LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Recent runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Classic looked on paper, and often played out, like two-horse races, with Gun Runner against Arrogate, and Arrogate against California Chrome. Or they were even more narrowly cast, such as the coronation for Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
That’s not the case this year.
KEY CONTENDERS
Catalina Cruiser, by Union Rags
Last 3 Beyers: 103-107-107
◗ Drayden Van Dyke is the only person to have ridden him in races.
◗ He’s been the favorite in all his races.
:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2018: Entries, odds, comments, and more
City of Light, by Quality Road
Last 3 Beyers: 102-103-107
◗ He has rattled off Beyer Speed Figures of 102 or better in his last five starts.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Catalina Cruiser and City of Light are the kind of horses who simply stand out. Come out any morning to watch horses train in Southern California, and they’re the ones who constantly tout themselves, big, strong colts who look like locomotives even when they gallop, let alone when they have a workout.
Catalina Cruiser is a chestnut-colored colt with plenty of chrome on his massive frame, most notably a wide blaze that begins above his eyes and runs all the way down to his nose. He and Justify, the Triple Crown winner, could pass for kinfolk.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In 2008, trainer Chad Brown came to the Breeders’ Cup with one horse. Maram, an 11-1 shot, nosed out Heart Shaped, a 10-1 shot, to win the inaugural $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita.
“It’s funny how things turn out,” Brown reminisced in a recent interview. “Who did we beat in a photo? It was Aidan O’Brien, who was much more established at that point than me. I guess it was a sign of what was to come in the years ahead where we race against each other, particularly in these turf races every year. Some I’ve won, some he’s won.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Meet Michael Earl Smith, philanthropist. Earlier this week, the Hall of Fame rider could be found hopping from one Breeders’ Cup event to another, signing bottles of booze, T-shirts, programs, photographs – just about everything this side of blank checks – as crowds gathered to support a variety of causes and bask in the glow of his sunshine smile.
The expansion of the Breeders’ Cup 2-year-old program to include the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint for the first time this year has understandably led to a larger team of foreign runners at Churchill Downs.
This year, for the first time since the Breeders’ Cup went to a two-day format in 2007, all five of the 2-year-olds races are being held on Friday. The three $1 million turf races, including the Juvenile Turf and Juvenile Fillies Turf, both run at a mile, will have widespread foreign participation, with runners from England, France, and Ireland.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brad Cox was down, but not out. It was August 2012, and Cox was virtually empty-handed after 30 horses had been removed from his Churchill Downs stable by his main client at the time, Midwest Thoroughbreds.
“I never thought about doing something else with my life,” Cox recalled recently. “I’m a horse trainer. Quitting never crossed my mind.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In 1632, the Flemish artist Anthony Van Dyck took up a post as the court painter for King Charles I.
At 5:22 p.m. Friday, the 2-year-old racehorse Anthony Van Dyck will take up post 14 in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Things worked out just fine the better part of 400 years ago for the man who was good at drawing, and despite the lousy draw, maybe they will this weekend for the colt who is good at running.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The longshot Hunt will be withdrawn from Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile, a Breeders’ Cup racing official confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
Hunt’s trainer, Phil d’Amato, did not return a text message regarding the defection and calls to his mobile phone went directly to voicemail, suggesting he might have been traveling from California.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It is a van ride of a little less than 75 miles from Keeneland, where trainer Wesley Ward is based, to Churchill Downs, where on Friday stablemates Chelsea Cloisters, Moonlight Romance, and Stillwater Cove will contest the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
Child’s play.
