Breeders’ Cup Turf: Postponed will not run

The list of pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on Oct. 31 was hours from being officially announced on Wednesday when the European Group 1 winner Postponed was withdrawn from consideration. Postponed, the winner of the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in July, had a workout in Newmarket, England, on Wednesday but did not scope well afterward.

“Postponed will not run in the Breeders’ Cup,” trainer Roger Varian said in a statement. “His postwork scope was not 100 percent, and we do not want to risk traveling him unless he is in peak health.”

Varian said Postponed will be pointed for the Sheema Classic at Meydan in Dubai on March 26, with a possible race in advance.

The absence of Postponed leaves the BC Turf with a maximum field of 12, including three foreign-based runners – the Europeans Found and Golden Horn and the South American Ordak Dan. Golden Horn, the winner of the English Derby at Epsom in June and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris on Oct. 4, is expected to be a heavy favorite in the $3 million BC Turf, run at 1 1/2 miles.

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The 3-year-old filly Found was a surprise entrant and is the lone female on the list of pre-entries. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Found has won 3 of 10 starts and has already had a busy October. Found was ninth in the Arc de Triomphe and second in the British Champions Stakes at Ascot on Oct. 17.

O’Brien has won the BC Turf four times, and twice in the last four years with St Nicholas Abbey at Churchill Downs in 2011 and Magician at Santa Anita in 2013. Found is owned by Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Sue Magnier, who owned St Nicholas Abbey and Magician.

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There are nine American-based runners in the field, a group led by The Pizza Man and Big Blue Kitten, the first two finishers of the Arlington Million in August. Big Blue Kitten subsequently won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Sept. 26.

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Owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Big Blue Kitten is trained by Chad Brown, who has three hopefuls for the BC Turf, including Shining Copper and Slumber.