ELMONT, N.Y. - Galileo, Europe's superstar 3-year-old who will be racing on dirt for the first time in Saturday's $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic, spent much of Thursday in his stall after original plans called for a trip to the track for a morning gallop.
ELMONT, N.Y. - If you're looking for value in your Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships wagers, then jockey Gary Stevens advises to keep an eye on three Neil Drysdale-trained horses: Irish Prize (Mile), Kalypso Katie (Filly & Mare Turf) and Bella Bellucci (Juvenile Fillies).
All three, incidentally, will be ridden by Gary Stevens.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Randy Johnson is not the only one in a fall classic with a wicked curveball. Godolphin Racing threw one at the Breeders' Cup on Wednesday morning, when the stable managed by the Maktoum brothers of Dubai decided to run Arc de Triomphe winner Sakhee in the $4 million Classic and Fantastic Light in the $2 million Turf, in Saturday's World Thoroughbred Championships at Belmont Park.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Edward Dunlop was somewhere over the Atlantic en route to New York from England when post positions were drawn for the $1,390,000 Filly and Mare Turf. And there was bad news awaiting him when he finally arrived Wednesday afternoon. Lailani, Dunlop's brilliant 3-year-old turf filly, had drawn the extreme outside post in a field of 12 in the Filly and Mare Turf, which for the first time in its three-year history will be run at 1 1/4 miles, over Belmont's inner turf course.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The top contenders for Saturday's $1.14 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Belmont Park have the competition surrounded.
Forbidden Apple and Noverre, major stakes winners in New York and Europe, respectively, drew posts 1 and 3, while California's two leading chances, Val Royal and Irish Prize, drew the outside two posts in the 13-horse field.
Horses drawn inside may have a more difficult time than horses drawn wide.
ELMONT, N.Y. - It was a day of extremes on Wednesday at Belmont Park for trainer Bobby Frankel. Aptitude drew an outside post for Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic, a race in which Frankel would have preferred being drawn inside. And in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, Flute landed an inside post, while Frankel was hoping she would be toward the outside of the field.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Although post positions really shouldn't matter in a one-turn, 1 1/16-mile race with nine horses at Belmont Park, two trainers walked away with decidedly different views about how their horses drew for Saturday's $1 million Juvenile Fillies.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Bob Baffert was enjoying Wednesday's Indian Summer morning on the Belmont backstretch, watching his trio of Breeders' Cup horses jog over the main track without incident.
Then came the post-position draw for Saturday's World Thoroughbred Championships card. And Baffert's smile turned upside down.
Officer, Baffert's undefeated multiple-stakes winning colt, drew post 2 for the $1 million Juvenile, an inside post that ruined the white-haired trainer's morning.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The decision by Godolphin Racing to start Fantastic Light instead of Sakhee in Saturday's $2.14 million Breeders' Cup Turf met with mixed reaction from several trainers who have horses in the race.
Both Fantastic Light and Sakhee are multiple stakes-winning millionaires, but Sakhee was considered a more likely Turf starter after his runaway win in the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Oct. 7. In his place, Fantastic Light brings top-class credentials to the turf, having won three Group 1 races this year in England and Ireland.
