ARCADIA, Calif. – Laura Wohlers, amateur handicapper and peripatetic horse trainer, knows that guesswork is a part of horse racing. When she sends out Runhappy as one of the favorites Friday in the 10th running of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita, she – like most everyone else – can only guess at how the colt will fare.
“Ideally, you don’t want to go into the Breeders’ Cup with only one race under your belt,” Wohlers said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Three champions at the crossroads meet Friday at Santa Anita in one of the most eagerly anticipated showdowns in Breeders’ Cup history.
Songbird, an undefeated 3-year-old who continues to soar; Beholder, a 6-year-old whose remarkable career is winding down; and Stellar Wind, a 4-year-old who could beat them both, face five others in a $2 million BC Distaff that is about as good as it gets.
KEY CONTENDERS
Dortmund, by Big Brown
Last 3 Beyers: 110-102-110
◗ His Beyer Speed Figures reflect that he has fired in his three starts this year, but he has run into California Chrome.
ARCADIA, Calif. – In September, days after Victory to Victory won the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine, trainer Mark Casse reflected on the depth of his 2-year-old turf fillies. Casse was eager to run Victory to Victory in Friday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita and was excited about the prospects of La Coronel, a maiden race winner at the time.
La Coronel won the Grade 3 Jessamine Stakes on Oct. 12 at Keeneland, earning a fees-paid berth to Friday’s BC Juvenile Fillies Turf.
“Sometimes I get it right,” he said Monday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – This Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile is about reinvention.
Dortmund is trying to reinvent himself as a miler after going down the Triple Crown trail last year at age 3 and this year finding the Breeders’ Cup Classic road too rugged, with potholes like California Chrome out there.
Runhappy is attempting a second act as a two-turn horse after winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last year and being named the year’s champion male sprinter.
Gun Runner is trying to graduate from the nation’s best races restricted to 3-year-olds to facing accomplished older horses.
History suggests the foreign colts may be more dangerous than the fillies in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup races for 2-year-olds on turf at Santa Anita. But a glance at this year’s runners leaves the impression the trend could shift this year.
The $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf was first run in 2007, followed a year later by the addition of the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. Of the nine winners of the Juvenile Turf, seven made their last start in Europe, including one for American trainer Wesley Ward.
The Breeders' Cup is filled with horses of all kind, from high-dollar auction yearlings to horses that once ran for a tag. Here are some facts highlighting the breeding, sales and claiming history of some of the Breeders' Cup entrants.
Claims
- Six horses come into this year’s Breeders’ Cup having been claimed 11 times combined at prices ranging from $20,000 to $50,000 and an average tag of $37,727.
- Two Breeders’ Cup horses have been claimed three times: Filly and Mare Sprint contender Spelling Again and Filly and Mare Turf contender Al’s Gal.
