Skippylongstocking runs out of time to make Breeders' Cup Classic
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Skippylongstocking won’t run in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31, but he is not retired from racing just yet.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Tuesday that he was not able to get Skippylongstocking back to the work tab in time to make the Classic. Skippylongstocking has been dealing with a hind foot abscess the last few weeks. He has not worked since a third-place finish in the Charles Town Classic on Aug. 28.
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“We just ran out of time,” Joseph said Tuesday. “I needed to breeze Sunday or Monday and if I wasn’t able to do that then I wasn’t going to make the race. To win that kind of race, you have to be at your optimum best. You’re not going to win those races not going in there fully cranked. He needed three breezes. I’m not going to go there with two.”
Joseph, who still has Forged Steel pointing to the BC Classic, said that Skippylongstocking was scheduled to ship from Saratoga to Florida on Tuesday. Joseph said he is pointing Skippylongstocking to the Jan. 30 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, a race at Gulfstream Park that Skippylongstocking won last year. Joseph said he plans to prep him for that race by running in the Harlan’s Holiday on Dec. 26 at Gulfstream. Skippylongstocking, a 12-time graded-stakes winner, has won the last two runnings of the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday.
On Oct. 2, it was announced that Skippylongstocking would stand stud at Amsterdam Two Farm near Middleburgh, N.Y., beginning in 2027.
Skippylongstocking, a 7-year-old son of Exaggerator owned by Daniel Alonso, currently has a career record of 14-4-9 from 40 starts with career earnings of $6,022,650.
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