Breeders' Cup notes: Dance Card, Summer Applause shortening up

Dance Card and Summer Applause, two of the challengers to Groupie Doll in the seven-furlong Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, have raced primarily in longer races, and their presence represents an angle frequently favored by handicappers: route horses going short.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said he hopes Dance Card breaks more alertly than in her return from a 10-month layoff in the Sept. 21 Gallant Bloom at Belmont Park, where she finished third.

“She was a little rusty, but she’s trained well since that race,” McLaughlin said. “I really would like to see her stalking because if you kick her out of the gate, she goes too fast.”

Likewise, Chad Brown said the turnback is a calculated move in which he hopes the early leaders come back to Summer Applause, who will be sold at auction next week at Fasig-Tipton in Kentucky.

“This is definitely an experiment,” Brown said. “We thought it was a chance worth taking. She’s training sharp. She’s going to need a lot of pace to run at and come late on the cutback.”

[BREEDERS’ CUP 2013: Fields with DRF odds and comments]

Servis has longshot in Turf Sprint

For racing fans who tend to pay attention only to the major events, the Servis surname may sound familiar. That’s because John Servis was the trainer of Smarty Jones, who in 2004 was the first undefeated horse since Seattle Slew (1977) to win the Kentucky Derby.

Jason Servis, John’s older brother by 18 months, will have his first starter in a Triple Crown or Breeders’ Cup race when Tightend Touchdown goes postward Saturday as a longshot in the BC Turf Sprint.

Jason Servis, 56, races extensively at tracks throughout the Northeast, particularly in New York and New Jersey. His only graded stakes win came in the Grade 3 Violet at the Meadowlands with American Border in 2008.

Colorado contender

Whether or not he makes his presence felt, Chips All In will achieve a Breeders’ Cup first when he leaves the gate Saturday in the Turf Sprint.

According to Arapahoe Park, Chips All In is the only BC starter ever to race in Colorado, where, in his third start as a 2-year-old, he won the $100,000 Gold Rush Futurity at Arapahoe in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

Chips All In, now 4, earned a 48 Beyer Speed Figure in the Gold Rush but has improved by leaps and bounds since then, earning Beyers of 98 or higher in four of his last five races. He is the co-second choice on the Turf Sprint morning line at 5-1.