Following is a look at the Sunday morning activity and planned activity for the horses set to compete in the $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 4 at Santa Anita, plus comments from their trainers.
Horse: Arabian Knight
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Set: 6:30 a.m. PDT
Morning Activity: Galloped 1 1/2 miles
Planned Activity: Will have his final preparatory workout on Monday at 9 a.m.
The Quote: “He's doing really well. I feel that he should run a good race.” – Bob Baffert
Horse: Arcangelo
Trainer: Jena Antonucci
Set: None
Morning Activity: Walked Sunday morning after rear shoe was taken off Saturday afternoon.
Planned Activity: TBD
The Quote: “I pulled a left hind shoe off him. Transparency is important. I pulled the left hind shoe off yesterday afternoon and said, 'Let's just walk tomorrow. It's no sense in going to do that (gallop). We've got lots of time.' Whether he kicked the wall or bruised it or hit it, I don't know. So we just pulled the shoe off and gave him a walk day and assess where we are at.
“He walked great this morning. I'm very happy with that.
“We'll assess it as we roll. He may gallop tomorrow. He may walk tomorrow. We'll stay fluid. Lots of time. That's a good thing about a 10-day (breeze) schedule, you get lots of time.” – Jena Antonucci
Horse: Bright Future
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Set: None
Morning Activity: Bright Future was hand-walked early Sunday morning at Santa Anita after shipping from Kentucky Saturday.
Planned Activity: Will gallop approximately 1 1/4 miles Monday morning.
Closer Look: With two impressive performances at Saratoga this summer, Bright Future started living up to the name he was given by co-owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable. Following a head-scratching eighth of 10 in the June 10 Brooklyn Stakes (G2), the son of Curlin trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher found himself at Saratoga and picked up two victories. The second, a gritty win by a nose over Proxy in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), earned Bright Future a guaranteed berth in the $6-million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
“I think that was his coming-out-party, so to speak,” Pletcher said. “He's a horse that we always had high expectations for. He had a few setbacks along the way. We maybe threw him to the wolves a little prematurely in the Brooklyn at a mile and a half. We regrouped after that, went back to an allowance race, which was an impressive win. That kind of got us to thinking about the Jockey Club. He was able to get his nose on the wire and in that race. It's a huge win for him being a Grade 1 and a 'Win and You're In' race and we've been pointing for the Classic since then.”
Mike Repole and St. Elias' Vinnie Viola purchased Bright Future for $350,000 as a yearling and turned him over to Pletcher. At that point, his future was bright. However, physical issues kept him from debuting at Saratoga in 2021 and he did not make his first start until March 19, 2022. He won that day at Gulfstream Park, but disappeared again after running third in a first-level allowance on June 11 at Belmont Park. He returned to competition 10 months later on April 1 with a victory, but was lackluster in the Brooklyn and eased. At Saratoga he emerged as a top-caliber performer.
“Credit to the owners,” Pletcher said. “They've been very patient, partly because he's a Curlin and he's going to improve and partly because he had already always shown a lot of talent in his breezes.”
Starting from the outside in the field of eight in the Gold Cup, Bright Future was able to get into a pace-pressing position through the first half-mile. He moved up to challenge the leader in the second turn and had a 2½-length advantage at the top of the stretch. Proxy followed his move off the turn, came running in the stretch, but Bright Future managed to hold on to win.
“That was a heck of a finish and we were we were on the right side of a head bob but it was a good race,” Pletcher said. “Proxy's a horse that's well-seasoned in a lot of hard battles. For Bright Future, in really his only his second stakes race, to be able to fend off a horse like that says a lot about his quality.”
Two years after his connections figured he would show his stuff at Saratoga, Bright Future arrived.
“There were some frustrating times to get to that level but I think the patience paid off,” Pletcher said. “We always had high hopes for him and were glad to see him finally, fulfill expectations.”
Horse: Charge It
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Set: None
Morning Activity: Charge It was hand-walked early Sunday morning at Santa Anita after shipping from Kentucky Saturday. He is also pre-entered in the Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile (G1).
Planned Activity: Will gallop approximately 1 1/4 miles Monday morning, time TBD
The Quote: “It seems everyone has shipped in well. Everyone is healthy. Temperatures are normal. So far, so good.” – Todd Pletcher.
