ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Rarely do you see a draw for a 1 1/2-mile turf race as important as the one for Saturday’s $800,000 Canadian International. The inside portion of Woodbine’s 12-furlong course has been unused since Sept. 16, and those two paths should provide smooth footing for the horses who are fortunate enough to race there in the Grade 1 fixture.
City of Light will bring a good deal of upside into the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs – despite the fact that he’s already a multiple Grade 1 winner and millionaire.
“He’s lightly raced, still developing, getting better all the time,” trainer Michael McCarthy said.
Only three trainers have won more Breeders’ Cup races than Bill Mott, whose 10 successes include two victories in the Classic, with Cigar in 1995 and with Drosselmeyer in 2011, the last time the Breeders’ Cup was run at Churchill Downs, host of this year’s event.
As with Drosselmeyer, who was 14-1, Mott will take aim at this year’s Classic on Nov. 3 with a longshot, Yoshida, who is 12-1 on the early line from Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper.
The American cast pointed toward the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs is shaping up short of participants.
U.S.-campaigned horses comprise only five of the 13 leading prospects Daily Racing Form considers possible for the race, and of those, only Sistercharlie, Fourstar Crook, and longshot Mom’s On Strike seem more likely to run than not. The other two, Santa Monica and Vasilika, seem like only outside chances to compete.
Trainers work throughout the summer and fall to find the proper niche for their 2-year-olds. Is an individual suited for sprints or routes – on turf, dirt, or either? The addition of the Juvenile Turf Sprint to the Breeders’ Cup program has provided another outlet to strategize and to maximize a horse’s opportunity.
Personally, these are difficult times for trainer Kathleen O’Connell, whose father died last week at the age of 93.
Professionally, these are good times for O’Connell, who confirmed this week that not only will her talented 2-year-old colt Well Defined run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will ride him. Smith is the all-time winningest jockey in Breeders’ Cup history, with 26 wins and $35.8 million in purse money won.
“I’m trying to look for good news on top of all the bad news I’ve had,” O’Connell said Tuesday.
Arklow, the winner of the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 8, may take an unconventional path to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.
Trainer Brad Cox said on Wednesday that he plans to start Arklow in the Grade 3 Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 18. The $100,000 Sycamore Stakes is run at 1 1/2 miles on turf, the same distance as the BC Turf.
Cox said there may be sufficient time between the Sycamore and BC Turf for Arklow to start in both races.
MIAMI – It might have been only career win No. 100, pretty ordinary stuff as milestones go these days, but it still was a special moment for trainer Carlo Vaccarezza when Micah’s Girl crossed the finish line first to earn his diploma in Monday’s sixth race at Gulfstream Park West.
“I know it’s only 100, but I’ve been doing this less than four years, so it meant a lot to me,” Vaccarezza said. “I don’t have the big guns a lot of these other trainers do. I basically started with my own horses and a modest stable, so for me, I think getting to 100 is a pretty good accomplishment.”
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Dale Romans began this week just nine shy of the 2,000-win mark and is on pace to achieve the milestone during the upcoming fall meet at Churchill, his home track.
Romans, 52, is the all-time leading trainer at Churchill with more than 700 wins. His other achievements include the 2012 Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer, as well as victories in the 2011 Preakness with Shackleford and the 2005 Dubai World Cup with Roses In May.
Senior status for Day
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s not that European fillies haven’t given the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup a try. Oh, they have. It’s just that they’ve only won twice in the 34-year history of the Grade 1 turf race at Keeneland.
