Midnight Lucky retired, out of Breeders' Cup

ARCADIA, Calif. – The Breeders’ Cup incurred another major defection on Friday when Bob Baffert said that Midnight Lucky will be retired.

A 4-year-old filly who would have been one of the favorites in the $1 million BC Filly and Mare Sprint, Midnight Lucky worked six furlongs Friday morning at Santa Anita. Baffert caught her in 1:12, but said he was not satisfied with the work.

“She really had to show me something this morning if I was going to run her,” said Baffert. “But I really didn’t like it at all. She did go in 1:12, but that was on the buckle.”

Midnight Lucky had not raced since easily winning the Grade 1 Humana Distaff on May 3 at Churchill Downs. Baffert said she had “a few minor issues” during her layoff and had not undergone surgery.

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She had been working regularly toward a return in the Breeders’ Cup, with the drill on Friday being her eighth since late August.

“This is going to be a really competitive race, and it’s my feeling she wouldn’t be competitive enough,” Baffert said. “It’s very disappointing, because obviously she’s a really good filly. I’d wanted to have one race in her before the Breeders’ Cup, but that didn’t happen. We just ran out of time with her.”

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, Midnight Lucky finishes her career with four wins from just five starts. A gray Kentucky-bred filly by Midnight Lute, she won the 2013 Sunland Park Oaks by eight lengths in just her second start, prior to her only defeat, a fifth-place finish as second choice in the Kentucky Oaks. She then won the Grade 1 Acorn by 6 1/4 lengths on May 27, 2013, with her only subsequent start being a 4 1/2-length score in the Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs nearly one year later.

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Midnight Lucky had been listed as third choice behind Judy the Beauty and Artemis Agrotera on the early Daily Racing Form odds for the Filly and Mare Sprint. As of Thursday, she was the 15-8 favorite on an advance odds line published by the British bookmaker Coral.

The withdrawal of Midnight Lucky still leaves Baffert with seven starters for the 2014 Breeders’ Cup, with American Pharoah (Juvenile) and Bayern (Classic) perhaps his best horses.

The seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint will have no more than 10 starters now.

Midnight Lucky joins Wise Dan, the reigning two-time Horse of the Year, and Beholder, a two-time divisional champion, on the sidelines for the 31st Breeders’ Cup. Both were declared out earlier this month.