Chance It may try BC Juvenile off easy In Reality victory

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Chance It may have earned himself a chance to participate in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile following his super impressive, 7 1/4-length victory making his two-turn debut here Saturday in the $400,000 In Reality Stakes, the finale of the open division of the Florida Sire Stakes. The win was the third in the last four starts for Chance It, whose only loss during that streak was a head setback in the middle leg of the series, the seven-furlong Affirmed.

“The Breeders’ Cup is definitely on the table,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said during training hours on Sunday. “It’s not something that has to happen, but the owners said if the horse is doing well we should give it a shot.”

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Joseph reported Chance It came out of the 1 1/16-mile race in good shape.

“This was probably his easiest race to date, both visually and the way he’s bounced out of it the next morning,” said Joseph. “I thought It was a very good performance. He rated, relaxed and when asked to go, he went on with it. He got to looking around a little bit through the stretch, but he certainly answered the two-turn question decisively and I think there is more improvement coming. This horse is loaded with talent and I think he’s going to keep moving forward because he’s got that type of frame.”

Joseph said he was quietly confident Chance It, a Florida-bred son of Currency Swap, would handle the extra distance on Saturday.

“Pedigree-wise, it tells you he’s a sprinter,” said Joseph. “But watching him train tells you distance. You can always have that inclination, but you still have to see it, and I thought what he showed us yesterday was about as much as you could ask. He did it well within himself and probably could have won by further, but we didn’t need to see that now.”

Chance It is one of two potential Breeders’ Cup candidates in Joseph’s barn along with Math Wizard, who may be Classic bound following his upset win a week ago in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby. Joseph said the former low-level claimer went back to the track for the first time following that performance here Saturday morning.

“There’s no definite decision on Math Wizard either, although we’re leaning towards it if all goes well,” said Joseph. “And we definitely won’t send one horse because the other might be going. They are two different horses with two different owners and the decision on whether they run in the Breeders’ Cup will be based solely on how each horse is doing individually in the weeks ahead.”

Casse considering options for Two Sixty

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies will be under consideration but is less likely in the future for Two Sixty, who bounced back from a disastrous outing in the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl to register an eye-catching 6 1/4-length triumph of her own in Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile My Dear Girl Stakes. Two Sixty lost her rider, Edgard Zayas, a little over a quarter-mile into the Susan’s Girl. Zayas was aboard once again for her victory in the My Dear Girl.

“We’ve always thought she could really run,” said Mark Casse, who trains Two Sixty for owner Gary Barber. “She was very impressive winning her debut but then caught slop in her second start, got away slow and was disappointing. In the Susan’s Girl, we don’t really know what happened. Another horse kind of bumped her, she shied from it, and obviously Edgard hit the ground.”

Casse said his team did a lot of schooling with Two Sixty after the incident, galloping and working her in and around horses to prepare her for her two-turn debut in the My Dear Girl. But there was never anyone around her at any point once she left the gate and sprinted right to the front under Zayas on Saturday.

“Her sire, Uncaptured, won going a mile and three-sixteenths so Gary and I didn’t see any reason why she wouldn’t handle two turns,” said Casse. “I don’t give riders instructions, I usually let them play it as the race comes, and it was good strategy to put her on the lead. She ran really fast, too. Almost as fast as [Chance It] in the other division, and I know they’re really high on that horse.”

Two Sixty’s time of 1:44.26 for 1 1/16 miles was just .15 slower than Chance It covered the same distance one hour later.

“We haven’t really talked much about what will be next for her,” said Casse. “We’ll probably have to at least consider the Breeders’ Cup a touch. It wasn’t the strongest bunch, by far, that she beat. But she did win with so much authority and she did run fast, so it at least makes you think about it. And she also got two-turn experience, which is a big thing.”