Keeneland notes: Breeders' Cup horses ready for take-off

LEXINGTON, Ky. – It won’t be long at all before the first of six scheduled charter flights transporting Breeders’ Cup horses from Kentucky will touch down in Southern California.

Horses trained by Dale Romans and Todd Pletcher will be on a Monday flight to California from Louisville International Airport, according to Buddy Fife, the Kentucky sales agent for the Tex Sutton charter service. That shipment will include Little Mike, Silver Max, Cleburne, and Smart Cover for Romans, who said his life partner, Tammy Fox, will travel with the horses and oversee their training at Santa Anita before he arrives a week or so out from the Nov. 1-2 Breeders’ Cup.

Pletcher already has Authenticity with his longtime assistant Michael McCarthy at Santa Anita, and will be sending Breeders’ Futurity winner We Miss Artie and Bourbon runner-up Bashart from Keeneland on this first flight.

Fife said the other five flights from Kentucky are scheduled for Oct. 22, 26, 27, 28, and 29. Booked on the Oct. 22 flight are Groupie Doll and the D. Wayne Lukas runners Will Take Charge and Strong Mandate, while Wise Dan and Fort Larned are among those on the Oct. 29 flight. Fife said the load capacity per flight is 20 horses.

Borel, agent reunited

Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel will be reunited with longtime agent Jerry Hissam for the 26-day fall meet that starts Oct. 27 at Churchill Downs. Hissam became ill last winter during the Oaklawn Park meet and has remained in his hometown of Hot Springs, Ark., but plans to return Oct. 20 to Kentucky to start working the Churchill meet, said Doc Danner, who has worked for Borel in the interim.

Borel has ridden sparingly since the September meet at Churchill ended Sept. 29. He rode two races Saturday on the Indiana Derby card at Indiana Downs and had not been named to ride any Keeneland races until this week, with one mount Thursday and three Friday.

Gorder suspended for medication positive

Horses trained by Kellyn Gorder are running under the name of Sally Schu after Gorder was suspended 20 days for a clenbuterol positive stemming from the last race at Ellis Park on Aug. 10, just 30 minutes after Gorder won the Grade 3 Gardenia Stakes with Devious Intent. The subject horse, Belle Natalie, was disqualified from first and the $21,939 purse was redistributed. The suspension runs through Oct. 26, closing day of the Keeneland fall meet.

Clenbuterol, a bronchodilator that is also used to build muscle, is a Class 3 medication banned for raceday purposes with a three-day recommended withdrawal period and a 25-picogram threshold.
The first Gorder horse started by Schu was He Be Somethin, who won the fourth race Wednesday at Keeneland at 7-1.

Until the suspension, Gorder had been having his best year ever – even with his big horse Bourbon Courage inactive since early May. He sent out a pair of impressive two-turn maiden winners, Prepared and Moon Angel, on opening weekend here, pushing his 2013 total past the $2 million mark.

Talking saddletowels

Fans continue to ask why Keeneland uses same-colored saddletowels for its major races instead of the color-coded towels that are used for the vast majority of North American races, including the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup.

The short answer: sponsorship packages. Part of the incentive for a breeding farm or company as title sponsor is to increase marketing awareness by using a color closely identifiable with the sponsoring entity, for example royal blue for Shadwell Farm.

The same-colored saddletowels can make it harder to follow the action, especially for simulcast bettors.

◗ Lighthouse Bay, winner of the Grade 1 Prioress in July at Saratoga, is among the leading candidates for the richest of four stakes to be run here next week, the $250,000 Raven Run for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday, Oct. 19.

◗ Local bus shuttles from Commonwealth Stadium to Keeneland and back are available Saturday, a cheap and convenient way for fans wanting to avoid traffic hassles if they plan to attend the races in the afternoon and the Alabama-Kentucky football game at night. Shuttles are just $1 each way. More information is available at lextran.com.

◗ Stall applications for the holiday meet that starts Dec. 1 at Turfway Park are due Saturday.