LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at the Royal Ascot meeting next June will be the long-range goal for Mischief Magic, winner of Friday’s Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland.
"He's got the scope to develop from 2 to 3 well," trainer Charlie Appleby said. "And, therefore, he's put himself probably in the picture as a Commonwealth horse, and we'll work backward from that."
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Total handle for the five Breeders’ Cup races held on Friday at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington set a record, according to charts of the races, surpassing the record total for last year despite the races being held nearly three hours earlier than last year.
Total handle for the five BC races was $49.27 million, up 16.4 percent over the record $42.31 bet on the five Friday races last year. All five Friday races are restricted to juveniles.
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Laurel River, 9-2 on the morning line for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, and Bran, 15-1 in Saturday’s Turf Sprint, were scratched from their respective races on Friday morning by regulatory veterinarians, according to Breeders’ Cup.
Jockey Obed Sanchez remained in an Oklahoma City hospital on Thursday afternoon after suffering five broken ribs in Wednesday night’s fifth race at Remington Park, according to his agent, Travis Church.
Jockey David Cabrera, who went down in the same incident, avoided serious injury and will be off his mounts Thursday night due to soreness, said his agent, Jose Santos Jr.
The riders were injured when Cabrera’s mount, Dobbins G, appeared to clip heels and fell. Sanchez’s mount, Rockport Kat, who was advancing, went over the fallen runner and unseated Sanchez.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two years after it held a Breeders’ Cup without spectators, Keeneland is set to host as many as 45,000 fans on Saturday with an anticipation equal to if not greater than 2015, when 50,155 were in attendance here to watch Triple Crown winner American Pharoah cap off his career with a victory in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Smooth Like Strait’s stall was bedded down Monday morning, his Breeders’ Cup name plate affixed above it. The webbing was clipped shut. The stall stood empty.
Smooth Like Strait had galloped Monday morning at Churchill Downs, trainer Michael McCarthy said. He was due to arrive at Keeneland on Monday afternoon, one of the last Breeders’ Cup horses to get here.
Usually, only one horse arrives before Smooth Like Strait.
More than three decades ago, Julio Garcia and Wesley Ward were both leading apprentice jockeys. Ward, who won the Eclipse Award for leading apprentice in 1984, was based on the East Coast, and Garcia rode in Southern California.
After their race-riding days, both settled into a niche in Kentucky. Ward has made a reputation for conditioning precocious and globe-trotting runners; Garcia is his head work rider and plays an integral role in the horses’ development.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – California-based trainer Jeff Mullins combed his memory banks, trying to recall the second- and third-place finishers he’d sent out in Breeders’ Cup races.
“There was a filly second on the dirt at Belmont. Alex Solis rode her.” Mullins said, then paused. “I can’t think of her name. I’m not sure that these races are that memorable unless you win.”
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Flightline got his feet wet early Monday morning jogging once around a muddy Keeneland surface. Saturday, he’ll be the shark in the water when he takes on seven rivals – like him all Grade 1 winners – in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.
Though nine horses were pre-entered for the Classic on Oct. 24, Cyberknife, as expected, was entered Monday for Saturday’s $1 million Dirt Mile. Cyberknife’s connections were going to run in the Classic only if Flightline did not.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The foal crop in Iowa averaged 177 per year from 2016 to 2020, according to statistics from The Jockey Club. The New Mexico foal crop averaged 430. From those relatively small groups, Iowa and New Mexico each has a Breeders’ Cup runner this year, just the second in their respective histories.
Iowa-bred Tyler’s Tribe is unbeaten in five starts, all in his home state, with four open-lengths stakes victories as he prepares for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland.
