Pavel likely to train up to Breeders' Cup Classic

DEL MAR, Calif. – Pavel, the winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs in June and second in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 18, is in the midst of a two-week break at a local farm.

Trainer Doug O’Neill said on Friday that Pavel remains a contender for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3 and will not have a start in the interim.

“We’re giving him a little break at the farm, and I’m thinking of training him up to the Breeders’ Cup,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill said Pavel will rejoin his stable at Santa Anita in the next week, after the Del Mar summer meeting concludes on Monday.

Owned by Paul and Zillah Reddam, Pavel earned a fees-paid berth to the Nov. 3 BC Classic with the win in the Grade 1 Foster at 1 1/8 miles. In the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles, Pavel was beaten 12 1/2 lengths by leading BC Classic contender Accelerate.

City of Light is likely to run next in either the BC Classic or BC Dirt Mile, trainer Michael McCarthy said.

City of Light beat Accelerate in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in April. More recently, City of Light was third behind Accelerate in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita in May and second as an odds-on favorite to Whitmore in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes at seven furlongs at Saratoga on Aug. 25.