Breeders' Cup Juvenile: Cases will be made in three Grade 1 preps
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Three Grade 1 stakes being run this weekend from coast-to-coast – the $300,000 American Pharoah at Santa Anita, the $600,000 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, and the $400,000 Champagne at Belmont at Aqueduct – should bring the field for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3 into clearer focus.
As usual in this division, two of the top cameramen are Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher, both of whom have several top contenders for the Juvenile, a race the two have combined to win eight times, seven over the last 15 years.
Baffert, a five-time Juvenile winner, has the pro-tem division leader in Prince of Monaco, who is 3 for 3 including a victory in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity. Baffert has decided to skip Saturday’s American Pharoah with Prince of Monaco and instead train up to the Juvenile. Baffert will run Muth and Wine Me Up in the American Pharoah, run at the same 1 1/16-mile distance as the Juvenile, which also will be run at Santa Anita.
Muth, a son of 2017 Juvenile winner Good Magic, won his maiden at first asking and was second to Prince of Monaco in the Grade 3 Best Pal. Wine Me Up was a debut winner going six furlongs Sept. 2.
The Doug O’Neill-trained Raging Torrent, fourth in the Del Mar Futurity, and a few maidens, including the Pletcher-trained Be You, are expected for the American Pharoah.
Pletcher shipped Be You to California because he and owner Mike Repole have others to run in the Breeders’ Futurity and Champagne.
Locked, a second-out maiden winner going a mile, will take on the likes of Iroquois Stakes winner West Saratoga, the two-time stakes-winning The Wine Steward, and impressive debut winner Awesome Road in the Breeders’ Futurity.
Despite his victory in the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, West Saratoga is not definite for the Juvenile. His trainer, Larry Demiritte, said he would wait to see how things go Saturday before deciding, but noted that he was more focused on trying to get West Saratoga to next May’s Kentucky Derby than this year’s BC Juvenile.
“Let’s see how he runs Saturday,” Demiritte said. “Kentucky’s pretty much my home. If you said California or Kentucky, I’d rather choose Kentucky. The Derby doesn’t run in California, it runs in Kentucky.”
Timberlake, second as the favorite in the Hopeful, was cross-entered in both the Breeders’ Futurity and Champagne. Trainer Brad Cox, in hopes of getting Timberlake to relax better, said he will remove the blinkers from Timberlake’s equipment regardless of where he runs.
Fierceness was perhaps the most impressive debut-winning 2-year-old at Saratoga this summer, winning by 11 1/4 lengths, albeit over a sealed, muddy track. In the Champagne, he will take on a field that includes General Partner, a second-out maiden winner; Gold Sweep, winner of the Tremont Stakes in June; Dancing Groom, winner of a one-mile, off-the-turf maiden race; and possibly El Grande O, winner of the Bertram Bongard.
Nutella Fella, the upset winner of the Hopeful, was not entered in the Champagne due to bruised foot.
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