The unbeaten One Timer, headed to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on Nov. 5, was the lone Breeders’ Cup runner to work Thursday at a relatively quiet Del Mar, where he went a half-mile on the main track in 49.80 seconds.
The well-traveled One Timer defeated maidens on debut at Arlington before capturing the Victoria Stakes at Woodbine and then the Speakeasy at Santa Anita. The Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint will mark his fourth race at four different tracks.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Hidden Connection, one of the top contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies here at Del Mar on Nov. 5, turned in her final work for the race on Thursday morning at Churchill Downs, going five furlongs in 1:00.80 under her regular rider, Reylu Gutierrez.
Her trainer, Bret Calhoun, said he had originally planned to work on Friday, but moved the work up 24 hours owing to rain being in the forecast for Friday.
European-based horses have won eight of the 14 renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, North American runners six, but the North Americans outnumber the Europeans 9 to 5 among the 14 pre-entered 2-year-olds who are assured of spots in the $1 million Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.
Six pre-entrants – Credibility, Ready to Purrform, Verbal, Jasper Krone, Detroit City, and Royal Spirit, listed in their ranked order – are excluded from the race barring defections.
There is a strong possibility the winner of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 5 at Del Mar will produce a double-digit payoff, even if the favorite prevails.
Wednesday, the Breeders’ Cup organization announced 18 pre-entries for the one-mile race, a group that includes seven stakes winners from throughout the United States but not a standout candidate.
There are familiar trainers behind a few American-based runners.
Mike Smith has ridden both Corniche and Pinehurst to a victory in a maiden race and a Grade 1 stakes. He can only ride one when the two meet in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5 at Del Mar, and he opted to stick with Corniche.
“They’re both really aim-to-please, straightforward colts,” Smith said by phone from California. “I believe Corniche is just a little quicker out of there than the other one has been as far as their first two starts. In saying that, Pinehurst has a big heart; he don’t like to let no one by him.”
Echo Zulu will face no more than eight other 2-year-old fillies in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies next Friday at Del Mar and is sure to be a solid favorite while trying to maintain her perfect record.
The first time the Breeders’ Cup was held at Del Mar, in 2017, the Juvenile Turf Sprint was not yet a part of the program. The new kid on the block joined the program the next year. The addition has proven popular with both domestic and international horsemen and is expected to once again have a full starting gate as it leads off the juvenile-focused Breeders’ Cup Friday races at Del Mar as a Grade 2, $1 million event.
An overflow cast of characters pre-entered for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 6 at Del Mar includes defending race winner Glass Slippers, 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint victor Golden Pal; and the winners of such major international events as the Sprint Cup at Haydock, Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp, and Al Quoz at Meydan.
The $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 6 at Del Mar may have a maximum field for the first time since 1999.
The Breeders’ Cup announced 22 pre-entries on Wednesday, twice as many as in 2020, a group led by Tarnawa, who won the BC Turf at Keeneland last year.
The BC Turf, run at 1 1/2 miles, will be limited to 14 starters. The race has not drawn that many runners since 1999 at Gulfstream Park. In the last five years, the BC Turf has had fields ranging from 10 last year to 13 in 2017 at Del Mar and 2018 at Churchill Downs.
