Breeders' Cup Juvenile: Rivelli has high expectations for The Tabulator

Two years ago, trainer Larry Rivelli ran Cocked and Loaded in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and the 16-1 shot ran a creditable fifth behind Nyquist, beaten just a length for third.

This year, Rivelli will be back in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and he’s expecting even better things from The Tabulator.

“I think he is a better horse than Cocked and Loaded,” Rivelli said. “Cocked and Loaded was an overachiever. I liked him a lot going into that race. With Nyquist, we had an uphill battle but he put in a good showing. I’m expecting better results from this horse.”

The Tabulator, a son of Dialed In owned by Carolyn Wilson, is 3 for 3 with wins in a maiden race over Arlington’s synthetic track at 4 1/2 furlongs, the Prairie Gold Juvenile Stakes at Prairie Meadows on dirt at six furlongs, and the Grade 3 Iroquois at Churchill Downs going 1 1/16 miles.

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“The horse is fit,” Rivelli said. “That last race going two turns at Churchill Downs is going to do a lot for him.

“He’s put on weight, he’s about as good as he’s been, to tell you the truth.”

Three weeks ago, Rivelli moved The Tabulator from Arlington to Hawthorne so he could train over a dirt track. The Tabulator has had two slowly-timed workouts at Hawthorne and was scheduled to breeze there Wednesday following the first race.

The Tabulator and two of his stablemates for undercard races will fly to Del Mar on Sunday along with trainer Wesley Ward’s contingent, Rivelli said. The Tabulator will have one work at Del Mar before the Breeders’ Cup.

The Juvenile will have a heavy favorite in Bolt d’Oro, an undefeated two-time Grade 1 stakes winner, but Rivelli is going into the race confident.

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“I’m not too worried about anybody else,” Rivelli said. “Hopefully, the race sets up for him. He’s a real tactical horse. The other day [in the Iroquois], as fast as they were going I was hoping he’d hang around, but he grabbed the bit and kept going.”

Jose Valdivia Jr. will ride The Tabulator in the Juvenile. Valdivia won the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Val Royal in 2001 but has not ridden in a Breeders’ Cup race since 2012.

◗ Frankie Dettori will ride Run Away in the Juvenile, trainer Simon Callaghan said Wednesday. Flavien Prat had ridden Run Away in his five previous starts – four of which were wins – but he is committed to ride Solomini for Bob Baffert in the Juvenile.

Callaghan, who trains Run Away for Kaleem Shah, said he and owner Paul Reddam are considering running the maiden Bahamian in the Juvenile. Bahamian, second to Solomini in a Sept. 2 maiden race at Del Mar, stumbled at the start of the Grade 1 Champagne and finished ninth.

◗ Montauk, an impressive debut winner Oct. 7 at Belmont, is scheduled to work Friday at Belmont Park after which a decision will be made on whether he will run in the Juvenile.

Pre-entries for all Breeders’ Cup races must be made by Monday and will be announced Oct. 25.

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