Tough Customer will skip Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Tough Customer, who was first on the also-eligible/preference list to get into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, will pass the race even if he gets in, trainer Wayne Catalano confirmed Thursday.

Catalano said he just wanted more time with the horse and will consider the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29 for the son of Giant’s Causeway owned by Gary and Mary West. Tough Customer won his debut at Churchill and then finished a well-beaten fourth in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland.

“I really want to do right by the horse and give him a chance to be a good one,” Catalano said.

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Tough Customer likely would have gotten into the Juvenile since two horses – Danny Boy and War Envoy – have listed the Juvenile Turf as their first preference.

Tough Customer’s defection leaves Combat Diver and Blue Dancer as next up on the preference list. If Danny Boy and War Envoy go into the Juvenile Turf, as expected, both of those horses could run. Trainer Gary Contessa wants to see Combat Diver train this weekend before deciding whether to make the cross-country trip. Blue Dancer, a winner of all four of his starts in western Canada, is already at Santa Anita, and his connections want to run if they get can get in.