Hit the Road, Brickyard Ride set sights on Breeders' Cup races

Stakes wins by Hit the Road and Brickyard Ride last Saturday have left their trainers thinking about Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Hit the Road won his third consecutive stakes, and first Grade 1, in the Frank Kilroe Mile on turf against a strong field. Ridden by Florent Geroux, Hit the Road (4-1) stalked the pace and rallied on the rail to win by a neck over 5-2 favorite Smooth Like Strait, another multiple stakes-winning 4-year-old colt.

Chances are those two could meet again in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on turf May 31 at Santa Anita. The winner of the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Mile.

“The Win and You’re In races are the most enticing,” trainer Dan Blacker said. “The goal this year is the Breeders’ Cup.”

Blacker said turf races such as the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile on April 9 at Keeneland or the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile on April 24 at Golden Gate Fields are possibilities in the interim.

“I need to see how he works back and his energy in the next couple of weeks,” Blacker said. “It’s too early. He looked great. He came out of the race in great shape.

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“He probably does run a little better fresh. One thing I know is he’s very good at a mile in California. If I venture out of state, I would keep him at a mile.”

A four-length win by Brickyard Ride in Saturday’s Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita has trainer Craig Lewis dreaming of the BC Sprint.

“We’re starting to have some Breeders’ Cup aspirations,” Lewis said. “Maybe we’re thinking too big, but it doesn’t hurt to dream.”

Owned and bred by Sonny Pais, Brickyard Ride led throughout the $202,000 San Carlos, his graded stakes debut. In January, Brickyard Ride won his stakes debut in the $153,000 California Cup Sprint at six furlongs.

Lewis said springtime plans for Brickyard Ride have not been finalized, but options include the Grade 3 Kona Gold Stakes at six furlongs April 18 at Santa Anita or the Metropolitan Mile on June 5 at Belmont Park.

“He should be able to get a mile,” Lewis said. “We’re looking at a few races. We might just stay here.”

Plans are less certain for Storm the Court, the champion 2-year-old male of 2019, who finished fifth in the San Carlos, 7 1/4 lengths behind Brickyard Ride. Storm the Court was second to Brickyard Ride for the first five furlongs before fading through the stretch.

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Trainer Peter Eurton said Storm the Court will not run in a sprint anytime soon. Storm the Court could return to grass racing. On Dec. 26, Storm the Court was second to Smooth Like Strait in the Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile for 3-year-olds on turf.

Storm the Court is winless in 10 starts since the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

“Well take a step back and let him get sharp again,” Eurton said. “We may find a spot in the next couple of months.

“I don’t think we’ll run him sprinting again. He’s not fast enough, or you’ve got to get the right trip.”