He’s back! Or is he?
Wise Dan is the gleaming headliner on the last major weekend of North American grass racing leading up to the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and the 7-year-old gelding – a two-time Horse of the Year and two-time BC Mile winner – stands on a strange threshold.
A strong showing Saturday at Keeneland in the Shadwell Turf Mile sends Wise Dan back to Santa Anita for his third BC Mile, where he could become one of only two three-peat winners of a Breeders’ Cup race, along with Goldikova.
Twice in his career, Cigar Street has been sidelined by serious injuries, but he has come back as good as ever this fall, and his victory Saturday in the Homecoming Classic at Churchill Downs has left his connections contemplating a run in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita, trainer Bill Mott said Wednesday.
The Homecoming Classic was only the second start this year for Cigar Street following a 16-month layoff because of a cannon-bone fracture, the second he has suffered during his oft-interrupted career.
In terms of producing potential Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile starters, Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile Indiana Derby and the six-furlong Santa Anita Sprint Championship are the long and short of it.
An expected showdown looms in the Grade 2, $500,000 Indiana Derby between Atreides, who will make his graded stakes debut for Florida-based trainer Marty Wolfson, and Vicar’s in Trouble, a three-time graded stakes winner this season for Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Mike Maker. The Ramseys and Maker captured the 2009 Dirt Mile with Furthest Land at odds of 21-1.
ARCADIA, Calif. – When the field reaches deep stretch in Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris, racing fans seeking clues for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 1 may be best served by watching the also-rans.
The prospective starting lineup for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint should come into focus before the weekend runs its course, with the final two Win and You’re In races for the event to take place Friday at Keeneland and Saturday at Santa Anita Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The field for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff will solidify after the final prep race, the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland on Sunday, in which Close Hatches is expected to be strongly favored.
Meanwhile at Santa Anita, challenges remain for Distaff candidates whose prep races are already behind them.
Iotapa bled and was placed on the vet’s list after finishing third Saturday in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes. Trainer John Sadler downplayed the episode, and expects Iotapa will be removed from the vet’s list after her next workout.
Trainer Michael Stidham is hoping that a strong performance by Her Emmynency in the $100,000 Surfer Girl at Santa Anita on Sunday will stamp her as a serious contender in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Oct. 31.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Even if you were sure that the new Keeneland dirt track favors speed like the old one, which horse would you pick Friday in the Phoenix Stakes?
The Grade 3, $200,000 sprint drew a field of eight, most of whom own a blazing turn of foot that renders who will emerge as the front-runner in the six-furlong race, let alone the winner, highly uncertain.
The Grade 1 Alcibiades on Friday and the Grade 1 Frizette on Saturday will play pivotal roles in determining who moves on to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
The Alcibiades, at 1 1/16 miles around two turns on Keeneland’s new dirt track, has drawn a competitive field of 13, headed by the undefeated Schuylerville Stakes winner Fashion Alert. The Frizette, at a mile around one turn at Belmont Park, includes early division leader Cavorting, the impressive winner of the Adirondack Stakes.
International Star had a less-than-ideal trip when second in the With Anticipation Stakes, which could prove to be a key North American prep for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 31. His trainer, Mike Maker, is hoping for smoother sailing Sunday, when International Star starts in the Grade 3, $250,000 Bourbon at Keeneland.
