ARCADIA, Calif. – Untapable and Close Hatches will command the most attention leading to the Breeders' Cup Distaff, and both are scheduled for their final workout Sunday.
Meanwhile on Saturday, several Distaff outsiders posted their final works, including a fast drill by Tiz Midnight that was among the quickest of the morning at Santa Anita.
CYPRESS, Calif. – After California Chrome worked five furlongs in 59.60 seconds Saturday at Los Alamitos, his final workout before the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, Art Sherman had flashbacks.
Watching the solo workout, Sherman said California Chrome’s exercise reminded him of springtime workouts when the popular 3-year-old colt was in the midst of a six-race winning streak that included the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby, and Preakness Stakes.
ELMONT, N.Y. – After three consecutive mornings of sloppy surfaces, the two tracks at Belmont Park dried out at least to the point where some trainers felt confident enough Saturday morning to work their horses for next week’s Breeders’ Cup.
Mike Hushion, the trainer of Filly and Mare Sprint contender Artemis Agrotera, felt more comfortable breezing over the training track than the main track and loved what he saw in a five-furlong move from his 3-year-old filly that Daily Racing Form timed in 1:00.69.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Saturday morning did not start off particularly well for trainer Christophe Clement when he was told by New York Racing Association officials that he would not be allowed to work a horse on the turf for the Breeders’ Cup.
Clement’s morning got much better a little while later when Tonalist, his Belmont Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner, worked five furlongs in 1:01.75 over the Belmont Park main track in preparation for next Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
ELMONT, N.Y. – As of Friday, there were still 44 possible Breeders’ Cup starters stabled in New York, and Mother Nature was wreaking havoc with the work schedules for many of them.
The tracks at Belmont and Aqueduct were wet Wednesday through Friday.
Trainer Leah Gyarmati canceled Friday workouts for Sweet Reason (Filly and Mare Sprint) and Wonder Gal (Juvenile Fillies). Both will have their final works at Santa Anita on Monday or Tuesday. Sweet Reason and Wonder Gal were scheduled to fly with V. E. Day on Saturday afternoon.
ARCADIA, Calif. – A handful of Breeders’ Cup workers, topped by defending Dirt Mile champ Goldencents and Classic contender Moreno, spiced up Friday’s training session at Santa Anita.
The main track seems to have quickened as the week has progressed. In fact, it also seemed to quicken as the morning progressed, becoming tighter after the second and third breaks than it had been earlier in the day.
Fiesolana, cross-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf and the Breeders’ Cup Mile, will run in the Filly and Mare Turf, according to Alan Cooper, racing manager for her owner, the Niarchos family.
The Niarchos family, which also races under the nom de course Flaxman Holdings Corp., still has a starter for the Mile in the French shipper Karakontie, as well as one of the favorites for the Turf, the U.S.-based Main Sequence.
ARCADIA, Calif. – When Twilight Eclipse starts in the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita next Saturday, he will be part of a unique sporting week for Terry Finley, the president of the West Point Thoroughbreds, which owns the gelding.
Sunday afternoon, Finley will be at the StubHub Center stadium in Southern California to watch his 23-year-old son Ryan play forward for Chivas USA versus the San Jose Earthquakes in the regular-season finale of Major League Soccer.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Breeders’ Cup incurred another major defection on Friday when Bob Baffert said that Midnight Lucky will be retired.
A 4-year-old filly who would have been one of the favorites in the $1 million BC Filly and Mare Sprint, Midnight Lucky worked six furlongs Friday morning at Santa Anita. Baffert caught her in 1:12, but said he was not satisfied with the work.
“She really had to show me something this morning if I was going to run her,” said Baffert. “But I really didn’t like it at all. She did go in 1:12, but that was on the buckle.”
Eric Guillot is practicing the voodoo that he knows so well. His attempt to ward off evil spirits worked at Saratoga when he won the Whitney with Moreno, so as part of his preparation for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, the Louisiana-born trainer has fashioned another voodoo wall on his barn at Santa Anita.
Moreno, who had his final pre-Classic workout Friday at Santa Anita, is the only horse from last year’s Classic back for another go-round. He was 10th of 11 last year.
