Mike Smith, the leading rider in Breeders’ Cup history in wins and money won, will ride Scabbard in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita, trainer Eddie Kenneally said Wednesday.
Kenneally mentioned that owner Joe Sutton opted for Smith “and we’re absolutely delighted to have him,” Kenneally said.
“He’s the leading rider in the series, plus it’s his home track,” he said.
:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2019: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, and more
Alandra, third in the Alcibiades at Keeneland, and Frank’s Rockette, runner-up in the Frizette at Belmont, both will bypass the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, which is increasingly looking as though it will have one of its smallest fields in the past two decades.
Ireland-based trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf four times in the race’s 12-year history and will be a formidable presence again in this year’s renewal at Santa Anita.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Midnight Bisou tops the 10 candidates for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, and the absence of a clear second choice has solidified her role as favorite. Midnight Bisou is 8-5 on the Daily Racing Form early line.
Elate would have been the second favorite, but her connections are leaning to the BC Classic. Her absence leaves Paradise Woods second choice on the DRF line at 4-1.
Midnight Bisou worked five furlongs in company Monday at Santa Anita, and after walking Tuesday, she returned to the track Wednesday for a one-mile gallop.
Got Stormy is an exciting candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. She’s a filly, which is always cool, and beat Grade 1 males in the Fourstardave Stakes at Saratoga. She lays back and makes one tremendous run, and her trainer, Mark Casse, already had a BC Mile win with a female, Tepin. And in her most recent start, the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile . . . Got Stormy lost.
MIAMI – There were more than 150,000 folks in attendance under the twin spires when Bodexpress finished 14th (placed 13th) in the Kentucky Derby, and 100,000 or so were on hand to watch him rear up and toss jockey John Velazquez after the start and run loose behind the field two weeks later at Pimlico in the Preakness.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The all-time leading Breeders’ Cup jockey possesses more than superior horsemanship. Mike Smith also has an uncanny memory.
This fall at Santa Anita, Smith will try to add to his record Breeders’ Cup totals – 26 wins and $35.9 million in earnings. It is no surprise Smith’s most heavily fancied mount is Midnight Bisou in the Distaff, a race he has won five times.
With Breeders’ Cup pre-entries due Monday, numerous details still need to be finalized in regard to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. But this much is known about the big picture – Wesley Ward looms large.
Ward has the highly regarded trio of Four Wheel Drive, Kimari, and Cambria all set to be flown Oct. 28 from Kentucky to California for the $1 million, five-furlong Juvenile Turf Sprint. All will breeze at Keeneland at least once more before shipping.
The two favorites for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, Covfefe and Come Dancing, both have resumed steady work patterns at their respective home bases and will be among the late arrivals to Santa Anita.
Covfefe has worked twice at Churchill Downs for trainer Brad Cox since winning her most recent start Sept. 21. The 3-year-old filly will breeze at least once more before being flown to California on Oct. 29.
Catalina Cruiser will bring a perfect 2019 record into the Breeders’ Cup next month at Santa Anita, but the championship race in which he will start is still being determined, according to trainer John Sadler.
Catalina Cruiser is under consideration for the $2 million Sprint and the $1 million Dirt Mile. Both races are Nov. 2.
“No decision,” Sadler said Tuesday. “We’re still eyeing the playing field.”
