Breeders' Cup Classic: Hoppertunity, Shaman Ghost, Keen Ice work

ARCADIA, Calif. – The defection of Nyquist from the prospective field for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita reduced the pre-entrants remaining to 13, and three of the contenders turned in workouts on Saturday morning, two here at Santa Anita and one at Belmont Park.

Hoppertunity and Shaman Ghost, both of whom are hoping for a hot pace to help their late runs, turned in drills at Santa Anita, while another late runner, Keen Ice, went at Belmont Park.

Hoppertunity is coming off a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and he worked on Saturday like he is continuing to thrive. He went five furlongs in 59.80 seconds and galloped out powerfully, continuing all the way down the backstretch and around the far turn before finally being pulled up in midstretch. Rafael Bejarano was aboard for the work, but John Velazquez – who rode Hoppertunity in the Jockey Club Gold Cup – has the mount.

“That was a good work for him,” said Hoppertunity’s trainer, Bob Baffert, who also will run Arrogate in the Classic. “That’s the way he worked before the Gold Cup. He needs a lot of help, a dramatic pace. But it looks like he’s gonna get it.”

Shaman Ghost, who won the Woodward in his most recent start, was timed by Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch going five furlongs in 1:00.09. He came under some pressure from exercise rider Kelvin Pahal.

“You’ve always got to ask him when he goes by himself, so that wasn’t a surprise,” said trainer Jimmy Jerkens. “In company, he does anything. He’s never been a horse who gets you worked up in his works.”

Jerkens, like Baffert, has two runners in the Classic. He will also run Effinex, last year’s runner-up in the Classic behind American Pharoah.

Jerkens’s horses are doing better than the trainer, who is walking with a pronounced limp.

“My hip is killing me,” Jerkens said.

At Belmont Park, Keen Ice worked five furlongs in 1:00.63 over the training track. Keen Ice went in company with Tommy Macho, starting a length in front of that horse, and went his first three furlongs in 37.25 seconds.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, via two-way radio, asked jockey Javier Castellano, aboard Keen Ice, to let him finish up. Castellano showed him the whip, and Keen Ice got his last quarter in 23.38 seconds. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.51 and seven furlongs in 1:26.03.

”Good, solid work, that’s what we’ve come to expect; he’s going to continue to build momentum throughout the work,” Pletcher said. “The gallop-out was good. The further he goes, the better he gets. He’s a fresh horse. I think he’s fit now. We just need that setup.”

Entries for the Classic and the other 12 Breeders’ Cup races will be taken Monday morning, with posts drawn that afternoon. The Classic field should be fewer than the current 13, as several horses, like Highland Reel, are cross-entered in other races and could go there instead.

The withdrawal of Nyquist has caused Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper, to lower the ante-post price on the favorite, California Chrome, from 8-5 to 7-5.

– additional reporting by David Grening