Clapton being pointed to Breeders' Cup Classic

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Clapton, winner of the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Sept. 30, is being trained toward a start in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

Trainer Chad Summers was planning to work Clapton Tuesday at Belmont Park and then ship to Southern California on Saturday so that he can get a work over Santa Anita’s main track the last weekend of October.

Summers has gone as far as to secure a jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, for the Classic.

It is still not certain that Clapton will make it into the body of the Classic when pre-entries are announced next week. However, it seems highly unlikely now that Forte will make the Breeders’ Cup as he still has not worked since his fourth-place finish in the Travers. He is in training at Churchill Downs, according to trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole, but it is unclear what, if anything, he is training toward.

Defunded, second in the Grade 2 Awesome Again, may be heading to the Fayette at Keeneland on Oct. 28, trainer Bob Baffert indicated over the weekend. If those two are indeed out, that should move Clapton closer to making it into the field.

Summers said he met with owner Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Alnuami of RRR Racing in Dubai last week and it was decided the Classic was the target.

:: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets.

“He is just thriving out of the [Lukas] Classic. He came out of the race better than he went in,” Summers said Monday at Belmont. “The race should have pace in it with Arabian Knight and Saudi Crown. They should go fast. You don’t always get these kinds of opportunities. We think it’s the right opportunity for the way the horse is going and how he’s doing.”

Clapton, who won the Grade 3 Ghostzapper at Gulfstream Park in April, was purchased by RRR earlier this summer from Arindel Racing. After finishing fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga, Clapton won the Lukas Classic by a head.

Summers said the timing of the Classic still allows Clapton to ship to Dubai in mid-January and compete in the Maktoum Challenge on Jan. 26 and then the Dubai World Cup on March 30.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.