LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Doug O'Neill and owners Pablo Suarez and Royce Jaime were hanging their heads a bit after Thor's Echo drew post position 1 for Saturday's $2,130,000 Breeders' Cup Sprint. But in the end the seemingly unlucky draw proved to be a blessing and helped propel the California invader Thor's Echo to a convincing four-length victory over the 58-1 Friendly Island in the six-furlong Sprint.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Saturday's Breeders' Cup Distaff had a pall cast over it after Pine Island was euthanized and Fleet Indian suffered a career-ending injury during the running of the race. The two had gone off as the 5-2 co-favorites in the Distaff.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A year after he couldn't win a $50,000 claiming race at Aqueduct, Miesque's Approval beat some of the best turf horses in the world in Saturday's $2.17 million at Churchill Downs.
Having one horse beaten after the opening half-mile, Miesque's Approval came with a thunderous late kick while eight wide in the stretch to win the Mile by 2 3/4 lengths. Aragorn, whose connections said he wasn't handling the firm turf course, won a multiple-horse photo for second by a head over Badge of Silver. It was a neck back to Sleeping Indian in fourth.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Red Rocks gave jockey Frankie Dettori his second Breeders' Cup win of the day and his third career victory in the when he gamely held off Better Talk Now in the final furlong to win the $3 million race Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Invasor, who had not raced for three months, unleashed a powerful closing charge down the center of the track, caught favored Bernardini with a sixteenth of a mile to go, and pulled away for a one-length victory in 2:02.18 for 1 1/4 miles on the fast main track. Bernardini finished second, 2 1/2 lengths in front of third-place Premium Tap. Giacomo rallied for fourth and was followed, in order, by Brother Derek, George Washington, Lava Man, Perfect Drift, Lawyer Ron, Sun King, Flower Alley, Suave, and David Junior, who was eased.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Michael Matz's world came full circle Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs.
Five months ago, in the Preakness, Matz watched his Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro pull up with a life-threatening injury as the favorite in the Preakness while Bernardini galloped to a rousing 5 1/4-length victory. Saturday, in the $2,070,160 , the Matz-trained Round Pond galloped to a 4 1/4-length victory while the two favorites in the race suffered injuries.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Pine Island was euthanized after severely fracturing her left front leg in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs.
Pine Island had a dislocation of her left front fetlock, or ankle joint. The injury broke the skin, there was loss of blood, and the combination forced her to be euthanized as soon as she was removed from the track in a horse ambulance, according to Dr. Wayne McIlwraith of the American Association of Equine Practitioners.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Doug O'Neill and owners Pablo Suarez and Royce Jaime were hanging their heads a bit after Thor's Echo drew post position 1 for Saturday's $2,130,000 . But in the end, the seemingly unlucky draw proved to be a blessing in disguise and helped propel the California invader Thor's Echo to a convincing four-length victory over 58-1 longshot Friendly Island in the six-furlong Sprint.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Ouija Board staked her claim as one of the great racehorses in the 23-year history of the Breeders' Cup, winning the for the second time in three years, with a second-place finish last season sandwiched between triumphs in 2004 and this year.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It took Street Sense only 1:42.59 to win the $2 million on Saturday at Churchill Downs, but it took less time than that for his trainer, Carl Nafzger, to put the first Saturday in November behind him and start looking at the first Saturday in May.
"We want to come back the first Saturday in May," Nafzger said, referring to the Kentucky Derby, run at the same track exactly six months from now. "That's when we want to be here."
