Full Serrano will start in Goodwood Stakes with eye on Breeders' Cup

ARCADIA, Calif. - Full Serrano will start in Saturday’s Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Nov. 1.

But a specific Breeders’ Cup race has not been finalized, trainer John Sadler said on Sunday.

Full Serrano, owned by Hronis Racing, won the BC Dirt Mile at Del Mar last November.

The winner of the $300,000 Goodwood Stakes at 1 1/8 miles receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Classic at 1 1/4 miles. Sadler would not commit Full Serrano to the Classic or Dirt Mile on Sunday.

“I’m thinking Breeders’ Cup,” he said. “Let’s see how he goes.”

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Full Serrano has started once since the 2024 BC Dirt Mile, easily winning an allowance race at a mile at Del Mar on Sept. 1. Full Serrano worked six furlongs in 1:12.40 at Santa Anita on Sunday.

“I wanted to see a nice work today and that’s what we got,” Sadler said.

The Goodwood field will not include Nysos, the impressive winner of the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap in July who was withdrawn from the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 30 on the morning of the race because of a bruised foot, trainer Bob Baffert said that weekend.

Nysos has not had a recorded workout since Aug. 21, but is still a contender for a Breeders’ Cup race, Baffert said on Sunday.

“He’s training,” Baffert said. “We’re still shooting for it.”

The options include the BC Dirt Mile, but Baffert said the BC Sprint at six furlongs is another possibility.

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