Tag: breeders’ cup mile

Pletcher Sends Out Halladay, Valiance For Final Preps

Trainer Todd Pletcher looked on as Halladay [Mile] and Valiance [Distaff] breezed on the the dirt training track at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on Saturday morning in preparation for next weekend's Breeders' Cup World Championships to be held Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Harrell Ventures' Halladay, winner of the Grade 1 Fourstardave last out on Aug. 22 at Saratoga Race Course, worked solo through a half-mile in 49.21 seconds over the fast dirt training track.

“I was happy we were able to get it in today. The track dried out pretty nicely considering all of the rain we've had,” Pletcher said. “Halladay was a touch keen early on. He went off a little quick but then he relaxed, settled quickly, finished up strong and galloped out well. I was happy with that.”

Saturday's work was the third breeze back for the 4-year-old War Front gray after scratching out of the G1 Shadwell Turf Mile on Oct. 3 at Keeneland with a hind leg infection.

Halladay, who captured the Tropical Park Derby in December at Gulfstream Park, has posted a trio of triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures over his last four starts, recording wins in an optional-claimer [102] on the Gulfstream turf in April; a 1 1/4-length score in the G2 Bernard Baruch [103] at the Spa in July; and a 105 Beyer for his pacesetting Fourstardave effort.

“He's had a couple of extra days in between works,” Pletcher said. “We haven't been able to do a whole lot here with all of the rain and sloppy conditions. He was just feeling good, which is an indication that he's sharp and ready.”

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Martin S. Schwartz and China Horse Club's Valiance enjoyed success at the highest level last out in the nine-furlong G1 Spinster on October 4 at Keeneland. The victory marked the first graded stakes win for the 4-year-old Tapit gray, who registered a solo half-mile breeze in 49 flat Saturday.

“Valiance maintains form really well. Not only was her work good, but she galloped out well. She seems to be doing as well as she can at the moment,” Pletcher said.

Valiance, a six-time winner from eight starts, was purchased for $650,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. Out of the Grade 1-winning Empire Maker mare Last Full Measure, Valiance entered the Spinster from the off-the-turf Eatontown at Monmouth Park in August.

“When you go into races like this, they're going to be one of many Grade 1 winners in their respective races,” Pletcher said. “Both horses are in good form and doing well, we just need everything to go smoothly between now and then and have some racing luck.”

Jockey Luis Saez will pilot both Halladay and Valiance in their respective Breeders' Cup races.

Pletcher pre-entered five horses for next weekend's Breeders' Cup with his 2-year-old contenders Likeable [Juvenile], Mutasaabeq [Juvenile Turf], and Union Gables [Juvenile Fillies Turf / second preference Juvenile Turf Sprint] posting their final works on Thursday at Belmont.

The 53-year-old Pletcher, a seven-time Eclipse Award-winner, has saddled winners of five American Classics and 11 Breeders' Cup races. He enters Saturday's 10-race Belmont card just one win shy of 5,000 for his career.

The veteran conditioner will send out a trio of starters Saturday at Belmont as he looks to reach the milestone, including Kitten by the Sea [Race 2], Cap de Creus [Race 6, the $80,000 Zagora] and Jerry the Nipper [Race 7].

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‘Ability To Switch Off,’ ‘Cruising Speed’ Should Benefit Classic Winner Kameko In Breeders’ Cup Mile

A Group 1 winner at two and winner of the G1 2,000 Guineas in 2020, 3-year-old Kameko will be making the trip across the Atlantic to contest the Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland. Trained by Andrew Balding, the son of Kitten's Joy will enter the Mile off a victory in the Group 2 Joel Stakes, held over a mile at Newmarket.

“The Joel Stakes was as good a performance as the Guineas, really,” Balding said in a Twitter video produced by At The Races. “To give them five pounds and a beating in good style, it again cemented to the world what a high-class achiever this horse is.”

For work rider, Joshua Bryan, the chance to send the horse to the United States for the Breeders' Cup has long been on his mind.

“He's got one strong burst where he could blow away a whole field in a matter of strides,” Bryan said. “I always thought he'd be a great horse in America. He's by Kitten's Joy, who is obviously great out there, and he's got that nice cruising speed to get him out of trouble in America. I think whatever surface out there he would thoroughly enjoy.”

Kameko was bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, and commanded the bargain price of $90,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale from agent David Redvers on behalf of Qatar Racing. Now a four-time winner from nine starts with earnings over $500,000, the colt returns to his home state to take on the best in the world.

