

Friday was likely to be a light day for Breeders’ Cup works because of weather, with some trainers looking to squeeze in works Saturday ahead of the likelihood of more rainfall Sunday. Many BC prospects will have their final works elsewhere before shipping to Churchill several days out.