Royal Ship to either Awesome Again or straight to Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

Royal Ship, the winner of the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar in July and two other stakes in the last 18 months, is not a certain starter in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 1 and may make his next appearance in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland on Nov. 5.

“I’m looking at the Awesome Again, but I’m not sure,” trainer Richard Mandella said on Friday.

If he starts, Royal Ship would have a leading role in the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles. In the 1 1/16-mile San Diego, Royal Ship closed from seventh in a field of nine to win by 2 1/4 lengths over Country Grammer, the winner of the $12 million Dubai World Cup in March.

On Sept. 3, Country Grammer and Royal Ship were second and third behind Flightline in an epic running of the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles at Del Mar. Flightline won the $1 million race by a record 19 1/4 lengths over Country Grammer, who was seven lengths clear of Royal Ship.

The winner of the Awesome Again Stakes receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Classic on Nov. 5, but that race, at 1 1/4 miles, and an expected rendezvous with Flightline, is not on Mandella’s mind regarding Royal Ship.

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“It would be the Dirt Mile, if anything,” Mandella said of Breeders’ Cup race plans.

Aside from Country Grammer, other candidates for the Awesome Again include Defunded, Express Train, Slow Down Andy, and Tripoli.

Slow Down Andy is expected to be the only 3-year-old in the field. Trained by Doug O’Neill for owners and breeders Paul and Zillah Reddam, Slow Down Andy won the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on Sept. 3.

The idea of racing against older horses is not a concern for O’Neill.

“He’s in a good zone and now is a good time,” O’Neill said on Friday. “It’s in our backyard. He’s run well on turf and dirt. I don’t think the distance will be a problem.”

The Awesome Again is part of a blockbuster opening weekend of the Santa Anita autumn meeting, which starts on Friday, Sept. 30. There are nine stakes worth $100,000 or more on Oct. 1-2, and five stakes worth $200,000 or more on Oct. 8-9.

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