Calgary Cat earns right to test himself in Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – When trainer Kevin Attard and owners Stephen Chesney and Cory Hoffman claimed Calgary Cat for $25,000 in November 2013, they weren’t thinking they would one day get to run him in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

Attard said the Breeders’ Cup still wasn’t in their plans at the beginning of October, but the 2014 Canadian champion sprinter made a strong statement when he won the Grade 2, $307,800 Nearctic Stakes here on Oct. 16.

Although the Nearctic is no longer part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, Calgary Cat’s victory earned him enough points to qualify for the main body of the field for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint this Saturday at Santa Anita. The race drew 28 pre-entries last Wednesday.

“[Before the Nearctic] the owners had kind of thought about it, but I don’t think he had been as good as he is now to take on something like this assignment,” Attard said.

Attard said Calgary Cat’s clear preference for turf over the Tapeta main track at Woodbine also played a part in the decision. Back in August, Calgary Cat finished fifth in the Troy Stakes at Saratoga, but he was beaten less than a length.

“If you look at his race at Saratoga and his race in the Nearctic, they were both solid performances,” he said. “He handled the turf when he was young, he just kind of got good over the Polytrack and became a champion sprinter. It was kind of hard to switch surfaces back on him.

“The horse was working really well and not running to expectations over the Tapeta. That’s why he went to Saratoga for the turf. He ran really well there, and we came back and gave him one more try over the Tapeta, and he was just a so-so fourth that day.”

Calgary Cat arrived in California on Friday and trained on the dirt at Santa Anita over the weekend. Attard said Calgary Cat appears to be in good order following the trip.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better, to be honest,” he said.

Attard added that the downhill turf course at Santa Anita presents a new challenge for Calgary Cat, but he believes the horse can handle the adjustment.

“There’s going to be different challenges – crossing the dirt and coming down the hill,” he said. “He’s been versatile. He seems to kind of handle situations very well. He ships well. We’re going to try and get him over there one morning and give him a little bit of exposure to it, and hopefully Saturday he’ll come up with his best performance.”

Attard said Calgary Cat has earned a chance to prove himself against the best in the Breeders’ Cup.

“He owes us nothing,” he said. “He’s been really good to us all, and he deserves a chance. He doesn’t look out of place over here, I don’t think.”

Melmich to run in Marathon

Calgary Cat won’t be the only horse whom Attard runs at Santa Anita this weekend. Melmich also has made the trip to run in the Grade 2, $200,000 Marathon Stakes over 1 3/4 miles on dirt on the Breeders’ Cup undercard Friday.

Melmich has excelled at long distances over the last year. He won the Grade 3 Valedictory Stakes at Woodbine over 1 3/4 miles on Polytrack last December and is coming off a runner-up effort in the Temperence Hill Invitational Stakes over 1 5/8 miles on dirt at Belmont Park on Oct. 2. Since he’ll be running at Santa Anita, he will miss the Grade 2, $200,000 Autumn Stakes here on Sunday.

With a repeat in the $150,000 Valedictory Stakes at Woodbine on Dec. 4 still a goal, Attard said the Marathon was a better fit for Melmich than the Autumn Stakes.

“We took him to Belmont, stretching him out, and it’s kind of hard to cut him back to a mile and a sixteenth and then go a mile and three-quarters for the Valedictory, which is still a goal,” Attard said. “Especially with Calgary Cat coming, it made more sense to come out here.”

Attard said Melmich appears to be in good condition after shipping out west, and he’ll get a chance to train over the dirt at Santa Anita during the week.

“He shipped well,” he said. “He seems bright and alert today. We’ll get a chance to gallop over the track over the next few days, and we’ll go from there.”