Horse: Clapton
Trainer: Chad Summers
Set: None
Morning Activity: Walked the shedrow the day after working 4f in 48 ⅗ on Saturday.
Planned Activity: Scheduled to gallop at 7 a.m.
The Quote: “He is not going to win the race on flash. He will win the race by grinding it out and by keeping on coming. He loves to compete and we're hoping he works out the right trip with (jockey) Tyler (Gaffalione).” – Chad Summers
Horse: Derma Sotogake (JPN)
Trainer: Otonashi Hidetaka
Set: 6:30 a.m.
Morning Activity: Walked with Ushba Tesoro (JPN) to the track, proceeded to the chute for circles and figure-eight warmup exercises, did a lap and a half of the main track in a canter and then returned promptly to the barn.
Planned Activity: More of the same tomorrow with a possible breeze expected midweek.
Horse: Mage
Trainer: Gustavo Delgado
Set: NA
Morning Activity: Declared out of the Classic after being diagnosed with a fever before his scheduled Sunday flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Santa Anita.
Planned Activity: Will be pointed to the Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park.
The Quote: “It was a slight temperature. At this level, to run in the Breeders' Cup Classic against horses like these, you have to be at 100 percent, you can't be at 90 percent. This is not something that knocks you out for several months or a year. It's a minor hiccup, but it's disappointing.” – Co-owner Ramiro Restrepo.
Horse: Proxy
Trainer: Mike Stidham
Set: Keeneland
Morning Activity: One day after breezing 4f in :48.40, he walked the shedrow.
Planned Activity: Ships to California on Monday
Closer Look: Veteran conditioner Mike Stidham looks to add another iconic international race to his resume when he saddles Godolphin's Grade 1 winner Proxy in Saturday's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Six days out, all signals from the team surrounding the blue-blooded 5-year-old appear to be positive and Stidham was very pleased with how the son of Tapit and Grade 1 winner Panty Raid exited his Saturday breeze.
“He looked great this morning and is all set to ship tomorrow,” Stidham said. “The breeze went great. Proxy is one of those horses who only does what he's made to do. He's not a real overly willing horse in the mornings and early in his races. Anytime he's shown us enthusiasm, that's always a good sign.”
It was only two seasons ago that the six-time Grade 1-winning trainer and Godolphin teamed up with another homebred, Mystic Guide, to land the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1). Stidham remarked that such an experience with that level of pressure has made going into this year's Classic that much more comfortable and exciting.
“Like I said in the post-race interview in Dubai, I finally had my chance to step up on the big stage and we got it done,” he explained. “You get a similar feel to coming into a race like this because, in your whole career, you dream of being in races like these and then to actually win one is a dream come true. I think we bring a legitimate contender into the race.”
A six-time winner from 19 starts, Proxy's top-level score came in the Clark (G1) last November at Churchill Downs, defeating subsequent Grade 1 winner West Will Power. A disappointing fifth in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) followed, just prior to an attempt over the Classic's course and distance in March's Santa Anita Handicap (G1), losing by a neck after a desperate late rally. He has won twice this season, taking the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and Monmouth Cup (G3), with the former providing some of his career-best speed figures (by all metrics) and enters the Classic off a heart-breaking nose loss in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).
“The biggest thing we worry about is when he gets trapped down on the inside and is getting a lot of kickback, he tends to get disinterested in running into that, so we are conscious of that in a big field and are hoping he doesn't get buried down on the inside and put himself in a position that takes his chances away,” Stidham explained. “That happened in the Pegasus and Stephen Foster, where he took himself out of it too far and had no chance.
“He has in his career shown that he can run the number like a 5 Ragozin that should be good enough to get this done,” he continued. “I feel like he's kind of been teetering a little above those numbers recently from 7-to-9, so I'm hoping that that top number is still sitting out for us to get back to next Saturday. He's shown he can do it, so now it's just a matter of getting it done on the right day and it helps that there's absolutely no doubt in my mind is a mile and a quarter is only a bonus for us — he loves it.”
Horse: Saudi Crown
Trainer: Brad Cox
Set: None
Morning Activity: Walked the shedrow of this Churchill Downs barn.
Planned Activity: Will ship to California Monday.
