Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile: Plan on Zozos using his speed
?q=100)
Zozos might get the first call out of the starting gate in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.
Zozos will be moving back to two turns off a wire-to-wire win in the Ack Ack on Sept. 30 at Churchill Downs. He earned a berth into the Dirt Mile for the victory and had his first work out of the race Sunday.
Zozos breezed a half-mile in 48.60 seconds at Churchill and the move confirmed Zozos for the Dirt Mile.
“I like how he came out of the Ack Ack,” said trainer Brad Cox, who currently has a team of eight horses to send to the Breeders’ Cup. “We breezed him and he went really, really well.”
In his race prior to the Ack Ack, Zozos finished fourth going two turns in the Philip Iselin at Monmouth Park. Overall, the Munnings 4-year-old has won three races at two turns, while also second in the 2022 Louisiana Derby.
“He ran well enough early on in his career going two turns,” Cox said. “It’s a big opportunity for him, an opportunity you don’t get very often. There’s no [other] Grade 1 left this year that would make sense for him. His last race going two turns, he was not liking the track at Monmouth. He didn’t offer any run at all. He struggled with the track.”
Florent Geroux, the regular rider of Zozos, has the mount, said Cox.
Cox said Saudi Crown, who had been considered for the Dirt Mile, is being pointed for the Classic. Other runners for the barn bound for the Breeders’ Cup are Caravel for the Turf Sprint; A Mo Reay, Idiomatic, and Wet Paint for the Distaff; Timberlake for the Juvenile; and Matareya for the Filly and Mare Sprint.
“I like how everyone’s doing,” Cox said. “We’re on the last flight out. We’ll go on the Monday, Oct. 30. It’s a direct flight out of Louisville to California.”
Cox trainees have typically shipped to California the week of the Breeders’ Cup. He won the Juvenile Fillies and Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita in 2019 and the Classic in 2021 at Del Mar.
“We always kind of go as late as possible,” he said. “We’ll stick with what’s working.”
For Zozos, that means running on the front end. He has used that style in three of his four wins this year – all going a mile. He is 4 for 6 in 2023.
“I don’t feel like I’ve run him a tremendous amount this year,” Cox said. “He should be fresh. Hopefully, we break and get a good trip – a forward trip.”
Zozos is the 8-1 fourth choice on Daily Racing Form’s early Dirt Mile line set by Brad Free. The early 8-5 favorite is defending winner Cody’s Wish.
Free has Charge It as the early second choice at 5-1. Trainer Todd Pletcher said he might pre-enter Charge It, as well as Dreamlike and Bright Future, in both the Classic and the Dirt Mile.
“It’s really about how they train and how the fields are shaping up,” he said.
Charge It won the Suburban over 1 1/4 miles in July at Belmont Park. Last year, he accounted for the one-mile Dwyer by 23 lengths. In recent times, Charge It has run fourth in both the Whitney and Woodward.
:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.
“He’s a horse that has shown he’s capable at a mile and up,” Pletcher said. “We’re hoping to work out a better trip than the last two times.
“He’s kind of a tricky horse. He likes to get in the clear. [Jockey] Johnny [Velazquez] said he never got in the spot he wanted.”
◗ Skippylongstocking is bound for the Dirt Mile and Tyler Gaffalione will have the mount, said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. The horse will be cutting back from a three-turn win in the Charles Town Classic.
◗ Il Miracolo’s connections plan to skip the Breeders’ Cup. He is possible for the Fayette at Keeneland.
– additional reporting by David Grening, Mike Welsch
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.