ARCADIA, Calif. - Goldikova will start from the outside post in a field of 11 when she attempts to defend her title in Saturday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita.
For trainer Freddie Head, the post is not an issue. He is convinced that the 4-year-old filly is capable of defending her title, and justifying her role as the favorite in the Mile.
"She might be better a year later," he said on Tuesday. "She's had a better trip [to California] this year than last year. She was quieter."
While all the focus on John Shirreffs's stable will center on Zenyatta in the $5 million Classic, the trainer was quite happy to get Neko Bay into the $1 million Dirt Mile.
Neko Bay was one of six horses to draw into the Mile off the preference list. A 6-year-old son of Giant's Causeway, Neko Bay has just one race this year, a classified allowance win over several stakes winners here on Oct. 9. It was his first start since last December.
The Todd Pletcher-trained Aikenite stamped his credentials for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile by finishing third in the Grade 1 Hopeful, followed by a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.
But the past month at Belmont Park, it was clear Pletcher had another colt worthy of a start in the Juvenile. The problem for Eskenderya was that his only win was in a non-graded stakes, leaving him stuck on the also-eligible list of Juvenile pre-entries.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A lukewarm 7-2 favorite and a handful of co-third-choices at 8-1 illustrate the deep and contentious nature of the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, which drew an overflow crowd when entries were taken and drawn Tuesday at Santa Anita.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Mastery, the first in a procession of highly regarded Breeders' Cup runners for Godolphin Racing, has been listed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite for the first of the 14 BC races, the $500,000 BC Marathon on Friday at Santa Anita.
Mastery was assigned post 6 in a field of 10 in the BC Marathon, a Pro-Ride race that has been lengthened to 1 3/4 miles for its second running. Last year, the inaugural Marathon was run at 1 1/2 miles.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The Euros are coming, the Euros are coming!
Actually, the European contingent for the 2009 Breeders' Cup has already arrived and is sure to strike fear into the connections of every U.S. Cup hopeful following the success of overseas shippers in this event here one year ago.
The $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile may not be Goldikova's final appearance in the United States.
Trainer Freddie Head said Tuesday that owners Alain and Gerard Wertheimer are strongly considering a 2010 campaign for Goldikova, who will attempt to win the Mile for the second consecutive year on Saturday.
"There could be a next year, but I don't want to talk about it yet," Head said. "I know Alain and Gerard have thought about it. They wouldn't mind racing her at 5, if she's well."
ARCADIA, Calif. - Capt. Candyman Can made his first appearance at Santa Anita on Tuesday morning following his arrival from Kentucky the previous day. His connections having decided to carry on and run in the Breeders' Cup Sprint despite the death of co-owner and breeder Dr. Joseph Rauch last Saturday.
Trainer Ian Wilkes said Capt. Candyman Can's co-owner, David Zell, was devastated by the loss of his close friend but felt that Rauch would have wanted to continue on with the original plan to compete in the Sprint.
ARCADIA, Calif. - It was in July that Rosemary Homeister Jr. became the second-winningest female jockey in North American racing history.
She would like November to be the month when she becomes the second female jockey to win a Breeders' Cup event.
ARCADIA, Calif. - With the expansion of the Breeders' Cup program in recent years, there is all sorts of new ground to cover, and trainer Ken McPeek is wasting little time doing so.
This is the second year the Breeders' Cup will offer four races for 2-year-olds, and remarkably, McPeek will have at least one starter in each.
"It just kind of all came together for us," said McPeek. "I don't know how to look at it except that we're here to win all four, not just run in them."