Kameko will have to overcome 2019 Mile winner Uni, as well as several horses who've had his measure earlier this season. Circus Maximus and Siskin both finished ahead of Kameko in the G1 Sussex Stakes over a mile, but with the potential for firmer ground at Keeneland next weekend, the classic winner's team is feeling confident.

“To this date he's been my favorite work horse,” said Bryan. “I've rode a lot of good horses here at Andrew's, but he has that ability to switch off. He's almost asleep in behind, and you don't need to move on him. He knows when he's gotta join, and all you have to do is just pull the rein a tiny bit to the right or left, wherever you're going, and he just takes off. It's a feeling you long for as a rider; it's incredible, really.”

The post ‘Ability To Switch Off,’ ‘Cruising Speed’ Should Benefit Classic Winner Kameko In Breeders’ Cup Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Magical, Mogul Top O’Brien’s 2020 Breeders’ Cup Brigade

Ballydoyle master Aidan O'Brien has a total of 10 horses under consideration for the trip to Keeneland to compete in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

Leading the way are his two hopefuls for the Breeders' Cup Turf, the well-traveled multiple G1 winner Magical and promising 3-year-old Mogul. Each will try to give O'Brien his sixth win in the 1 1/2-mile Turf.

Magical, the 5-year-old daughter of Galileo, has had a strong 2020 campaign. She boasts wins in the G1 Pretty Polly, G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, and the G1 Irish Champion, the latter by three-quarters of a length over Ghaiyyath. Most recently, the mare finished third over soft ground in the G1 British Champion Stakes on Oct. 17.

In her most recent trip to the United States, Magical ran a very game second to the since-retired superstar Enable in the 2018 edition of the Breeders' Cup Turf.

“(Magical is) an unbelievable filly,” O'Brien told the TDN. “She has run at the top level from when she was a 2-year-old. She's danced every dance and traveled everywhere. She is very comfortable from a mile to a mile and a half, which is very unusual. She is very brave, stays well, and has a good mind. She is an incredible mare. She ran very well the last day in very bad ground at Ascot, which wouldn't have suited her.”

Mogul, meanwhile, won his first top-level race on Sept. 13 in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris. The 3-year-old son of Galileo had to be scratched from the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe due to the feed contamination scandal.

O'Brien's other Breeders' Cup hopefuls are as follows:

  • Mile: Circus Maximus, Lope Y Fernandez, Order of Australia
  • Filly & Mare Turf: Peaceful
  • Juvenile Turf: Battleground
  • Juvenile Fillies Turf: Mother Earth, Snowfall
  • Juvenile Turf Sprint: Lipizanner

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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‘A Good Problem To Have’: Attard Debating Between Two Breeders’ Cup Races For Starship Jubilee

Winner of five of her six starts in 2020, Starship Jubilee is preparing to make the trip south from her Woodbine base to Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The 7-year-old daughter of Indy Wind won the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile over males in her most recent start, and she won the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor Stakes over 1 1/4 miles in 2019, so there are several options for her on Nov. 7.

Her trainer, Kevin Attard, is still waiting to decide whether he'll enter Starship Jubilee in the Breeders' Cup Mile or the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, according to the Toronto Sun.

“Obviously we want to give her the best shot of performing her best and (the decision) is going to come down to trying to see who's running where,” Attard told the Sun. “We've got a decent enough idea, but when we watch the pre-entries come out it's going to be a little more clear in that sense. The good thing about my filly is, she's very versatile. She's obviously shown that she can run a mile, she's shown she can run a mile and a quarter and we're lucky enough that the Filly& Mile Turf is 1 3/16ths. And that's within her wheelhouse – a little shorter than the 1 1/4 distance, which I like. But at the same token, she ran such a big race in the Woodbine Ricoh Mile, then you have to consider running her against the boys again one more time. It's a good problem to have.”

Named the Canadian Horse of the Year in 2019, Starship Jubilee was a $16,000 claim three years ago. She has since won a dozen stakes races, including two Grade 1 races, and earned over $2 million. Her record ahead of the Breeders' Cup stands at 19-5-3 from 38 starts, and she's showing no signs of slowing down.

“You don't really expect them to be around at seven (years old),” Attard told the Sun. “It's not really the normal that we see here in racing. But the fact is, she's arguably at her best now. She enjoys what she's doing… Every time you think the chapter's done and the book might be ready to close, she's on to the next chapter. So I'm enjoying the ride and I'm going to keep going with it.”

Read more at the Toronto Sun.

The post ‘A Good Problem To Have’: Attard Debating Between Two Breeders’ Cup Races For Starship Jubilee appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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