The Quote: “He's developed into a top 3-year-old. We always thought he had a tremendous amount of talent and he's shown that in his five races. He's a top horse and we have a lot of confidence in him – Brad Cox
Horse: Senor Buscador
Trainer: Todd Fincher
Set: None
Morning Activity: Walked shedrow
Planned Activity: Paddock schooling session this afternoon.
The Quote: “He will gallop tomorrow and he will go to the gate tomorrow or Wednesday.” – Todd Fincher
Horse: Ushba Tesoro
Trainer: Takagi Noboru
Set: 6:30 a.m.
Morning Activity: Breezed 4f; not on work tab, hand-timed in :49 2/5
Planned Activity: Will have an easy day Monday with a possible blowout breeze on Wednesday
Closer Look: Japan's best-ever hope to take home the spoils of the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Takagi Noboru-trained , put in a 4f breeze on Sunday morning at Santa Anita, leaving the quarantine barn at 6:15, walking for 15 minutes to wait for the track to open and proceeding to the main track.
Allowed to ease into his work at the half-mile pole and around the far turn, he did not begin lengthening stride and quickening until turning for home, where he impressed onlookers henceforth and into a considerable gallop-out. While an official time was not published on the work tab he was hand-timed from the quarter-pole to the 6-furlong pole in :49 2/5 for that 4f sector.
“Very good,” an all-smiles exercise rider Masa Fukami said from atop the 10-time winner, while cooling out with eight laps of the parade ring.
Owned by Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings, the son of six-time Grade 1 winner and dual Arc runner-up Orfevre (also the sire of 2021 Distaff winner Marche Lorraine) has been a force since moving to the dirt, winning seven of eight, with his lone blemish coming off a five-month layoff on a sloppy track. The bay 6-year-old enters in the best form of his life, seeking a seventh consecutive victory. Two of his triumphs within said streak came — like the Breeders' Cup Classic — at the highest level and over 10 furlongs.
The first of those came in December's Tokyo Daishoten at Oi, one of only two Grade 1s in Japan beyond 1 mile, while the second was the $12-million Dubai World Cup at Meydan in March. Both efforts showed a locomotive-style rally that provided him with comfortable victories. His average margin of victory from his seven dirt victories is 2¼ lengths.
“Moving to dirt helped him,” said Noboru, through a translator. “The timing worked well and he grew up both physically and mentally from it. He was a difficult horse to control, but with dirt racing, everything matched him, I believe.”
Following a six-month post-Dubai break, he prepped for the Breeders' Cup with a facile victory in the $456,200 Nippon TV Hai over 1 1/8 miles at Funabashi, tight-turned and left-handed track. Left in his wake that day were Tenkaharu, a well-regarded son of Distaff champion Ginger Punch, as well as Saudi Derby runner-up Sekifu, who entered in career-best form and off a Grade 3 victory. Over similarly tight left-handed bends, he won February's $1,045,300 Kawasaki Kinen, seven weeks out from his Dubai World Cup conquering.
“The Breeders' Cup Classic is another big race and we are the challenger in here,” Noboru continued. “He won at Kawasaki, which also (like Funabashi) has tricky tight bends. I don't think Santa Anita's turns will be a problem.”
Japan's reigning champion jockey, Yuga Kawada, who was aboard for his victories at Funabashi and Meydan, has the return assignment next Saturday. Kawada already has made Breeders' Cup history, having piloted Japan's Loves Only You to win the 2021 Filly & Mare Turf.
Horse: White Abarrio
Trainer: Richard Dutrow Jr.
Set: 6:30 a.m.
Morning Activity: First day back on track after Friday breeze. Jogged once around the oval under exercise rider Emily Ellingwood.
Planned Activity: Will go to track between 6:30 and 6:45 to gallop 1 1/2 miles.
The Quote: “(Emily) was very happy with him. It looks like he came out of the workout really good.” – Chip Dutrow, Richard's brother and assistant.
Horse: Zandon
Trainer: Chad Brown
Set: Belmont Park
Morning Activity: Shipped to California from New York
Planned Activity: Arriving in California from New York
The Quote: “They look great, en route,” – Chad Brown, regarding Zandon and Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) hopefuls Randomized and Search Results.
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