With Shirocco apparently being the only potential contender to emerge from the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the outlook for the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf now shifts from Europe back to America, where a pivotal New York prep will be run Saturday without arguably the most accomplished turf horse to be based there this year.

Cacique is passing the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on Saturday because he has had enough preparation for the BC Turf, trainer Bobby Frankel said Wednesday from Belmont Park.

Six months have passed since Silent Name scored an authoritative win in the Grade 2 Arcadia Handicap at Santa Anita. In that time, Silent Name has lost his status as a leading turf miler in California, overshadowed by Aragorn, who has won his last three starts.

To stay away from Aragorn, Silent Name has been sent to Keeneland for Saturday's $600,000 Shadwell Mile, his last chance to gain a spot in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

"We'll have to earn our way into the Breeders' Cup," trainer Gary Mandella said.

Although four weeks remain until the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs, there will not be a more important weekend leading up to the race than this one, when most of the Juvenile's leading contenders compete in a pair of races that, like the Juvenile, are at two turns and 1 1/16 miles.

In both cases, the likely favorites will be trying two turns for the first time.

Welcome to Prep Trip Notes! I'll give an in-depth look at the major prep races leading up to the Breeders' Cup with expanded trip notes and analysis. I'll be updating the site often so keep checking back for the latest reviews. Enjoy!

Updated 10/4 -

When Keeneland announced that it would revamp its main track with a Polytrack surface, there was some speculation that the change could potentially lessen the quality of the stakes races there, particularly those that serve as preps to the Breeders’ Cup or the Kentucky Derby. The thinking went that horsemen might prefer to run their top horses on conventional dirt tracks right before some of the most important races of their careers.

Races last weekend from Los Angeles to Paris produced potential contenders for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, most notably the 3-year-old filly Wait a While, who cruised to a win the Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Santa Anita. Now, we shall see what transpires in New York, where Belmont hosts a pair of races Saturday with Filly and Mare Turf implications.

Todd Pletcher, the nation's leading trainer, has three of the top contenders for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs, and they will take three different approaches to the race.

Circular Quay, the winner of the Hopeful Stakes, will stretch out around two turns for the Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 7. Scat Daddy, the Hopeful runner-up, will go to the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 14. And King of the Roxy, who captured last weekend's Belmont Futurity, will not have another race between now and Breeders' Cup Day, Nov. 4.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A little over five weeks before the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup, the pecking order among the leading contenders for the Juvenile Fillies is puzzling. And it doesn't figure to get any less puzzling in the weeks ahead.

At least three contenders for the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile Fillies - Dreaming of Anna, Featherbed, and Octave - are unlikely to start between now and the race. And another, Meadow Breeze, upset winner of the Grade 1 Matron Stakes, could follow suit if her trainer, Carl Deville, opts to bypass a potential start in the Oct. 14 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park.

Most trainers with candidates for this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint have two dates, Oct. 7 and Nov. 4, circled on their calendars. Nov. 4 is the date of the Breeders' Cup itself but Oct. 7 will be nearly as critical, with all three major prep races for the Sprint to be decided that afternoon, including the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Ancient Title at Santa Anita. The third BC Sprint prep is the Grade 3 Phoenix at Keeneland.

Most trainers with candidates for this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint have two dates, Oct. 7 and Nov. 4, circled on their calendars. Nov. 4 is the date of the Breeders' Cup itself but Oct. 7 will be nearly as critical, with all three major prep races for the Sprint to be decided that afternoon, including the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Ancient Title at Santa Anita. The third BC Sprint prep is the Grade 3 Phoenix at Keeneland.