Too Much Bling, Siren Lure, and Pomeroy may have been out of sight recently, but they certainly won't be out of the minds of bettors when they return from layoffs in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
DRF Past Performances
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Trainer Graham Motion has been having some deja vu moments about the Breeders' Cup Turf with Better Talk Now, the venerable gelding who upset the race two years ago in Texas. With a relatively small field likely for the Turf this year, like in 2004, Motion has a feeling that things might possibly unfold in his favor once more.
Nobiz Like Shobiz ran too good to lose when he finished second in the Champagne Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park, but the demands of that race, coming just three weeks in front of the Breeders' Cup, helped trainer Barclay Tagg decide on Wednesday to pass on the $2 million Juvenile at Churchill Downs with the lightly raced colt.
"He's not mature enough to run back in three weeks," Tagg said at Belmont Park. "If it was five weeks, I might take a shot."
The days are winding down to a precious few that trainer John Shirreffs will be able to arrive at the track every morning and be greeted by the horse who changed his life. No, Giacomo did not change Shirreffs's personality, which does not seek the limelight. But Giacomo's upset victory in last year's Kentucky Derby rammed home nationally what bettors and his training peers in Southern California had long known, that Shirreffs is one of the best at his craft.
Roughly two weeks before the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs, no race appears as wide open as the Juvenile Fillies. Nearly all of the 2-year-old fillies being pointed toward the 1 1/16-mile race have questions surrounding their form, including likely favorites Cash Included, Point Ashley, and Dreaming of Anna.
Cash Included and Point Ashley are untested outside of their home base of California, and Dreaming of Anna is unproven in a dirt stakes race, having recorded her two stakes victories on turf after a maiden victory on dirt.
In late summer, Librettist was a leading contender for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4. He had won two consecutive Group 1 races in France and was on top of his game.
But after a sixth-place finish in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Sept. 23, Librettist fell in the rankings. Currently, he is listed behind the American stars Aragorn and Gorella and the European Group 1 winner Araafa in future-book betting with European bookmakers.
Summerly was kept in training this year with the express purpose of running in the Breeders' Cup Distaff on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. The idea made sense considering Summerly won the 2005 Kentucky Oaks over that track.
But with the Breeders' Cup less than three weeks away and with the Distaff expected to oversubscribe for the first time since 1992, there could be some question whether Summerly makes it into the field for the $2 million Distaff.
Trainer Barclay Tagg has a long-standing reputation of being conservative and judicious, so when he gets aggressive with a colt, it's worth paying heed. Until this year, the only time he had run a horse in the Kentucky Derby was in 2003, when he won it with Funny Cide. Earlier this year, Tagg pressed on for the Kentucky Derby with Showing Up, even though owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson already had a top-ranked contender in Barbaro.
The possible defection of the European star George Washington from the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4 to the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic would have a massive impact on the richest turf mile in the United States.
George Washington, the winner of two Group 1 races in Europe this year, would be the clear favorite for the Mile. Earlier this week, trainer Aidan O'Brien told the English press that he and owners Michael Tabor, John Magnier, and Derrick Smith would consider George Washington for the Classic.