ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Bill Mott wasn’t sure that Ron the Greek would be able to duplicate his eye-catching performance in the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 28 in Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
But he wanted the chance to find out if he could.
Unfortunately, Mott won’t get that chance, as on Thursday, he announced that Ron the Greek would be scratched from the Classic due to a quarter crack in his right front foot.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Terry Lanni died a little more than two years ago, but every time Game On Dude runs, he’s still there. Lanni was one of the co-owners of Game On Dude, part of a four-member partnership that was put together by his longtime friend, Bernie Schiappa.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Barry Irwin didn’t buy Mexikoma with the expressed intent of running him in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. But there Irwin was Wednesday morning at Santa Anita, where he watched his 2-year-old colt work four furlongs in 49.72 seconds over the dirt in preparation for Saturday’s $2 million Juvenile.
“He’s immature. He’s going to be so much better next year,” said Irwin, president of Team Valor International.
Saturday’s $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf will be the first race for Magician and Point of Entry since they ran in major stakes in June. Despite their layoffs, they have leading chances to win the richest turf race in the United States.
Point of Entry, second in the 2012 BC Turf, was found to have a leg injury after a win in the Grade 1 Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park on June 8. Point of Entry resumed serious training at the end of August and convinced trainer Shug McGaughey through September and October that he was ready for the BC Turf.
Charlie LoPresti has no need to feel his way into the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Wise Dan won the 2012 Mile here at Santa Anita after shipping from Kentucky the week of the race. The template for success already has been laid out. This week, LoPresti simply will follow established protocol.
Fort Larned, the defending champion of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and top 3-year-old Palace Malice, who will meet Saturday in the $5 million Classic, finally arrived at Santa Anita early Tuesday evening after a flight that was delayed.
Palace Malice was among a group of horses who began the cross-country journey in New York. The flight stopped in Kentucky to pick up Fort Larned and several other horses, including Wise Dan. But the trip from Kentucky to California involved an unscheduled stop in Oklahoma to refuel, owing to a route more circuitous than planned.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Four leading contenders for Saturday’s $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf – Big Blue Kitten, Point of Entry, Real Solution, and The Fugue – had their first morning of exercise at Santa Anita on Tuesday.
The Fugue, trained in England by John Gosden, cleared quarantine Monday. On Tuesday, she jogged a mile on the main track, according to Les Reynolds, an assistant to Gosden. A 4-year-old filly, The Fugue is expected to be favored in the BC Turf on the strength of her win in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes against males in September.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Relegated to the also-eligible list for Friday's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Easter Gift did not ship to California from New York on Tuesday. Trainer Chad Brown said Easter Gift likely will be pointed to the Clark Handicap on Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs.
“I’d like to run that horse two turns,” Brown said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – While the post position draw for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday at Santa Anita turned out well for Game On Dude, the placing of Moreno vis-à-vis the other potential speed in the race left trainer Eric Guillot believing his options had been compromised.
Moreno ended up in post 4 when posts were drawn Monday afternoon, with Fort Larned, last year’s Classic winner, in post 7, and Game On Dude, the morning-line favorite, in post 9. Those three have the most natural speed of the 12 runners in the 1 1/4-mile Classic.
