Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf drawing a crowd

With just over two weeks until the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland, only one thing seems certain: Some will be left on the outside looking in.

About 20 2-year-olds are expected to still be under consideration for the Oct. 30 Juvenile Turf when pre-entries for all 13 Breeders’ Cup races are taken Monday. Fourteen are allowed to run in the Juvenile Turf. In the case of oversubscribed races, the Breeders’ Cup employs a three-tier system to rank the order of preference. Winners of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In races and those who rank highest on a point system based on stakes finishes comprise the first seven into the field. The other seven runners are determined by panel selection.

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Airoforce, the winner of the Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes on Oct. 4 at Keeneland, and Conquest Daddyo, the winner of the Grade 2 Summer Stakes on Sept. 12 at Woodbine, both are assured berths in the Juvenile Turf, keying a strong hand for trainer Mark Casse. They lead the North American contingent for the race, along with New York-based colts Azar and Isotherm. Azar won the Grade 2 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga for trainer Todd Pletcher, then finished second in the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont to Isotherm, trained by former Pletcher assistant George Weaver.

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Of course, the outcome of the race could hinge on European participation. Of the eight winners of the Juvenile Turf since the race was added to the Breeders’ Cup program in 2007, six had their final prep race outside of North America, including the last four. Two of those international victories belong to trainer Aidan O’Brien, who, as usual, will bring a handful of 2-year-olds to the Breeders’ Cup. Of his potential runners for the Juvenile Turf, the strongest might be Washington DC, a stakes winner who finished second to star stablemate Air Force Blue in the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix at The Curragh in Ireland. Other possibilities for O’Brien include Waterloo Bridge, a Group 2 winner at Royal Ascot who came back from more than three months on the bench to run second in the Tattersalls 2-year-old Trophy at Newmarket in England, and the Group 2-placed Air Vice Marshal.

Other European prospects include Birchwood and Gifted Master. Birchwood, owned by Godolphin, defeated Air Vice Marshal over the summer before acquitting himself well against Group 1 company. Gifted Master recently defeated Waterloo Bridge at Newmarket.

Air Vice Marshal is among the horses likely to be cross-entered in both the Juvenile and Juvenile Turf, along with the versatile colt Hollywood Don, who won the Del Mar Juvenile Turf and then finished third in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita. Calumet Farm recently purchased an interest in him.

Anxiously watching the moves of the cross-entered horses will be the connections of the graded-stakes-placed juveniles Camelot Kitten, Ray’s The Bar, and Siding Spring. Each of the three would need to be selected by the Breeders’ Cup panel in order to run in the Juvenile Turf because they have not accumulated enough points to qualify for automatic selection. Camelot Kitten and Siding Spring finished second and third in the Bourbon, and Ray’s The Bar was third in the Pilgrim.