Fillies made most of the news last week.
The connections of all Turf Sprint hopefuls breathed a collective sigh of relief after watching Serious Attitude ($48.80) explode through the stretch to win last Saturday’s Grade 1 Nearctic and then learning she’s not in.
The lack of a standout in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint is leading the connections of quite a few horses to try their horses in the $1 million race if they can, rendering a full field of 14 a real possibility.
“They’re telling us this race is wide open, so we think we’ll give it a shot,” said Eric Reed, trainer of Rinterval.
The Breeders’ Cup Sprint may wind up with a full field after all. The prospective starting lineup grew by as many as three this past week when the connections of defending champion Dancing in Silks, Ancient Title runner-up Supreme Summit, and the speedster Atta Boy Roy all announced their interests in competing in the event.
Harmonious, winner of two Grade 1 races for 3-year-olds fillies on turf in California and Kentucky this year, is considered a probable starter for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5, trainer John Shirreffs said Wednesday.
Harmonious won the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland last Saturday by 4 1/4 lengths, stalking the pace and pulling clear.
Breeders’ Cup fever is contagious and leading to curious decisions regarding the Grade 3, $500,000 BC Marathon.
Despite finishing 16th in his most recent start Oct. 16 at Newmarket, European long-distance specialist Precision Break will run in the 1 3/4-mile Marathon, his connections said. It will be his first start on dirt.
Blind Luck and Havre de Grace have emerged as the nation’s leading 3-year-old fillies, but lurking not far behind them, based on her close third-place finish in the Alabama Stakes, is Acting Happy, who continues to move forward toward the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, albeit with trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. keeping close tabs on her fickle constitution.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Trainer Mike Puype spent part of Tuesday evening watching a replay of the Grade 1 Ancient Title Stakes at Hollywood Park from Oct. 9, a race in which his horse Supreme Summit finished a fast-closing second.
The Breeders’ Cup Classic is worth considerably more than the Breeders’ Cup Mile, no more so than in the case of Gio Ponti, who is under consideration for both races. The Mile is on his preferred surface, turf, on which he’d have to face Goldikova. The Classic is on dirt, a surface over which he’s never competed, and on which he’d have to face Zenyatta, Blame, and Quality Road.
Sidney’s Candy’s turf career consists of exactly one race, and man, was it a corker. In the La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 14, Sidney’s Candy contested a furious early pace, left his exhausted speed rival behind on the far turn, and proceeded to run like a wild horse to the finish, setting a Del Mar course record for 1 1/16 miles.