ELMONT, N.Y. - Who knew?
Dolphus Morrison didn't. Neither did Hal Wiggins. Just about everyone who attended the 2000 Keeneland September yearling sale was in the dark. The same can be said for the bettors who wagered on the fourth race at Churchill Downs on June 1.
And doesn't Michael Divitto wish he had an inkling?
Until this summer, virtually nobody knew how good You would be.
We know now.
ELMONT, N.Y. - She won last year's Breeders' Cup Distaff, and will be among the leading contenders in this year's $2 million race Saturday at Belmont Park. With a victory, she would join Bayakoa as the only two-time winner of the Distaff, a feat that eluded such outstanding runners as Beautiful Pleasure, Hollywood Wildcat, Jewel Princess, and Paseana.
If there were a sentimental favorite to win Saturday's $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, it would most likely be Spook Express.
At the age of 7, Spook Express, a South African-bred, is the senior citizen in the field, has had to overcome a frustrating series of infirmities that has limited her to just 11 starts over the last 3 1/2 years, and possesses a stretch running style that is extremely popular. Also, it cost her owners, Robert and Janet Aron, a $200,000 supplemental fee just to enter Spook Express.
ELMONT, N.Y. - John Amerman could have had one of the favorites for the Breeders' Cup Classic. But, he opted against paying an $800,000 supplemental fee that would have made Lido Palace, who was not nominated to the World Thoroughbred Championships, eligible for the race.
Amerman could have had a major player for the Breeders' Cup Distaff. But he decided not to put up the $400,000 that would have made his mare Printemps eligible for that race.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The decision by Godolphin to run Fantastic Light in the Breeders' Cup Turf is surpassed as an unexpected development only by the stable's decision to run Sakhee in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Not only has Belmont been denied a long-anticipated, mouth-watering rubber match between Fantastic Light and Galileo in the Classic, but the decision also raises questions once again about the choices made by Godolphin concerning its American operation in general. Godolphin has been out of the money in three tries in the Kentucky Derby, the stable's most coveted goal.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Friday was a busy morning for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who was bucked off his pony, aptly named Sudden Impact, as he lent a hand to trainer Aidan O'Brien as he brought his horses to the track in order to school in the gate.
"I'm way too old and not enough cowboy to stay on when they start going like that," said Lukas, who was uninjured. "I landed on my feet. I knew I would land on my feet, because I knew I was going to bail out."
ELMONT, N.Y. - The key to deciphering the riddle that is Saturday's $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic (5:35 p.m. post time, NBC-TV) is deciding what to do with the Europeans.
Three shippers from overseas, including Galileo and Sakhee, two of the world's best turf runners with deep-rooted grass pedigrees, were entered Wednesday among a field of 13 which will race 1 1/4 miles on Belmont Park's sandy main track.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Bobby Frankel has called the last four months, during which his horses have dominated racing from coast-to-coast, "a dream come true." On Saturday at Belmont Park, Frankel will either continue to dream contentedly, or have a rude awakening.
Frankel has runners in six races, three of whom are morning-line favorites, including Aptitude in the day's richest race, the $4 million Classic. With a 0-for-36 record entering the Breeders' Cup, Frankel's fortunes will be the focal point of the World Thoroughbred Championships.
