Trainer Steve Asmussen won’t have reigning champ Mitole back for the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Nor will he have the horse who just a couple of months ago appeared to be the heir apparent to the throne, Grade 1 winner Volatile.
That being said, Asmussen will still have a pretty strong hand Nov. 7 at Keeneland when he attempts to win the Sprint again. Asmussen has pre-entered three horses for the race, including undefeated 3-year-olds Yaupon and Nashville.
It should come as no surprise that European shippers have won eight of the 13 editions of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
America has the best young dirt horses, Europe the best young turf horses. The best of the best Europeans, by the time Breeders’ Cup rolls around, often have been put away for the winter, their connections eying European classic races the following season, but there remains plenty of capable stock targeting a race richer than anything available for European 2-year-olds back home.
Roiled by a pandemic that continues to impact the way the sport is conducted, racing heads toward the Breeders’ Cup Nov. 6 and 7 at Keeneland with the prospect of having one of its best events ever based on the list of pre-entries that were announced Wednesday. To borrow from Vin Scully when the Dodgers had last won the World Series prior to their victory Tuesday night, “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.”
A key element missing from the Breeders’ Cup Distaff has finally been found. Monomoy Girl and Swiss Skydiver remain favorites, but the unanswered question – who will set the pace? – became clear only after the list of 11 Distaff pre-entries was released this week.
Repeat after me: The Mile is the Breeders’ Cup race that the same horse wins more than once.
Miesque in 1987 and 1988; Lure in 1992 and 1993; Da Hoss in 1996 and 1998; Goldikova in 2008, 2009, and 2010; Wise Dan in 2012 and 2013. These turf milers all came back for more and knew where to find it.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Aside from the retirement of Bellafina, there were few surprises when pre-entries for the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint were announced Wednesday, with the status of Frank’s Rockette being one key as to how the $1 million race will shape up.
Frank’s Rockette, winner of her last four starts, has the six-furlong BC Sprint as first preference over the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint, primarily because the shorter distance more than offsets her having to race against males in the $2 million Sprint, according to trainer Bill Mott.
Those seeking to capitalize on a home-course advantage in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint will face a far-flung class of challengers from various jurisdictions.
The Turf Sprint has drawn 22 pre-entries, of which 14 will be allowed to start in the Nov. 7 at Keeneland. Eight made their most recent start at Keeneland – Chaos Theory, Diamond Oops, Got Stormy, Leinster, Extravagant Kid, Into Mystic, Just Might, and Manny Wah. Oleksandra and Imprimis also are graded stakes winners on this course.
An overflow cast of 23 was announced Wednesday as pre-entries for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, which has a maximum starting field of 12, leaving nearly half the runners on the outside looking in. But several runners in the original main body of the field are headed in other directions, which will give at least three who didn’t make the original top 12 likely starting berths by Nov. 7 at Keeneland.
The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint has been a popular addition to the Breeders’ Cup program. This year’s third renewal of the Grade 2, $1 million race is no exception, as it could have one of the biggest fields of the weekend, with one of the strongest favorites.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – There may not ever have been a Breeders’ Cup race where half the field came in unbeaten. If there was, hopefully it wound up as exciting a race as the 2020 edition of the $2 million BC Juvenile Fillies appears to be shaping up.
Four of the eight fillies pre-entered in the Nov. 6 Juvenile Fillies have yet to taste defeat. Princess Noor, Simply Ravishing, and Dayoutoftheoffice all have gone 3 for 3, while Girl Daddy is 2 for 2.
