Laurel River drills five furlongs for Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

ARCADIA, Calif. - Laurel River continues to blaze through morning workouts in the buildup to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland on Nov. 5.

An easy winner of the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 27, Laurel River worked five furlongs in 1:00 at Santa Anita on Sunday, the second-fastest time at the distance.

In recent weeks, Laurel River worked five furlongs in 59.20 seconds on Sept. 30 and six furlongs in 1:12.40 on Oct. 10, the fastest times of the mornings at those distances.

Trainer Bob Baffert said the gap between the Pat O’Brien Stakes and the Dirt Mile should work in favor of Laurel River, who had a few light weeks of training in late summer.

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“We gave him a break after Del Mar,” Baffert said.

Owned by Juddmonte Farms, Laurel River moved to the fore of the BC Dirt Mile candidates with an emphatic win in the Pat O’Brien Stakes, drawing clear by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:21.37. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 108.

The BC Dirt Mile will be Laurel River’s eighth start, and first outside of California.

“I think the mile is a good distance for him,” Baffert said.

Baffert plans to send Defunded and Havnameltdown to Keeneland for stakes later this month, in advance of the Breeders’ Cup weekend.

Defunded, the winner of the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on Oct. 1, will start in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes, a $350,000 race at 1 1/8 miles on Oct. 29.

The Awesome Again was Defunded’s first stakes win. On Saturday at Santa Anita, Defunded worked five furlongs in 59.40 seconds.

Havnameltdown, the winner of the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at six furlongs in August, but second in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 10, will start in the $200,000 Bowman Mill Stakes for 2-year-olds at six furlongs at Keeneland on Oct. 29.

The Baffert-trained Taiba worked five furlongs on Friday at Santa Anita in a rapid 59.60 seconds for the BC Classic on Nov. 5. Taiba won the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing on Sept. 24.

Taiba will face the undefeated star Flightline in the BC Classic at 1 1/4 miles.

“I’m happy with all of them,” Baffert said. “We have a ways to go.”

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