Breeders' Cup workouts: Mucho Macho Man, Will Take Charge gallop

ARCADIA, Calif. – Thursday proved to be the calm before the storm for Breeders’ Cup hopefuls training at Santa Anita, with the majority of activity confined to routine jogs and gallops. Only one Breeders’ Cup contender, the multiple Grade 1 winner Jeranimo (Mile), turned in a recorded workout, breezing five furlongs in 1:00.40 over the main track following the final renovation break shortly after 9:30 a.m.

The local action will really start to pick up Friday, with a number of important workouts scheduled over both the turf course and main track, while Saturday is likely to be the busiest morning of all for Breeders’ Cup workers.

Only a handful of Classic entrants were on the grounds as of Thursday, including last year’s runner-up Mucho Macho Man, Travers winner Will Take Charge, and trainer Bob Baffert’s duo of likely favorite Game On Dude and Paynter, all of whom had easy mornings on Thursday.

Mucho Macho Man had the distinction of becoming the first Breeders’ Cup runner to be sighted wearing the newly designed Breeders’ Cup towel. Mucho Macho Man jogged the wrong way from the gap around to the finish line before reversing direction and galloping approximately 1 1/8 miles about 15 minutes after the second renovation break. Mucho Macho Man was in the midst of a routine morning before getting a little aggressive after being passed by a pair of Baffert gate workers near the quarter pole.[bc_video_id:308247:]

As he has shown before, including in advance of his troubled run in the Kentucky Derby, Will Take Charge does not have the prettiest way of going when he gallops. But he did show a good energy level as he galloped through the stretch under the watchful eye of trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

One horse who proved to be a real handful late Thursday morning was the undefeated 2-year-old Cleburne (Juvenile). He fought his rider for nearly an entire mile, became very rank leaving the backstretch, and drifted out well past the middle of the racetrack coming off the final bend before finally coming to hand and pulling up just beyond the wire.

Spring to the Sky (Turf Sprint) turned in a sharp workout last weekend at Belmont Park and looked good galloping over the main track here this morning. Goldencents (Dirt Mile) was also very sharp, especially when given the chance to really stretch his legs and two-minute-lick down the stretch, a fairly common practice for horses trained by Doug O’Neill.

Ever Rider, who’ll be among the favorites for the Marathon, galloped bareback early Thursday in similar fashion to last year’s winner and fellow Argentina-bred Calidoscopio. One of his chief rivals in the Marathon, Suns Out Guns Out, trained in a more conventional manner, galloping a couple of times around the mile oval under exercise rider Tammy Fox.

Keeneland

Poker Player (Juvenile Turf) – Took a long run to the five-eighths pole over the Keeneland turf course, going in 25.82 and 38.76 to the top of the lane, and 1:02.76 to the wire. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:17.65. Went fairly easy under light encouragement but seemed to be getting out a touch throughout the drill. Rating: B

– additional reporting by Mike Vesce