Breeders' Cup: Phileas Fogg taken out of Classic with foot issue
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LEXINGTON, Ky. − Phileas Fogg, who has been dealing with a foot issue for about two weeks, will not run in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31, trainer Gustavo Rodriguez said Thursday, one day after pre-entries for the race were announced.
“We’re not going to make it,” Rodriguez said. “The horse looks okay, but he’s not 100 percent. I got together with my owner and my doctor and we decided to pass.”
Rodriguez said Phileas Fogg, who two starts back won the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes by 10 lengths, would get two months off before pointing to a 2027 campaign.
Phileas Fogg first developed a foot issue following a five-furlong workout at Belmont Park on Oct. 11. Rodriguez said he equipped Phileas Fogg with glue-on shoes last week and the horse appeared to be going well.
Last Sunday, wearing those glue-ons, Phileas Fogg worked an exceptionally fast five furlongs in 56.88 seconds over Belmont’s main track. Back at the barn that morning, Rodriguez noticed that Phileas Fogg was again off on his left front. Owner Steve Shapiro pre-entered Phileas Fogg by the noon deadline on Monday, hoping that would give Phileas Fogg enough time to get over the problem.
“Sometimes, when they get foot problems, they can get good quick, sometimes it takes a month,” Rodriguez said. “I said to my doctor and my owner we can make, it but the horse is not going to be 100 percent, because I know him. We can make it, but he’s not going to run good and in the meantime we could ruin him.”
Phileas Fogg was one of 11 horses pre-entered in the Classic.
Five of those horses were pre-entered in the Dirt Mile, a group that includes Knightsbridge, Napoleon Solo, Further Ado, Forged Steel, and T O Password.
A decision on which race Knightsbridge runs is likely to impact the final fields for three races including the Dirt Mile, Classic and Sprint.
Knightsbridge and Sovereignty are both trained by Bill Mott and owned by Godolphin. Knightsbridge was listed as having his first preference in the Classic, but Michael Banahan, director of bloodstock for Godolphin’s USA operation, said not to read anything into that.
“You have to put a preference, we’re not really leaning one way or the other,” Banahan said Thursday.
Banahan said a decision on which race Knightsbridge will run won’t be made until entry time Monday and after evaluating how both Knightsbridge and Sovereignty breeze over the track, which is expected to happen this weekend. Knightsbridge and Sovereignty both galloped strong Thursday morning, their first day on the Keeneland surface.
“It’s all open at the moment,” Banahan said. “We’ll get a look at how they get over the track, that’s important.”
For what it’s worth, Knightsbridge galloped Thursday morning at Keeneland wearing his Dirt Mile towel. But, so too, did Preakness winner Napoleon Solo, though it is expected that he runs in the Classic.
Forged Steel, who earned an automatic entry into the Breeders’ Cup Classic by virtue of his victory in the Grade 1 Goodwood at Santa Anita, is now likely to run in the Dirt Mile, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said.
“We’re leaning in that direction, Joseph said. “I think we have a better chance in that spot if everything unfolds the way it’s supposed to unfold.”
Further Ado and T O Password are the other horses pre-entered in both the Classic and Dirt Mile. Further Ado is expected to run in the Classic, while T O Password is more likely to run in the Dirt Mile.
Speaking of the Dirt Mile, Coal Battle, one of just five Dirt Mile horses who was only pre-entered in one race, worked five furlongs in 1:00 Thursday morning over Keeneland’s main track. Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch caught Coal Battle’s final half-mile in 47.94 seconds.
“He did it pretty easy, he came back to the barn and couldn’t blow out a match,” trainer Lonnie Briley said. “When they started hotwalking him, he was bucking and kicking. He went pretty easy, he come back and was feeling good about himself.”
Officially, Coal Battle is two-deep on the preference list, meaning he would need two defections to get into the field. That is virtually certain to him as horses such as Built and Hymn are expected to run in the Sprint.
Several Breeders' Cup defections
Just one day after pre-entries were announced, the Breeders’ Cup has listed several defections from the event.
Three of the 16 pre-entrants made by Aidan O’Brien were officially withdrawn including last year’s Juvenile Turf winner Gstaad, who was pre-entered in the Mile, as well as Constitution River, another pre-entered in the Mile.
Those two defections, as well as the previously announced defection of Ten Bob Tony, open slots up in the body of the race for Ask Igiigomi, Puerto Rico, and Qirat.
Trainer Andrew Balding told racing analyst Nick Luck that he will likely run the filly Blue Bolt in the Filly and Mare Turf. If that occurs, then Lugal would draw into the Mile field.
Minnie Hauk and Lambourn have been withdrawn from the $5 million Turf. With the previously announced defection of Ombudsman, that allows Johanna Walsh and Far Bridge into the field.
Net Par, runner-up in the Grade 1 American Pharoah, has been withdrawn from the $2 million BC Juvenile and Al Hudaiba has been withdrawn from the BC Juvenile Turf.
Al Hudaiba’s defection allows Liam’s Law to get into the Juvenile Turf.
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