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Breeders’ Cup Presents The News Minute: Let The Handicapping Begin

With 184 entries, including 48 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series Win and You're In victors, 37 international competitors and four returning champions, officials drew post positions for the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup world championship races today at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

There are nine full fields in the 14 races, including four of the five Future Stars Friday Breeders' Cup races on Nov. 6, giving horseplayers a virtual feast of handicapping opportunities.

The three Bob Baffert horses in the $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic drew the three outside post positions in the field of 10, headed by 5-2 morning line favorite Improbable in post eight. Trainer Barclay Tagg had hoped his Tiz the Law would draw outside, but he was not so lucky, drawing the No. 2 post position.

View today's Breeders' Cup News Minute below:

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Constitution Colt Stephen Wins Coronation Futurity At Woodbine

Al and Bill Ulwelling's 2-year-old colt Stephen tracked down the front-runners for a breakthrough victory in the 117th edition of the $250,000 Coronation Futurity on Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

Justin Stein earned star of the card honors as he notched his fifth win of the day aboard the Kevin Attard trainee, who defeated Tio Magico by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:52.46 to break his maiden in the featured 11/8-mile stakes race for Canadian-foaled 2-year-olds.

Tio Magico led the field of eight through fractions of :24.87, :49.20 and 1:13.15, with the favored Cup and Saucer Stakes winner Master Spy pressing the pace.

Meanwhile, Stephen, who followed second-to-last early on after an awkward start, was hustled into fifth-place on the final turn and tipped off the rail to run down Tio Magico in the stretch.

“He broke a little bit funny,” noted Stein, chalking the start up to the blustery weather conditions or the colt's inexperience, “but we recovered quick and I was happy with the trip we were getting and he just ran a good race.

“I had to make sure that he knew what was going on. I had to make him run a little more. He put his mind to the task when he got some daylight and took aim at the horse in front of him, he ran by him professionally.”

Giant Waters finished 2 1/2 lengths behind Tio Magico in third, with Master Spy, British Royalty, One Flint, Threefiftyseven and Flex completing the order of finish.

Stephen returned $6.30 to win as the 2-1 second choice in this third career start.

Attard said his trainee had always shown signs of talent and took a shot in the $250,000 restricted Simcoe Stakes for his August 30 debut over 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track. Although running eighth there, he gained valuable racing experience.

The bay colt entered the Coronation Futurity off a strong second-place effort, finishing just a half-length behind the Sam-Son Farm homebred Tio Magico in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight on October 4.

“Obviously, in the second race, I thought he ran great,” said Attard. “He showed a tremendous turn of foot, was coming to the winner and just ran out of real estate. He's trained well in the interim and he was coming into this race in great shape, so we were pretty high on our chances.”

Bred in Ontario by Trackwest Racing Inc., the colt by Constitution (named for former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper) was a $170,000 purchase from the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2-year-olds in training spring sale.

With a gifted youngster taking what is considered a significant 2-year-old race on the road to next year's Queen's Plate, Attard dismissed the myths of the “Coronation Futurity curse” with a laugh. (The last horse to complete the Coronation Futurity-Queen's Plate double was Norcliffe, who won this race in 1975).

“Streaks are made to be broken,” said Attard, hoping stars will align in the 162nd running of the Plate. “I was born in 1975 so the plan is to break this curse next year.”

Speaking of young talent, the Ulwellings' homebred 2-year-old Haddassah debuted a winner in the race prior for the same connections.

Live Thoroughbred racing resumes at Woodbine Racetrack on Thursday with an eight-race program set to kick off at 2:15 p.m. Please note that the upcoming Friday and Saturday cards will have special post times of 4:45 p.m. and 12:25 p.m., respectively.

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Australia: Melbourne Cup, The Race That Restarts A Nation

The Melbourne Cup, one of the great horse races on the planet – and probably the greatest cultural event in global racing – will be staged this Monday night (Post Time: 11:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. PT). Long referred to as “the race that stops a nation,” the Cup has famously brought sessions of parliament to a halt. However, as its host city emerges from one of the world's strictest lockdowns, this year's renewal might be more accurately referred to as “the race that restarts a nation.”

Melbourne has been the country's coronavirus hotspot, with a stringent lockdown of almost four months being eased just in the past week. While still unable to attend the races, the public is simply rejoicing in the newly found freedom to visit a pub or enter a TAB (the vast network of off-track wagering facilities, many of which are now contained within pubs – allowing the confluence of two great Aussie pastimes!).

While Flemington Racecourse won't play host to fans, it will welcome eight European horses as part of the 24-strong field competing for an $8 million purse. In a wide-open betting market – even by Melbourne Cup standards – wagering is headed by a trio of Euros. When rain delivered his preferred soft going, Irish import Sir Dragonet landed a betting plunge (12-1 into 6-1) winning the W.S. Cox Plate in his Australian debut. The Cox Plate is a highly prestigious weight-for-age race at 1 1/4 miles, in stark contrast to the two-mile Melbourne Cup under handicap conditions. Jockey Glen Boss, who became part of Melbourne Cup folklore aboard the race's only three-time winner, Makybe Diva, declared that Sir Dragonet (9-1) can capture the Cox Plate – Melbourne Cup double (last achieved, coincidentally, by Makybe Diva in 2005). However, Monday night's firmer footing might be a bigger issue than the race's conditions.

The other Europeans vying for favoritism share two impressive common denominators: the blood of Galileo and the conditioning of Aiden O'Brien. Tiger Moth (8-1) was narrowly beaten in this year's Irish Derby and will be making just his fifth career start. The race's 129-pound highweight is Anthony Van Dyck (7-1), who won the 2019 English Derby and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Turf. Anthony Van Dyck was an excellent second in his Australian debut and could provide a first Melbourne Cup win for Hugh Bowman, regular rider of the great Winx. Similarly, the Cup has eluded Winx's trainer, Chris Waller. Another mare would become Waller's second most famous horse, if Verry Elleegant (12-1) can replicate her victory over Anthony Van Dyck in the traditional prep race, the Caulfield Cup. Waller is also represented by a son of Frankel named Finche (17-1), who has performed consistently at the highest level in Australia since being imported two years ago. Finche has finished on the heels of the placegetters in the past two Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

As racing has become globalized, Australian horses have struggled to withstand the avalanche of international runners. Vow and Declare bucked the trend last year, becoming the first Aussie winner since 2009. Vow and Declare has lost form and is a 60-1 shot to repeat, but last year's winning rider, Craig Williams, has partnered with another Australian horse in Surprise Baby – whose sire happens to be that 2009 Australian-bred winner, Shocking. Surprise Baby was fifth in last year's Melbourne Cup, beaten just a length in a blanket finish, and has strong claims again at 9-1. While Vow and Declare is unlikely to repeat, his trainer Danny O'Brien also has Russian Camelot (12-1) coming off a third-place finish in the Cox Plate (he and Cox Plate winner, Sir Dragonet, are both sired by 2012 English and Irish Derby winner, Camelot).

Three jockeys – Glen Boss (Sir Dragonet), Kerrin McEvoy (Tiger Moth) and Damien Oliver (Russian Camelot) – have three wins in the great race and would equal the all-time record with one more triumph. Also of interest in the riding ranks is Jamie Kah, who currently leads the Melbourne jockey standings. Kah will have her first mount in the Cup and first ride on Prince of Arran (11-1). Her Melbourne Cup inexperience is balanced by the hardy 8-year-old gelding, who has finished second and thirdin the past two Melbourne Cups. Kah seeks to emulate Michelle Payne, who rode through the gender barrier in 2015 on 100-1 winner Prince of Penzance. Longshots abound throughout Melbourne Cup history and the strike rate of favorites is a meager 21%, so play your fancy and enjoy the spectacular spectacle.

The Flemington card will be broadcast on TVG this Monday night (First Post: 6:45 p.m. ET / 3:45 p.m. PT) alongside cards from Randwick, Doomben and Ascot. All races will also be live-streamed in HD with past performances available for free at skyracingworld.com and major ADW platforms. The new Pick 7 wager is available on the Flemington (AUS-A) card across races 4-10. Wagering is available via all the major ADW platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet, NYRABets, WatchandWager, HPIbet, AmWager, and BetAmerica.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Michael's vast U.S. experience includes; race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network and the 2016 Breeders' Cup on the International simulcast network. Michael also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.

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Heavy Favorite Dreaming Of Drew Wires Princess Elizabeth Field At Woodbine

Odds-on favorite Dreaming of Drew delivered on her pari-mutuel promise with a dreamy performance in the 75th edition of the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes for Canadian-foaled 2-year-old fillies on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

With blinkers added, the Speightster miss set her sights on her first added-money score, leading all the way in 1 1/16-mile main track feature for jockey Patrick Husbands.

Dreaming of Drew set fractions of :24 to the quarter, :48.71 to the half and 1:13.42 to three-quarters with Bodacious Miss and Justin Stein applying pressure on the final turn and Il Malocchio moving into contention from mid-pack under Sahin Civaci.

As Dreaming of Drew turned back Bodacious Miss and floated away from her foes down the stretch, Il Malocchio came through to finish second with the stalking Emmeline and Kazushi Kimura rallying to finish third over Bodacious Miss.

The chestnut filly, who won by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:44.07, concluded her five-race freshman campaign with two wins and two seconds, plus a fourth-place finish when facing Grade 1 company in the Natalma last time out.

Sent postward as the 4-5 favorite, she returned $3.90 to win.

“She's a dream,” said Barb Minshall, who trains the promising youngster for Hoolie Racing Stable. “She's been a great filly for us and I'm really looking forward to the future with her.

“Hopefully, she'll be an Oaks contender next year.”

Among the past Princess Elizabeth winners that have gone on to take the Woodbine Oaks are Nipissing (2012), Roan Inish (2009), Ginger Gold (2001) and Dancethruthedawn (2000).

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