Visitant will be near pace in Lure Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Although it is still a week until the Breeders’ Cup, repercussions from an ungraded stakes race Saturday at Santa Anita will continue through next weekend.

Astronomer enters the Lure Stakes as a key participant, but he might scratch from the turf mile. A Grade 2-placed gelding, Astronomer is pre-entered in the BC Mile. Trainer Simon Callaghan prefers taking a shot at $2 million rather than the $80,000 purse of the Lure.

“Our preference is to go for the Breeders’ Cup, but it’s still a little bit up on the air which direction we go,” Callaghan said.

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The reason is Astronomer did not make the list of the BC Mile pre-entrants who are assured a berth, and he was four deep on the “also-eligible” preference list as of Thursday. Callaghan will scratch Astronomer from the Lure if a BC Mile spot becomes open.

“If we run in the Lure, I imagine we’re going to be one of the favorites,” Callaghan noted accurately. The BC Mile, not quite. Astronomer, coming off a runner-up finish in the City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita, could be 30-1 in the BC Mile. Regardless, his up-front style may increase the race tempo.

Visitant can win the Lure, with or without Astronomer. Two starts back, Visitant finished third behind BC Mile-bound Du Jour and Exaulted in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile; last out Visitant was unplaced behind BC Sprint-bound Dr. Schivel and Speed Boat Beach. A top performance by Visitant on Saturday would, to a degree, flatter those California-based Breeders’ Cup pre-entrants.

The Lure includes Grade 1-placed Irideo; Grade 1 winner Hit the Road; Easter, whose rider is Frankie Dettori; Grade 2 winner Cabo Spirit; and stakes winner War At Sea. Bally’s Charm, who exploited a turf speed bias Oct. 1 wiring a second-level mile with a 94 Beyer Speed Figure, also entered.

The pace in the Lure is likely to be set by Visitant or Bally’s Charm; both have won from a pressing position. The 7-year-old Visitant has won 11 races and $713,427 from 22 starts. Peter Miller trains Visitant, whose rider is Juan Hernandez.

Bally’s Charm is a tough read. His career-best effort last out was over a souped-up Santa Anita turf with a single-day route speed bias. BC Turf pre-entrant Balladeer won a Grade 2 stakes the same day by leading gate to wire.

Astronomer, if scratched from the Lure, could get understandably lost in coverage of the BC Mile. He is not good enough, yet. But after being off 1 1/2 years, and with three improving races since his return, the 4-year-old threatens to emerge as a top turf horse.

“He just had bone-bruising, we gave him time, gelded him, and were patient with him,” Callaghan said. Astronomer, sired by Air Force Blue and owned by Alice Bamford and Michael Tabor, is a sibling to graded winners Harvest Moon and Californiagoldrush. Astronomer paid $62.60 when he won the 2021 Qatar Golden Mile on the Breeders’ Cup Friday undercard at Del Mar. If he starts in the 2023 BC Mile, his odds would be similar.

“He’s an improving horse that we’ve always liked,” Callaghan said. “I feel he’s going to keep getting better.”

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