ELMONT, N.Y. - As stablemates, Express Tour and Noverre bring remarkably different credentials to the $1 million Breeders' Cup races at Belmont Park on Oct. 27.
Noverre has been a star in Europe this year, winning the French 2000 Guineas (he was later disqualified because of a positive drug test) and the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. On Sept. 29, he finished second in the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.
ELMONT, N.Y. - It is hard for trainer Hal Wiggins to recall a time when Chorwon was not part of his Kentucky-based barn. "We've had him about six years and he's like part of the family," Wiggins said.
Since March 23, 1996, the day he debuted with a third-place finish in a one-mile turf race at Fair Grounds, Chorwon has been a fixture on Wiggins's team, winning 13 of 41 starts at 10 tracks. He has won at venues as small as Sam Houston and Remington Park and as big as Keeneland and Churchill Downs.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The frost was on the turf course as well as the pumpkins when dawn broke at Belmont Park on Friday, closing the inner course for training and altering plans for a couple of horses originally scheduled to work on the grass. For the second straight morning, the temperature remained in the 40's during training hours although the wind was not as blustery as the previous day.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Tiznow turned in a workout on Thursday that his trainer, Jay Robbins, called "one of his best ever," but not before causing Robbins a great deal of anxiety with his increasingly cantankerous behavior.
Tiznow, who won last year's $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic and will be one of the top choices in this year's race on Oct. 27 at Belmont Park, sped a mile in 1:35.60 at Santa Anita. But the work had to be improvised, because Tiznow refused to follow the itinerary mapped out by Robbins and jockey Chris McCarron.
ELMONT, N.Y. - While his horses have won more races and more money than last year, trainer Eoin Harty points to another statistic that demonstrates the progress Godolphin Racing Inc. is making with its North American 2-year-olds.
When pre-entries were announced Wednesday for the Oct. 27 World Thoroughbred Championships, a combined 22 horses were pre-entered for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies. Four, or 18 percent, of them are trained by Harty, the head trainer for Godolphin Racing's North American-based juveniles.
The courage of Praise the Prince, who starts in Saturday's $250,000 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase at Far Hills, N.J., continues to amaze jockey Gus Brown. Already a winner at Churchill Downs and Belmont Park this year, Praise the Prince faces the toughest assignment of his 26-race career in the Breeders' Cup Steeplechase.
"He's a model of consistency," said Brown. "He's definitely a fighter."
ELMONT, N.Y. - Thursday morning dawned clear and cold with the temperature in the low 40's but wind chills closer to 30 degrees as a brisk west wind had horses laboring as they made their way down the backstretch on both the main and turf courses. It was a relatively calm morning, however, for Breeders' Cup hopefuls, with the main focus of activity on the inner turf course. The dogs (plastic cones set out to protect the inside portion of the course) were out approximately 20 feet off the inner rail.
Work of the Day
ELMONT, N.Y. - There will be an element of suspense attached to Hap's start in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Belmont Park on Oct. 27. Unlike leading contenders for the Turf - Sakhee, Timboroa, and With Anticipation - Hap is unproven at the race distance of 1 1/2 miles.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Four of the 12 prospective starters for the Filly and Mare Turf will be supplemented to the race: England's Legend and Starine, the second- and third-place finishers in the Flower Bowl Handicap; Spook Express, winner of the Winstar Galaxy Stakes; and Kalypso Katie, whose only victory since May of 2000 is a second level allowance race this year at Hollywood Park.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The defection of No Excuse Needed from the $1 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Belmont Park on Oct. 27 for a major race in England on Saturday opens a position for Sarafan, the last horse attempting to gain a berth to the oversubscribed Mile.
Even though there were 19 pre-entries for the Mile, only 14 horses were considered probable as of Thursday. Four pre-entered horses are expected in other races - Banks Hill and Crystal Music in the Filly and Mare Turf, and Hap and Slew Valley in the Turf.
