LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As night fell on June 9 at Belmont Park, if there was any certainty to racing in 2018, it was that Justify would be Horse of the Year.
Accelerate said hold my Belmont Jewel.
Accelerate polished off the Pacific Classic, Awesome Again, and, on Saturday here at Churchill Downs, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, giving him a record that would unquestionably make him Horse of the Year had there not been a Triple Crown winner this year.
Disco Partner, third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint for the second year, may make another start this year, trainer Christophe Clement said Monday.
Clement said he would talk to owners Frank and Patricia Generazio about running Disco Partner back in the $125,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship on Nov. 24 or possibly taking a big swing in the Group 1, $2.5 million Hong Kong Sprint on Dec. 9 at Sha Tin.
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Following a successful return to the races in the $200,000 Cherokee Run Stakes on Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup card at Churchill Downs, Audible was scheduled to ship to South Florida on Tuesday to prepare for the Harlan’s Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 15.
The Harlan’s Holiday will be his next step toward the $9 million Pegasus, also at Gulfstream, on Jan. 26.
America has always prided itself on being the land of opportunity, the country where by sheer merit and hard work one can achieve wealth or power - or both. The results of this year’s Breeders’ Cup meeting, though, reflect a different kind of opportunity.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Monomoy Girl, who locked up her divisional Eclipse Award with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Distaff on Saturday, was in good order the following day as her connections discussed her goals for 2019.
Monomoy Girl won the Distaff by a length over Wow Cat, one of six Grade 1 winners in a stellar field that included the now-retired champion Abel Tasman. The morning after the race, trainer Brad Cox was still marveling at Monomoy Girl's consistency and durability during a campaign that lasted from February until November.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Expert Eye’s best race might have been his last race.
After winning the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on Saturday, his first Group or Grade 1 win, Expert Eye was scheduled to fly back to England on Monday. No decision has been made regarding his future, but Expert Eye could be retired to stud by owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Peter Miller was at the airport Sunday morning with his family awaiting a flight back to California. But the veteran horseman may not have needed a plane to get him back home, considering the high he was still on following his record-setting performance the previous afternoon at Churchill Downs at Breeders’ Cup 2018.
From the Breeders’ Cup Book of John, Chapter 9, Verses 1 and 2: “And ye who have fought to lift the Arc of the Covenant above all that you deem Holy shall find in the Promised Land renewed life and spirit, and the peoples of Sakhee, Trempolino, and Saumarez shall weep no more in the night as the light of the lamb shall show the way in only her third race of the year.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – John Sadler has the Pegasus World Cup in mind for Accelerate and is eager to try Catapult in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup grass race that also will be run at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 26.
Catapult was an unlucky loser of the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Saturday at Churchill Downs, getting caught in the shadow of the wire by Expert Eye and at the time making Sadler 0 for 44 in the Breeders’ Cup. Catapult returned on Sunday to California, and Sadler said he will be prepared for the Pegasus grass race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – City of Light, the dynamic winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Saturday, “came out of the race in great shape” and was scheduled to return on Monday to his home base at Santa Anita, where a plan will be decided regarding a next start, trainer Michael McCarthy said on Sunday at Churchill Downs.
City of Light is scheduled to go to Lane’s End Farm upon retirement, but when that happens, and what City of Light’s race schedule will be, is in flux.
