Hot Blooded to get shot at earning Breeders' Cup berth

Gulfstream Park stakes winner Hot Blooded is making a bid for the Breeders’ Cup.

Trainer Carlos David said the 2-year-old is being considered for a start in either the Grade 2, $200,000 Bourbon on Oct. 4 at Keeneland or the Grade 3, $100,000 Futurity on Oct. 11 at Belmont Park.

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The Bourbon is a Win and You’re In for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, while the Futurity is a qualifier for the Grade 2, $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint. Both races are Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

“We’re trying to work our way up to the Breeders’ Cup,” David said.

David said the other option for Hot Blooded is to remain home and run Saturday in the $75,000 Armed Forces at Gulfstream. The horse won his first stakes last month, the $75,000 Proud Man at a mile on the grass Aug. 29 at Gulfstream. Prior to that race, he won a maiden special weight over seven furlongs at Gulfstream in an off-the-turf race July 24.

“Our first pick is the race at Keeneland, the Bourbon, and the second the one at Belmont,” said David, who trains Hot Blooded for Palm Beach Racing. “The Futurity is a little bit shorter, six furlongs, but they have a long stretch. He’s been placed fairly forward the last couple of times he’s run, and I wouldn’t be afraid to give him a shorter race.”

Hot Blooded’s first chance to try turf came in the Proud Man. He finished with a flourish, winning by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:36.68.

“I definitely wanted to try him on the grass,” David said. “I knew he would improve on the grass. We decided to go in the stakes, and it worked out really well.”

David said pedigree played a role in wanting turf for Hot Blooded early in his career. The horse is by Declaration of War, a multiple Group 1 winner on the grass. David added that Hot Blooded is a half-brother to Hottie Toddy, who registered all five of her wins on turf for Palm Beach Racing and David.

The Armed Forces is part of a Saturday card at Gulfstream that includes a pair of $400,000 divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes for 2-year-olds, the In Reality and the My Dear Girl.