Code of Honor will go to Breeders' Cup Classic

The chance of securing not only the 3-year-old male title but also having a shot at Horse of the Year are among the reasons cited by trainer Shug McGaughey to send Code of Honor to California for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.

McGaughey was non-committal regarding the Classic immediately after Code of Honor got put up via disqualification in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Saturday at Belmont Park, but by Wednesday he informed Daily Racing Form that Code of Honor was a go for the Classic. That was the second major piece of news that dropped regarding the Classic in the span of 24 hours.

On Tuesday, trainer Bob Baffert announced that he would be making a change of riders with McKinzie, who was beaten as the favorite on Saturday in the Awesome Again at Santa Anita and remains the favorite for the Classic on the line of Brad Free of Daily Racing Form. Mike Smith has ridden McKinzie in all 13 of his starts.

Baffert last Friday brought John Velazquez in from New York for two significant Grade 1 races for 2-year-olds at Santa Anita, and they teamed to win the American Pharoah with Eight Rings and the Chandelier with the filly Bast. Velazquez seemingly would have been in play as a potential replacement for Smith on McKinzie if Code of Honor did not come west, but Velazquez will ride Code of Honor, McGaughey said. As of Wednesday, the mount on McKinzie was open.

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Code of Honor is compiling a strong 2019 résumé. He has now won four times in seven starts, and owns a pair of wins at 1 1/4 miles – the distance of the Classic – in the Travers and the Jockey Club Gold Cup. A victory in the Classic would mean he would end the year with four straight victories, three at 1 1/4 miles, the final two against older horses. That would make him a major candidate for two Eclipse Awards, including Horse of the Year.

“If he were to win, who else would you give it to?” McGaughey said Wednesday. “Midnight Bisou would be the only one, and I’m not taking anything away from her, but she’s just run against fillies.”

Midnight Bisou, 7 for 7 this year against females, is scheduled to stay in her division and make her next start in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, also Nov. 2.

Earlier this year, Code of Honor won the Fountain of Youth, was third in the Florida Derby, and was placed second in the Kentucky Derby via disqualification after crossing the wire third. His current win streak began in the Dwyer.

“This is a different horse than he was back in the summer. He ran awfully well here the other day. Deserves a chance,” McGaughey said.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup was a Win and You’re In for the Classic.

“Lot at stake, lot of money, doesn’t cost us anything to run,” McGaughey said. “If we didn’t run here, it’d probably be six months until we ran again.”

Code of Honor is a homebred for William S. Farish. In 2003, Farish was part of partnership that bred and raced the 4-year-old Mineshaft, whose victory in that year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup was his seventh victory in nine starts and wrapped up Horse of the Year. The Breeders’ Cup was at Santa Anita that year, too, but Mineshaft was retired a week after the Jockey Club Gold Cup and never came west

Code of Honor tack-walked at McGaughey’s Belmont Park barn on Wednesday and was scheduled to go back to the track to train Thursday. McGaughey said Code of Honor would do all his serious training at Belmont Park before flying to California.

McKinzie’s loss on Saturday gives him a record of two wins and four seconds – including in the Met Mile – this year.

Baffert said he informed Smith of his decision now, “because I want to give him a chance to get something else.”

– additional reporting by David Grening