Juvenile: Majestic Warrior still on the bubble

A stunning loss by Majestic Warrior combined with season-ending injuries to Ready's Image and The Roundhouse has left the Breeders' Cup Juvenile field in flux just days before pre-entries are to be submitted on Monday.

Majestic Warrior finished sixth as the favorite in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park, and as of Wednesday, his trainer, Bill Mott, said no decision had been made on the Breeders' Cup status of the colt.

"I haven't had that conversation yet" with the owners - George Steinbrenner, John Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Michael Tabor - Mott said from Saratoga. Mott said Majestic Warrior had come out of the race fine, and that he would train him with the Breeders' Cup in mind.

As for his performance Saturday, Mott said Majestic Warrior "seemed uncomfortable going around the turn."

"I don't know if the track was deeper on the rail, but he was going sideways and he switched over early to his right lead," he said.

Mott did get a strong effort out of Z Humor, who finished third behind War Pass and Pyro. Z Humor will head to the Juvenile.

"I thought he ran incredibly well," Mott said of Z Humor, who is owned by Ahmed Zayat. "Mr. Zayat suggested he run there, and I agreed with him. He's a great handicapper. He looks at the sheets, gets all the latest updates, studies everything pretty closely."

Ready's Image, who finished last in the Champagne, came out of the race with a chip in his left knee and will undergo surgery later this week in Ocala, Fla., trainer Todd Pletcher said. That wasn't the end of Pletcher's misery. The Roundhouse, who finished sixth in the Breeders' Futurity on Saturday at Keeneland, came out of the race with sore shins.

"He'll be put away for the year," Pletcher said Wednesday.

As a result, Pletcher will not have any runners in the Juvenile.

War Pass may now be the lukewarm Juvenile favorite following his victory in the Champagne. Both he and Wicked Style, the Breeders' Futurity winner, will head into the Juvenile unbeaten.

Pyro, second in the Champagne, gives trainer Steve Asmussen two excellent chances in the Juvenile, along with Kodiak Kowboy.

Pyro's race, Asmussen said, was "a sign of things to come."

"He's a very nice horse," Asmussen said. "He's a serious horse."