LOUISVILLE, Ky. – What a difference half a year has made for Uncle Mo, who on the first Saturday in May was sidelined from a Kentucky Derby many previously had expected him to win, owing to an illness that was not diagnosed until weeks later.
My Miss Aurelia, one of four unbeaten fillies in the full field of 14, drew post 9 and was installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite by track linemaker Mike Battaglia for Friday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
My Miss Aurelia, trained by Steve Asmussen, is 3 for 3 with victories in the Grade 2 Adirondack at Saratoga and the Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont Park, a race she won by 5 1/2 lengths. On Monday, My Miss Aurelia worked four furlongs in 49.68 seconds over Churchill’s main track.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Midday, as expected, will make her third Breeders’ Cup appearance in the BC Turf rather than the Filly and Mare Turf, the race she won in 2009 and in which she finished second here last year.
Some announced post positions drew gasps and groans from the crowd during Monday’s Breeders’ Cup draw at Churchill Downs, but the draw for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was largely void of any drama.
The 2-1 morning-line favorite Union Rags seemingly drew favorably in post 10 in the 1 1/16-mile race as did 7-2 second choice Creative Cause, who landed in post 7. Furthermore, there were no exclusions from the race, which had drawn 16 pre-entries.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Last Wednesday, Jackson Bend and The Factor were pre-entered in both the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and the Dirt Mile as their connections mulled over which race they felt was the best fit for their horses.
When entries were made and post positions assigned on Monday, Jackson Bend and The Factor went their separate ways with trainer Nick Zito opting to enter Jackson Bend in the $1.5 million Sprint and Bob Baffert deciding to put The Factor in the $1 million Dirt Mile. Each race went with nine horses.
A marathon Breeders’ Cup post position draw produced precious little liveliness Monday afternoon at Churchill Downs, but a short, excited cry came from a table of Frenchmen when Goldikova was assigned post 1 for the BC Mile.
“That’s what we were hoping for,” Regis Barbedette, the traveling head lad overseeing Goldikova until trainer Freddie Head arrives Tuesday, said afterward. “I just spoke to Freddie Head, and he was applauding us. We said we had nothing to do with it!”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Uncle Mo and Goldikova have a chance to win a Breeders' Cup race for the second year in a row this weekend. Old news. Uncle Mo won the 2010 Juvenile like the second coming, and Goldikova has won the last three Miles. Less recognized this week are three other horses who can repeat in a BC race. They include Eldaafer, who is after his second Marathon, and Chamberlain Bridge, seeking back-to-back wins in the Turf Sprint, and Big Drama, going for a second straight Sprint.
A showdown for the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly could be on the line Friday at Churchill Downs in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, which drew a field of 10 on Monday, with the three 3-year-olds in the race the first three choices despite facing their elders.
Turn-back runners such as Precisionist, Gulch, and Cherokee Run have captured the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in its lengthy history, but three runnings of the $1 million BC Turf Sprint have yielded no such winners. Mike Machowsky would like to start a new tradition when he sends his standout California-bred Caracortado out of longer races as a major threat Saturday in the five-furlong Turf Sprint.
The partners in Team Valor International rejoiced last year when Pluck rallied to capture the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. The ownership group will have two shots at a repeat this year, with Lucky Chappy and State of Play assigned posts 12 and 14, respectively, in a capacity field of 14 in the $1 million race.
