Dubai Majesty is no glamour mare. A one-time $25,000 claimer with 32 lifetime starts, Dubai Majesty has clawed her way toward the top of the filly-mare sprint ranks by churning out one big effort after another.
"She's one of those mares that brings her game every time," said her trainer, Bret Calhoun.
Eldaafer was a 29-1 outsider in the Breeders' Cup Marathon at Santa Anita one year ago, and ran accordingly. Eldaafer finished seventh of 10, beaten more than 24 lengths. This year, it is a new story.
"He's a different horse this year," trainer Diane Alvarado said. "I get on him every day, and he's really come into himself."
It shows in his recent races. A 5-year-old gelding by A.P. Indy, Eldaafer won a turf allowance in August at Laurel, followed by the Grade 3 Turfway Park Fall Championship at 1 1/2 miles. The victory, his eighth from 23 starts, was better than it looks.
A yielding turf course at Belmont Park for the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational last Saturday did little to clarify the East Coast’s best hopes for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 5.
Race winner Ave, who finished a head in front of Changing Skies, is bound for the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup over 1 3/8 miles on turf in Kyoto, Japan, on Nov. 13, trainer Roger Attfield said on Wednesday.
The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile is a race that will often have some overlap with the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and this year is no different. Crown of Thorns and Dakota Phone, the two-three finishers in last Saturday’s Goodwood, have a license to eye either race. But while the Classic has a purse five times that of the $1 million Dirt Mile, the distance of the Dirt Mile makes the race a better spot for many horses. And at this point in time, at least, the distance of the Dirt Mile might make it a better fit for Crown of Thorns and Dakota Phone.
After a sudden, abrupt departure from a scheduled meeting with Zenyatta in the Lady’s Secret Stakes last Saturday at Hollywood Park, Rinterval has returned to Keeneland, where she will attempt to secure a start in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic by competing in the Grade 1, $500,000 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland on Sunday.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Warrior’s Reward is 4, but the way he has run in his races, he’s acting like a teenager whose rallying cry is “Leave me alone!” When allowed to settle and make a run, he has performed well. But when asked to scoot as soon as the gate opens, he has disappointed. Lesson learned, according to trainer Ian Wilkes.
“The one time he didn’t run well this year, in the Met Mile, I screwed up,” Wilkes said Wednesday morning. “We didn’t let him run his race. He doesn’t want to be put on the front end – at least until the wire.”
LEXINGTON, Ky. – There are race meets, and then there are race meets. Keeneland Race Course kicks off a 17-day fall meet Friday with the familiar classy touch that perennially places it alongside the Saratogas and Del Mars of the racing world – and it won’t take long to see why this track ranks among those elites.
While Hopeful Stakes winner Boys At Tosconova would have to be considered the early favorite for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at this point, he could be usurped this weekend when Uncle Mo makes his highly anticipated second start in the Grade 1, $300,000 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park.
The Breeders' Cup Sprint lost yet another top contender when trainer Todd Pletcher revealed Discreetly Mine will miss the race because of an injury to his left stifle. Division leader Majesticperfection was the first major defection from the race when retired because of injury late this summer.
Pletcher said it took several days to diagnose the exact nature of Discreetly Mine's problem but received the bad news from Dr. Larry Bramlage on Wednesday.