Dance Card and Summer Applause, two of the challengers to Groupie Doll in the seven-furlong Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, have raced primarily in longer races, and their presence represents an angle frequently favored by handicappers: route horses going short.
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said he hopes Dance Card breaks more alertly than in her return from a 10-month layoff in the Sept. 21 Gallant Bloom at Belmont Park, where she finished third.
Trainer Steve Asmussen said Thursday that he plans to have a stable at Santa Anita this winter for the fourth consecutive season.
Asmussen said the number of runners and which horses will be sent will be determined in the coming weeks. He said he would send horses to California “if I think it’s the best thing for them.”
Marketing Mix, who starts in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita, will be retired at the end of this year, but a successful race Saturday could lead to another start in December.
Craig Bernick, president of Glen Hill Farm, said Thursday that the $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at Betfair Hollywood Park over 1 1/2 miles on turf Dec. 14 or two turf races in Hong Kong on Dec. 8 – the $2.8 million Hong Kong Cup over 1 1/4 miles or the $1.9 million Hong Kong Vase over 1 1/2 miles – are being considered for Marketing Mix.
Sweet Reason, the morning-line favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies who worked a slow mile Sunday, stretched her legs through the lane Thursday, going an easy quarter in 27.36 seconds from the top of the stretch to the wire.
Sweet Reason was on the track for an extended period Thursday as the equine ambulance was on the track when another horse, not running in the Breeders’ Cup, needed to be vanned off.
After visiting the starting gate, Sweet Reason stayed alongside a pony until horses were allowed to breeze.
Diamond Bachelor, who figures to be a pace factor in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, blew out a half-mile in 47.20 seconds Thursday over Santa Anita’s main track.
With jockey Julien Leparoux aboard, Diamond Bachelor zipped an opening quarter in 22.91 seconds before going a bit slower through the lane. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.37.
“That’s what we do with him – that’s how he likes to train,” trainer Patrick Biancone said.
The Juvenile will be Diamond Bachelor’s first start on dirt after making his first three starts on turf. He will break from post 12.
Aidan O’Brien has started a horse in the Breeders’ Cup Classic 12 times, his best finishes being seconds with Giant’s Causesway in 2000 and Henrythenavigator in 2008, the latter on Santa Anita’s old all-weather main track. Many of those runners, like Duke of Marmalade and Black Minnaloushe, were no-hopers, and we have been conditioned to some extent to treat O’Brien’s dirt Classic attempts with skepticism.
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.
