ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Steve Asmussen confirmed Monday that J Be K would not start in the Breeders Cup Sprint. Asmussen said he was not pleased with the way J Be K, a two-time graded stakes winner earlier this year, bounced out of his last start in the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Saratoga on Sept. 27.
Believe in Hope, the third-place finisher in the Grade 1 Norfolk, is out of the Breeders Cup Juvenile after developing a temperature on Sunday, trainer Ron Elllis said Monday morning.
The defection of Believe in Hope means that Gallant Son, a winner of four straight races at Emerald Downs, gets into the field.
Thats where we want to be, said Frank Lucarelli, the trainer of Gallant Son. Its unfortunate for them, but its good for us.
Santa Anita: Clear; Fast; Firm; Temperature, 68
ARCADIA, Calif. - Another beautiful morning and a very busy training session Sunday at Santa Anita, during which 21 potential Breeders' Cup starters worked, 18 over the Pro-Ride surface and three others on the grass. As was the case the previous morning, the main track was extremely fast and the dogs were placed well out over a very firm turf course.
Work of the Day
Jay Hovdey, Oct. 19:
ARCADIA, Calif. - I like to think of Santa Anita Park as my home track. It was the first place I worked in the business, way back in 19(transmission garbled), when publicity director Dan Smith took a flyer on a kid from Orange County, by way of Arizona State, who seemed to know the difference between Dr. Fager and Doc Strub, and was willing to work for $37.50 a day.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Awesome Gem was pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic and the Breeders' Cup Mile, with his first preference listed as the Classic, but trainer Craig Dollase said Sunday that Awesome Gem was under equal consideration for both races.
"We're 50-50 either way," Dollase said.
Arcadia, Calif. - Red Giant, a four-time stakes winner, was withdrawn from Saturdays $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita because of illness and will be retired, trainer Todd Pletcher said on Sunday.
Pletcher said stallion plans for Red Giant have not been finalized. Owned by Peachtree Stable, Red Giant won 6 of 12 starts and $1,092,410.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Saturday was a busy morning for Breeders' Cup hopefuls at Santa Anita, with nearly two dozen contenders getting in their final preps, beginning shortly after dawn with a sizzling drill by Cocoa Beach and ending four hours later when former Eclipse Award winner Wait a While crossed the wire after cruising an easy five furlongs over the turf.
The Pro-Ride surface was very fast and yielded some extremely fast times.
Ladies' Classic
ARCADIA, Calif. - Theoretically, the Oak Tree Mile was the Southern California prep race for the Breeders' Cup Mile. The thing is, not a single horse that raced in the Oak Tree can be found among the 14 BC Mile pre-entries, a sign of the times, as trainers often gear up their horses for one big run off the bench.
Northern California-based longshot Bold Chieftain comes into the BC Mile off a second-place finish in the California Cup Mile on Oct.5, but the two SoCal turf milers, Whatsthescript and Daytona, haven't raced since the Aug. 24 Del Mar Mile.
Trainer Dale Capuano will make his Southern California and Breeders' Cup debut when he saddles Heros Reward in the $1 million Turf Sprint. Capuano, 45, is based in Maryland and said he is looking forward to the change of scenery - however brief it may be.
"It's pretty exciting, but just like any other race you try to prepare for, you just get him ready," Capuano said. "Probably by Thursday you get keyed up a little bit. Being from Maryland we don't get to see that many nice horses except on Preakness day. It'll be nice to be around some high-quality horses."
Winchester was only a maiden race winner with a placing in a minor stakes in Ireland when he won the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park in August. No wonder he was 7-1.
Winchester's 7 1/4-length win in the Secretariat redefined his career, and led owners Bert and Diana Firestone and trainer Dermot Weld to target Saturday's $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf.
The BC Turf will be a different assignment - a new distance against a tougher field. It is the distance issue that was foremost on Weld's mind on Saturday.
