Less than five hours after the Breeders' Cup pre-entries were released, the first defection from a Breeders' Cup race due to injury was announced when trainer Bob Baffert declared Del Conte from the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.
"He had some swelling in an ankle," Baffert said Thursday afternoon. "If it came down it will be all right, but the timing is not right for him."
In pre-expansion days, when the entire Breeders' Cup was still decided on a single afternoon, one thing could be counted on with near certainty: the starting gate would be jam packed, year in and year out, for the Sprint.
But with expansion has come more options for the fleet of foot. Rather than having to face their male counterparts in the Sprint, females can now compete against their own kind in the Filly and Mare Sprint, while turf speedsters are able to stick to their specialty and run in the Turf Sprint.
Soldier of Fortune will hold a lukewarm favorite's chance in a Breeders' Cup Turf that may be the most confusing race of the weekend.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained Soldier of Fortune won the Coronation Cup on June 6 and was beaten by two-time Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runner-up Youmzain in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud later that same month, and he returned off a 14-week layoff to finish a good third behind Zarkava and Youmzain in the Arc.
The Santa Ana winds are blowing hot from the north in Southern California, but the biggest compression of air on Tuesday was the sigh of relief from officials of both the Breeders Cup and Santa Anitas Oak Tree meeting when Jess Jackson, the majority owner of Curlin, announced that the horse was pre-entered in the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Less than 24 hours before he would need to be pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Curlin worked between races on Monday at Santa Anita, his move taking on even more interest from wider circles with Big Brown having been retired Monday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. The dream match-up in the Breeders Cup Classic between Big Brown and Curlin is off after Big Brown, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, sustained a foot injury Monday morning at Aqueduct that forced his retirement from racing.
Plagued by foot problems ever since winning his debut last fall, Big Brown tore off a significant chunk of his right front foot during a morning workout over Aqueducts turf course. Big Brown, working without front shoes, drilled six furlongs in 1:12.89 in company with defending Breeders Cup Mile winner Kip Deville.
By virtue of her runaway scores in the Grade 1 Oak Leaf and Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, Stardom Bound is unquestionably the top 2-year-old filly in the West, if not the entire country, and is likely to be a solid favorite in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies. On the basis of her overwhelming victory in last Saturdays Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park, Sky Diva has emerged as the top 2-year-old filly in the East and has a good chance to be second choice in the betting in the Juvenile Fillies.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - There is a pathway at the south end of Hollywood Park's stable area that leads from Barn 50, at the west end, all the way up to the training track, at the east end. On Wednesday morning, shortly after sunrise, two horses began walking on that path, up and down, with nary a rest, for nearly an hour. Then they went to the main track to gallop.
