There are a few parallels between Arrogate, the defending winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and Elate, a prominent contender in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Both horses were later-developing horses who required patient handling from their Hall of Fame trainers. Arrogate posted his first Grade 1 victory in scintillating fashion in the Travers Stakes in August of his 3-year-old season at Saratoga. Elate broke through at a similar point of the season, romping to her first Grade 1 win in the Alabama Stakes at the historic track.

A full gate of 14 is pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint for Saturday, but just one name – Unique Bella – has dominated the conversation as the $1 million race draws near.

A winner in 5 of 6 career starts, Unique Bella has awed even the opposing trainers of the 13 pre-entered against her in the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint.

“I’ve been watching her train, and she’s just extremely fast,” said Bob Baffert, who will run Constellation against her. “She’s got just raw, raw speed, raw talent. It looks like she’s ready to roll.”

On Saturday afternoon, barring a thunderstorm in the Ocala, Fla., area, you’ll find the old mare where she nearly always is, a lone horse in a lovely paddock situated near the main residence on Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Stud.

Don’t bother trying to coax her to the fence. Win Approval wants nothing to do with companionship, human or equine. Offer her a kind word and she will return the greeting with, at best, an anxious glance.

The first time Gary and Mary West won a Breeders’ Cup race they nearly missed the moment.

In the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, the Wests’s New Year’s Day rallied from eighth on the rail in the stretch to take the lead in the final 100 yards.

“The truth of the matter is I lost sight of the horse,” Gary West recalled last week. “The announcer didn’t call his name for the longest time. It was the last 150 yards that we saw he had a shot.

“The excitement for me and my wife and the people with us only lasted about 10 seconds. It was an exciting 10 seconds.”

DEL MAR   
Main Track: Fast 
Turf: Firm
Weather: Cloudy 
Temp.: 64

DEL MAR, Calif. – There was action aplenty on all fronts,  turf and dirt, at Del Mar on Sunday, with 19 potential Breeders’ Cup starters recording works during the busiest day yet at the site of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The young man on the backstretch viewing stand next to the Del Mar racing oval had a question for several passersby, both on foot and horseback, late during training hours Sunday: “How is the turf?”

Soon it became clear why. This was Billy Garrity, who traveled from England for his boss, trainer Richard Fahey, to help oversee the preparation of Ribchester for the Breeders’ Cup Mile and Sands of Mali for the BC Juvenile Turf.

DEL MAR, Calif. – In these parts, “surf and turf” is related to our favorite hometown racetrack, not putting steak and lobster on the same plate. Fortunately, you can combine the best of both worlds this week, for with the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar for the first time Friday and Saturday, you can partake of both this great racetrack and all that the area has to offer in terms of food and fun.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Wesley Ward ran six horses in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup. Two won, three finished second, and the other third. It doesn’t really get much better than that, but Ward is exuding confidence in the three horses he plans to start in Breeders’ Cup races Friday and Saturday.

“All my horses are all training up to the race good. I think it’s as strong a contingent as I’ve brought,” Ward said Sunday morning after his intended Breeders’ Cup runners had worked on turf.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Mor Spirit’s performance in winning the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park four months ago was nothing short of brilliant. But it certainly took a toll on Mor Spirit, who has not run since.

But based on his last two workouts, Mor Spirit has shown trainer Bob Baffert that he is ready to go again. On Sunday at Santa Anita, Mor Spirit worked a solid five furlongs in 1:01.13 from the gate in company with Cat Burglar as he prepares for Friday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The undefeated Bolt d’Oro breezed five furlongs in 1:01.96 Sunday morning at Santa Anita, his final preparation for his start as the expected overwhelming favorite in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar.