Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

Breeders’ Cup Possible For Sacred Bridge

Friday's G3 Round Tower S. heroine Sacred Bridge (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), who races in the colours of breeder Juddmonte, is a possible starter in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, as long as her European campaign concludes in satisfactory fashion, trainer Ger Lyons revealed to the Nick Luck Daily Podcast. The four-for-four bay's next target is the G1 Cheveley Park S. on Sept. 25.

Lyons, who saddled his 1,000th winner on Monday, told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, “The little filly gave me a 'wow' feeling on Friday–it was her fourth win, but I didn't get a 'wow' off her until Friday. That was a 'wow' performance.

“She literally goes through the motions at home and does what she's done. Every time I've gone to the races I've kept thinking 'is she up to this?', and every time she's produced.

“I love training 2-year-olds, and it's for that reason–you don't know what you're uncovering. It's when they hit the ceiling you go on to the next one, but she's still on the rise.

“Subject to us talking to the [Abdullah] family and everybody being on the same page, that's [Cheveley Park] where you would go with her.”

Sacred Bridge saluted at Naas when unveiled on June 23 and captured Tipperary's Listed Coolmore Ten Sovereigns Tipperary S. just seven days later. A winner of the €300,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane S. on Aug. 2, she was 3 3/4 lengths ahead of her rivals in the Round Tower.

Lyons added, “There's a lot of options open with her, including a trip to the States at the end of the year. If she stays in this form why not, that would have to come into the conversation that we'll be having close to the time.”

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Jersey Joe No More, Bravo to Ride Permanently in California

When Joe Bravo decided to leave New Jersey because of new regulations banning the use of the whip, his future was unclear. Bravo, 49, needed a place to ride, but leaving the comfortable confines of Monmouth Park might be difficult. He had been riding at the Jersey Shore track since the late eighties and has been leading rider there 13 times.

But rather than struggling outside of the Garden State, Bravo is having a meet to remember at his new home, Del Mar. With a week to go in the meet, Bravo has 20 wins, good for fifth in the standings. His winning percentage (20%) trails only Flavien Prat (27%).

Having proven that he can compete against the best at a top-tier track like Del Mar, Bravo has decided to make Southern California his home base and said he will be ready to go when racing shifts to Santa Anita Sept. 29.

“The old saying is that when one door closes another one opens,” he said. “In hindsight, this has been a complete blessing. It really shook up my life completely and made me pack my bags up and come to the other coast. It was all for the better. I'm so thankful for the opportunities I have had here.”

To test the waters, Bravo shipped west to ride the final three days of the Santa Anita meet and won two races from 10 starts. He could see right away that California horsemen were willing to give him a chance.

“After I got together with my agent, Matt Nakatani, I came here for the end of the Santa Anita meet and I was overwhelmed by the welcome I got from trainers and owners,” he said. “They were saying 'Joe, it's really good to see you out here.' It's one thing to say that, it's another thing to follow up. Look at who I've been riding for. It's all the top connections. There's no better feeling than that.”

Bravo has ridden winners for eight different trainers, including top outfits like John Sadler, Richard Baltas and Phil D'Amato. He's ridden eight winners alone for Sadler. He's also had three stakes wins, capturing the GIII Rancho Bernardo H. with Edgeway (Competitive Edge), the GII Best Pal S. with Pappacap (Gun Runner) and the Osunitas S. with Ippodamia's Girl (Stormy Atlantic).

“That's what everybody works for, to ride in the higher end races,” Bravo said.

Riding for top outfits like the John Sadler barn has obviously helped, but so has a mental adjustment. Looking back, Bravo realizes he had gotten complacent in New Jersey. He stopped working hard and was content to only ride three or four a day. That was good enough for third place in the Monmouth standings last year, but he was no longer a match for Paco Lopez, a younger jockey who had surpassed Bravo as the top rider in New Jersey.

Bravo knew that he had no chance to make it in California if he didn't come out in the mornings and if he didn't agree to ride in lower-level races.

