ARCADIA, Calif. – Doug O’Neill had his priorities Thursday. First up was to work a number of his horses at Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup, including Richard’s Kid and Handsome Mike, both of whom will run in the $5 million Classic on Nov. 3.
Next was to get out of here and head up to San Francisco to watch his beloved Tigers in Game 2 of the World Series against the Giants.
It is probably best to get this out of the way early, before the real fun starts. Each year, the Breeders’ Cup is defined by the horses who don’t run as much as by those who do. Then comes the end of the big day, and the names of the absent are all but forgotten, relegated to the mists of time recalled only in terms of, “What if?”
There was heartbreak from the start, when the first Breeders’ Cup Turf in 1984 at Hollywood Park lost both John Henry, the American superstar, and Seattle Song, Europe’s leading light, to injuries after pre-entries were taken.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The 6-year-old Bourbon Bay is most at home on Santa Anita’s turf course, the venue of six of his seven career stakes wins.
That familiarity is why owner David Heerensperger and trainer Neil Drysdale are willing to try the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf here Nov. 3. The location of the race and potential field are reasons enough to start Bourbon Bay, the senior member of the likely starters.
“That’s why we’re looking at it,” Drysdale said. “We don’t feel it’s a super tough field.”
A car dealer by trade, a gambler by nature, Bernie Schiappa is always looking for a good deal, particularly when it comes to buying racehorses. He’s never in the market for yearlings or 2-year-olds in training, preferring ready-made horses who are acquired, the hope goes, long before they blossom. Betting on the come, they call it at the craps table.
Breeders’ Cup history is replete with longshot winners ranging from lone speed, to overlooked imports, to horse-for-course specialists.
Didn’t have Adoration in the 2003 Distaff? Few did, although her $83.40 payoff might have been a bonanza for bettors that appreciate Santa Anita lone speed.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Charm the Maker will start for Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally in Saturday’s $100,000 Autumn Miss Stakes, but his mind was far from that race on Wednesday morning.
McAnally was anxiously awaiting word whether Suggestive Boy would be assured a spot in the $2 million BC Mile on Nov. 3. He feared the race would oversubscribe and that Suggestive Boy would be stuck on an also-eligible list. When the pre-entries were announced with a list of 13, Suggestive Boy was assured of a spot in the race.
ARCADIA, Calif. - One of Richard Mandella’s top horses for the Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita on Nov. 2-3 is the promising 3-year-old Jimmy Creed, a candidate for the $1.5 million Sprint on Nov. 3.
Wednesday, Jimmy Creed worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds, the fastest of 28 works at the distance. Jockey Garrett Gomez, who has the mount in the BC Sprint, was aboard for the workout.
[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: Race-by-race coverage, video, early odds]
Among the 14 pre-entrants for the Filly and Mare Sprint are Musical Romance, the defending titlist and the division’s reigning Eclipse winner; Turbulent Descent, a Grade 1 winner each of the past three years and the 7-5 favorite in last year’s renewal; Switch, a dual Grade 1 winner at Santa Anita and the Filly and Mare Sprint runner-up each of the last two years; and Contested, a perfect 5 for 5 on fast dirt tracks, including decisive triumphs in the Acorn and Test.
