Want to run in the Breeders’ Cup? Well, like many of the homebred programs showcased in this year’s event, you could develop or purchase a mare, select a stallion, wait about 11 months for the foal to be born, and in another two-plus years, during which a myriad of issues could crop up, you might have yourself a racehorse – and they might be an elite one.

Or, you could show up at the Keeneland Championship Sale and have a serious rooting interest less than 72 hours later.

Wimbledon Hawkeye gave British trainer James Owen his first Group 2 win in the 2024 Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket. The colt also gave Owen his first winner in the United States and in a seven-figure race in the Grade 3, $2.6 million Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs on Aug. 30.

Owen has greater goals with Wimbledon Hawkeye, who landed at Del Mar over the weekend for this Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar, the nation’s richest grass race.

Beyond the opening-week buzz of Breeders’ Cup, an easygoing charm unfolds in fall at Del Mar.

The breezy autumn meet begins quietly enough Thursday, followed by two days of high-octane Breeders’ Cup races Friday and Saturday, followed by competitive tranquility that continues through the five-week season that ends Nov. 30.

Del Mar in autumn “is a little quieter,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “It’s a quieter training environment, horses enjoy training down there, and they can breeze on the grass.”

Everyone loves Del Mar in autumn.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The late-developing Scat Girl drops into an appealing spot in a Thursday first-level allowance/optional claimer going 1 1/16 miles at Woodbine.

Trained by Mike DePaulo for Zilli Racing Stables, Scat Girl graduated in her 14th start with a $40,000 claiming tag in a main turf sprint July 26. Three weeks later, the 3-year-old doubled up against nonwinners-of-two opponents going seven furlongs on the Tapeta.

Del Mar
Friday, Oct. 24
Weather: Cloudy
Temp.: 54°
Track: Fast

DEL MAR, Calif. – With the majority of this year’s Breeders’ Cup contenders sticking close to home for their final works, there has been very little to report at Del Mar since the racetrack opened for business Monday. The action did pick up to some degree Friday with four potential Breeders’ Cup starters turning in their final major preps over a fast track on an overcast and somewhat dank morning.

Robert Falcone Jr. described training Gratefully as a “catch-22.” The filly has not yet run on turf, but in two races that were moved to wet dirt at Saratoga and Aqueduct, she won in style and remains unbeaten.

Good problems still require solutions, and Falcone was honest to admit that he wasn’t sure of the way forward. For now, he’s trusting his original instinct. If the fates allow, the 3-year-old filly will finally get a chance on the grass in the eighth race on Sunday at Aqueduct, an $88,000 allowance.

Fall has set in in Kentucky, and it’s time to say some farewells, with horse vans driving along the color-splashed roads taking future stallions and broodmares off into their next careers. But lest the melancholy grip one too hard, fall also is a time to look toward the future.

The ageless Xy Speed, who has been scratched four times as a result of races being rained off the grass since his last start nearly three months ago at Saratoga, will hopefully get a break from Mother Nature on Sunday when he tops a field of seven entered to go five furlongs in the $58,000 main event at Gulfstream Park. The race is the best of three optional-claiming and allowance races on the card.

The field for Sunday’s $1.17 million Golden State Million Futurity for Quarter Horses at Los Alamitos includes an undefeated filly who won a time trial on Oct. 4 by an eye-catching three lengths, a colt who won a $1.04 million futurity at Los Alamitos in June, and Midwest owners with three qualifiers who won the 2024 Golden State Million Futurity but later lost the purse because of a medication violation.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Longshot filly Innovative got lucky last out, winning a graded sprint stakes she was not expected to win. Take A Breath was the exact opposite. The favorite in an allowance race, Take A Breath finished last with a disastrous trip.

They meet Sunday at Santa Anita, and while expectations are high for Innovative, Take A Breath is just looking for clear sailing. The graded stakes winner and the allowance also-ran top the Grade 3 Autumn Miss, a turf mile for 3-year-old fillies on closing day of the autumn meet.