Saturday workout will help determine whether Workforce runs in BC Turf

A final decision on the Breeders’ Cup Turf status of Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Workforce will not be made until Saturday at the earliest after trainer Michael Stoute has seen the 3-year-old son of King’s Best work at Newmarket.

A positive move would probably earn Workforce, the seven-length winner of the Epsom Derby, a trip to Churchill Downs for the Turf, for which he is the 2-1 favorite with all of England and Ireland’s major bookmakers. One factor in the decision making process, in which owner Khalid Abdullah will have the final say, is whether Workforce will stay in training as a 4-year-old. There is speculation that if the horse stays in training at 4, the Breeders’ Cup Turf will be bypassed. In any event, Workforce is already fully booked for his journey to Churchill Downs.

A new possibility has emerged for the Turf in the John Gosden-trained Tazeez. Third behind Debussy and Gio Ponti in the Arlington Million, the gelded 6-year-old Tazeez won the 1 1/8-mile, Group 3 Darley Stakes at Newmarket last Friday after having followed up his Million third with a victory in a 1 1/8-mile conditions race at Newbury on Sept. 18. The Turf would be his first try beyond 1 1/4 miles.