Course condition will determine Ol’ Man River’s BC prep

The third of five Breeders’ Cup Challenge races for the Grade 1, $1 million Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 31 will be held Saturday at Newmarket. The Group 2 Royal Lodge had 16 eligible runners at the six-day entry stage Monday, while the final field was to have been set by Thursday, according to Mark Dwyer, a representative of the track in England.

The one-mile race could produce starters for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, as could the Grade 3, $200,000 Pilgrim at Belmont Park on Sunday. There are 26 nominations to the 1 1/16-mile race in New York, chief among them Grade 2 With Anticipation winner Startup Nation and Ascot stakes winner Hootenanny.

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The Royal Lodge has seven eligible runners from trainer Aidan O’Brien, a five-time winner of the race who twice has captured the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Ol’ Man River, a $3.8 million yearling out of champion Finsceal Beo, is being considered for the Royal Lodge but also for the Group 2 Beresford at The Curragh in Ireland on Sunday. O’Brien, a 13-time winner of the Beresford, told officials at The Curragh that course conditions will dictate the direction taken with Ol’ Man River.

“The ground would be crucial for Ol’ Man River as he needs it to stay good,” O’Brien said. “We will wait and see what the weather does over the next few days and make a final decision on Friday morning.”

Ol’ Man River won his debut in August.

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The Royal Lodge possibles listed by Newmarket include Elm Park, a stakes winner supplemented to the race, and Nafaqa, a stakes winner over Toocoolforschool, the eventual winner of the Group 2 Mill Reef at Newbury.

The Beresford possibles listed by The Curragh include Tombelaine, the runner-up to John F Kennedy in the Group 3 Juvenile Turf Trial at Leopardstown on Sept. 13.

The Juvenile Turf Trial was the division’s first Breeders’ Cup Challenge race. O’Brien said berth winner John F Kennedy could run next in the Dewhurst at Newmarket on Oct. 17, according to the Breeders’ Cup. The second Juvenile Turf berth, also earned Sept. 13, went to the Mark Casse-trained Conquest Typhoon in the Grade 2 Summer at Woodbine. Following the Royal Lodge, the division’s remaining Breeders’ Cup Challenge races are the Bourbon at Keeneland and the Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp in France, both Oct. 5.

European-based horses have won five of the seven runnings of the BC Juvenile Turf, and those currently mentioned as possible starters this year include Aktabantay, Faithful Creek, and Baitha Alga, according to Adrian Beaumont of the International Racing Bureau.