The outlook for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint could be shaped largely by the upcoming performance of one horse: Unique Bella.
If, as expected, the star 3-year-old runs well in her eagerly awaited return to action Oct. 8 in the L.A. Woman at Santa Anita, she could be a solid favorite for the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 4 at Del Mar – and if not, well, throw this thing wide open.
“Bring on Ribchester!” might be the rallying cry from the camp of World Approval, who cemented his position as North America’s top turf miler with a dominant victory last Saturday in the Woodbine Mile. With Group 1 victories this year in the J.T. Lockinge, the Queen Anne, and most recently in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, Ribchester ranks as the best miler in Europe.
But whether Ribchester brings his considerable talent to the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 4 at Del Mar remains an open question.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the North American 2-year-old male turf horses of 2017 are slow.
In fact, to this point in the year, and using Beyer Speed Figures as a measure, they are historically slow, and the lack of standout performances makes evaluating the prospective cast for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf a tricky process.
It also leads one to believe that European shippers, often formidable in this race in any case, might be even more potent this fall.
On to the specifics.
The Breeders’ Cup was conceived as a season-ending event that would bring top horses from all jurisdictions together to settle divisional championships on the racetrack. That goal may again be realized in this year’s Juvenile Fillies, which in its early stages is assembling a far-flung cast of characters.
LAUREL, Md. - Laurel Park has amended its racing calendar for the final three months of the year.
Laurel was scheduled to race four days a week in October and November by adding Thursdays, and then return to a Friday-to-Sunday race week in December.
Laurel will now race Fridays to Mondays from Oct. 9 through Dec. 18.
Laurel will face less competition on Mondays than it would have on Thursdays and will be one of the leading Monday simulcast signals. The change will add two days to the track's schedule.
Mr. Misunderstood, who improved his turf record to 5 for 5 with his win in the $200,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs, will be considered for the Commonwealth Stakes, run at his base of Churchill Downs, according to trainer Brad Cox. The Super Derby was run on the turf for the first time.
The Commonwealth, a Grade 3, $100,000 race for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the grass, will be run on Nov. 11.
Promising juvenile to Churchill
The Oklahoma Derby had a working list of seven early probables on Monday, with a handful of leading contenders scheduled to arrive at Remington Park on Wednesday. The Grade 3, $400,000 race will anchor a card of 10 stakes on Sunday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A vivid illustration of racing’s highs and lows was seen Saturday at Churchill Downs when jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and trainer Bret Calhoun teamed to upset the Grade 2 Pocahontas Stakes with Patrona Margarita.
Only an hour earlier, Hernandez had everyone holding their collective breath as he lay motionless on the track. Hernandez had flipped over the front of his mount, Ivy Bell, in midstretch of the Open Mind Stakes after the filly stumbled badly when crowded into the rail by the eventual first-place finisher, Mayla.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Barring a change of heart, trainer Chad Brown said Sunday he would train Practical Joke up to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Lady Eli to the Filly and Mare Turf.
Brown said he had considered Practical Joke for Saturday’s Grade 2 Kelso, a one-turn mile at Belmont, but opted to simply await the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 3.
“We looked at the Kelso a little bit,” Brown said. “I just felt like the horse has had three races close together, he’s doing really well. As of right now I’m leaning toward training him to the race.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – Jockey Manny Franco will not be riding this week because he is serving a five-day careless riding suspension incurred during the fifth race here on Sept. 9.
Franco was aboard Glory to Kitten, who darted to the inside in the stretch, forcing two horses to steady significantly. The stewards, who disqualified Glory to Kitten from sixth and placed her ninth, suspended Franco for “failure to have proper clearance when coming in with his mount in the vicinity of the eighth pole.”
