Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile; 1 1/16 miles; Santa Anita; Nov. 5, 2016
(20 Derby qualifying points for a win, 8 for second, 4 for third, 2 for fourth)
Winner: Classic Empire, by Pioneerof the Nile
Trainer: Mark Casse
Jockey: Julien Leparoux
Owner: John Oxley
Beyer Speed Figure: 102
MIGHTY MANFRED
TRAINER: Hugh Robertson
LAST RACE: Nov. 23, 8th
FINISH: Third by 3/4
BEYER: 61
Second-time starting 2-year-old making route and grass debut would’ve had an excuse just being caught wide on both turns after breaking from outside, but he also managed to get checked at a key homestretch moment. Still, he was beaten less than one length. Graduating soon.
BRANDOTHEBARTENDER
Trainer: Blake Heap
Last race: Nov. 24, 5th
Finish: 3rd by 2 1/2
Beyer: 77
Five furlongs was too short for this California-bred N1X turf sprinter, whose rally fell short. He can stretch out to 6 1/2 furlongs in a California-bred turf sprint this winter at Santa Anita.
ENTWISTLE
Trainer: Tino Attard
Last race: Nov. 23, 7th
Finish: 4th by 1 1/2
Beyer: 81
He battled three wide for the lead through fast fractions before weakening late when he dropped to the $20,000 price, for which he was claimed, from allowance company. It was his first race with Lasix, and he could be rejuvenated on the diuretic.
Rain in the forecast has cast a significant shadow on the Sunday card at Del Mar. The number of horses scheduled to run Sunday who have encountered a wet track is small, and accordingly, I plan on treading very lightly. I'll key in on the two stakes races – the Cecil B. DeMille, scheduled to be run on turf, and the Native Diver on the main track.
RACE 6 – CECIL B. DEMILLE
DEL MAR, Calif. – Don’t you love “hype horses?”
You know the kind. Some touts are fast-working maidens with big pedigrees. Others are second-start maidens with ability. Most have winning connections. Touts are fun. Who doesn’t like to watch good horses run fast?
The 2-year-old filly division in Southern California this year has overflowed with well-hyped touts, including another who returns Saturday at Del Mar. Unique Bella is the 7-5 program favorite in race 7. Perhaps she cannot lose.
“Gobble Gobble” to you, too. Hope you have recovered because we are still scratching our heads over the fact that last week’s Pick was our fourth in a row that won and which also included a BreezeFigs gimmick. Bobby Abu Dhabi just held on to score over Adorned to produce a $25 (for a dollar) exacta. And if you’d included The Party Factor in your superfecta boxes with those two, your return was $2,300.
With a couple of singles to keep cost down, here's a small pick five play at Churchill on Friday that begins on the eighth race and concludes with the 12th and final on the card.
Race 8
6 - FINLEY'SLUCKYCHARM acts like a graded stakes filly in the making, and is simply fastest. She comes off two straight victories over the Churchill strip, earning Beyer Speed Figures in the mid 90s. She is the first single.