“Of course I miss it. Jersey will always be home,” he said. “That's probably why the last couple of years I was enjoying the good life. The Jersey Shore is really nice and I wasn't really striving that hard for anything. With this shake up, it's revitalized me. I'm working hard and it's been kind of fun with the way things have been shaken up. I got into a little rut [in New Jersey] and horse racing had become a job. I had an easy go of it at Monmouth for a good run, but coming here has revived my career.”

One of the ironies is that he left New Jersey because of its whip rules only to land in the state with the second strictest rules when it comes to the crop. California riders can only hit their mount underhanded and are limited to six strikes a race. Though he says the California rules are definitely better than they are in Jersey, he is no fan of them.

“They are very strict here,” he said. “If you turn your stick up and hit a horse it's an automatic suspension. It was a very big adjustment for me to make. It's almost like riding with handcuffs. You can't get really aggressive. At least you can do some kind of encouragement. It is difficult, but you have to adjust. I do believe there should be riding crop rules. I just wish they would be a little bit more lenient so you can still have competitive horse races. You have to protect the owners, trainers and gamblers. You see some guys who have already hit their horses six times and there's still an eighth of mile to go and he has to stop. It makes it look like the rider has fallen asleep. Instead, they're just trying to follow the California rules.”

After Santa Anita, Bravo can look forward to the Breeders' Cup, which will be run at Del Mar. He's only won one Breeders' Cup race, with Blue Prize (Arg) (Pure Prize) in the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, but his success on the circuit should put him in line for some decent Breeders' Cup mounts. In a normal year, after the Breeders' Cup, Bravo would be on his way to Gulfstream. Instead, he will gear up for the long Santa Anita meet that begins Dec. 26. He's not going anywhere.

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After Overseas Disappointment, Ward-Trained Golden Pal Targeting Breeders’ Cup Return

Winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and heralded by trainer Wesley Ward as one of the best he's ever trained, Golden Pal was disappointing last out when seventh in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

Ward told At The Races that the race may have come up too quickly for the 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo; the Nunthorpe on Aug. 20 came a little over a month after Golden Pal's winning 2021 debut in the G3 Quick Call Stakes at Saratoga on July 15.

“Every trainer is different, but historically for me, when I bring a horse back from a long lay-off and they run a big race like he did at Saratoga, they need a little bit more time before they run again,” Ward told ATR. “Every horse is different and this horse trained beautiful going into it and came out of the race beautiful, so I think it was just a question of it kind of zapped him from the inside, that first big race he had (at Saratoga).”

Now, Golden Pal will be aimed at a return to the Breeders' Cup World Championships, to be held this November at Del Mar. Ward has yet to decide whether the Coolmore-owned colt will have a prep race prior to this year's Turf Sprint, but if he does, it could come at his home track: Keeneland's G2 Woodford Stakes on Oct. 9 is the most likely option.

Medina Spirit, Rock Your World Both Under Consideration For Awesome Again, Pennsylvania Derby

Following Sunday's battle in the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar, first and second-place finishers Medina Spirit and Rock Your World could be pointing to the same next race, according to the Daily Racing Form.

The $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 25 at Parx is one option both camps are considering, while the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 2 is the other. The Pennsylvania Derby is restricted to 3-year-olds but requires a cross-country ship; the Awesome Again would pit the sophomores against older horses, but doesn't require a major ship and also offers an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Trainer John Sadler was pleased with Rock Your World's effort in the Shared Belief, and is in no hurry to decide the Santa Anita Derby winner's next start.

“I thought he ran well,” Sadler told DRF. “I liked the fact that he kept digging all the way to the wire. It wasn't like he got beat and backed up. It was a good, strong race.”

Meanwhile, Bob Baffert is looking forward to the future with Medina Spirit.

“A mile and a quarter, a mile and a half, I think he could handle anything, that horse,” Baffert told DRF. “He came back great. It was an exciting race. The fans were into it. That was nice to see. It was good racing.”