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Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings: Improbable Stays On Top, Swiss Skydiver Joins Top 10

Whitney (G1) and Awesome Again Stakes (G1) winner Improbable maintained his lead in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, while Tom's d'Etat rose to No. 2 and the filly Swiss Skydiver, who captured Saturday's 145^th Preakness Stakes (G1), enters the top 10 at No. 7.

The 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings is a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). The 1 ¼-mile Classic, scheduled to be run on Nov. 7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., is the climactic race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Improbable (312 votes), owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International and SF Racing, rose to No. 1 in the rankings following his dominant win in the Sept. 26 Awesome Again at Santa Anita Park. This week, GMB Racing's Tom's d'Etat, winner of the Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill Downs, jumped over Gary and Mary West, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Maximum Security (258 votes), winner of the TVG Pacific Classic (G1), into second place.

Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (233 votes), winner of both the Belmont (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1), remains in fourth place, followed by Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic (202 votes), who finished second by a head to Swiss Skydiver in the Preakness. Allied Racing Stable's By My Standards (166 votes) stays in sixth place.

Swiss Skydiver (124 votes), owned by Peter Callahan and trained by Kenny McPeek, became just the sixth filly in history to win the Preakness Stakes, prevailing in a dramatic stretch drive by a head over Authentic. The Preakness win gave Swiss Skydiver an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Swiss Skydiver also has a “Win and You're In” berth in the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), which she earned by capturing the Alabama (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 15.

Sagamore Farm and WinStar Farm's Woodward Stakes (G1) winner Global Campaign (84 votes) rises from ninth to eighth place, and Juddmonte Farms' Suburban Stakes (G2) winner Tacitus (76 votes) moves from 10^th place to ninth.

W.S. Farish's Code of Honor (72 votes), who finished second in Saturday's Kelso Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park, drops from seventh to 10^th place.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Oct. 7, 2020*

RANK	HORSE	TOTAL VOTES	FIRST-PLACE VOTES
1	Improbable	312	16
2	Tom's d'Etat	261	7
3	Maximum Security	258	6
4	Tiz the Law	233	4
5	Authentic	202	1
6	By My Standards	166	0
7	Swiss Skydiver	124	0
8	Global Campaign	84	0
9	Tacitus	76	0
10	Code of Honor	72	0

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 13. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

The 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be televised live on NBC.

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Robby Albarado, Luis Saez Tied In Jockey Of The Week Voting

With two extraordinary riding performances during the week of Sept. 28 thru Oct. 4, the Jockey of the Week panel of judges could not separate the riding achievements of veteran Robby Albarado and Luis Saez. The two riders tied for votes creating two Jockeys of the Week for the first time. The panel is comprised of racing industry experts. This award is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Robby Albarado's riding skills were on full display in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes aboard the filly Swiss Skydiver. The filly was the beneficiary of a quick decision by Albarado that helped propel her to the lead leaving the backstretch. From there she fought off a seemingly relentless challenge from Kentucky Derby winner Authentic.

Commenting on his ride, Albarado said: “I had an opportunity, a split second to take advantage of the rail because Johnny (Velazquez on Authentic) was sitting off the fence there. I made a conscience decision on the backside. Do I make the move now or do I wait to see if they come to me?”

Albarado made the move and into the history books. Swiss Skydiver became just the 6th filly to win the 1-3/16-mile classic race for 3-year-olds.

“It was a genius move by Robby coming up the fence,” said Ken McPeek, the trainer of Swiss Skydiver.

Fall Stars Weekend at Keeneland featured 10 graded stakes and Luis Saez won five for four different trainers. His wins included the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades aboard Simply Ravishing for Ken McPeek, and the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity with Essential Quality for Brad Cox. Saez became the 10th jockey to sweep the Alcibiades and Breeders' Futurity in the same year. His other stakes wins included the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster with Valiance for Todd Pletcher, the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes Presented by TVG on Leinster for Rusty Arnold and the Grade 2 Bourbon Stakes with Mutasaabeq for Todd Pletcher.

Saez's weekly stats were 22-9-3-3 for a win percentage of 41 percent, an in-the-money percentage of 68 percent, and total purses of $1,182,436 for leading money-earner honors.

Albarado and Saez out-polled fellow riders Junior Alvarado who won four stakes at Belmont Park, three of which were graded, Daniel Centeno with two stakes wins at Pimlico and Jose L. Ortiz with three graded stakes wins at Belmont Park.

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Bloodlines Presented By Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders And Owners Association: A Banner Weekend For Fillies

Around the world this weekend, fillies have made life hard on the colts. Notably, here at home in the States, the Daredevil filly Swiss Skydiver refused to yield to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) in the Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3.

At Longchamp in France, a pair of mares won Group 1 races against their male competition. In the 2 1/2-mile Prix du Cadran, the 5-year-old Princess Zoe caught the longtime leader Alkuin close to the finish and won the staying laurels in Europe. In the seven-furlong Prix de la Foret, the 6-year-old One Master (Fastnet Rock) won this important race for the third time. She was bred in England by Lael Stable, which also campaigns the talented racer.

The German-bred Princess Zoe is a daughter of the Montjeu stallion Jukebox Jury. The sire won the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot as a 2-year-old, then progressed to win the G2 Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket, the G2 Prix Kergorlay at Deauville, the G1 Irish St. Leger at the Curragh, and the G1 Preis von Europa at Cologne. The gray went to stud in Germany at Gestut Etzean in 2013, where Princess Zoe came from a mating in the stallion's second season of breeding, foals of 2015. In 2018, Jukebox Jury was transferred to Ireland and stands at Burgage Stud in County Carlow.

Daredevil, the sire of multiple Grade 1 winner Swiss Skydiver, has had a similar pattern at stud. The son of More Than Ready entered stud at WinStar Farm in 2016, then before his stock reached the races, was sold to the Jockey Club of Turkey and transferred to their studs in Eastern Europe, along with Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.

Swiss Skydiver, along with G1 Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil, are members of the first crop of racers by Daredevil, and they have raised his profile among breeders in Turkey and elsewhere. According to press reports out of Turkey, there is considerable interest in Daredevil from breeders around the world, and he may be put to use as a dual-hemisphere stallion.

The dam of Swiss Skydiver, the Johannesburg mare Expo Gold, has been added to the Keeneland November sale. The 12-year-old mare, in foal to first-year sire Catholic Boy (More Than Ready), will sell on the first day of the November sale as part of the Taylor Made consignment. In addition, two half-sisters to Swiss Skydiver have been consigned to the Keeneland November auction: the stakes-placed Miss Hot Legs, who is by Verrazano, a son of More Than Ready, like Daredevil and Catholic Boy, will be consigned by South Point Sales, agent, in foal to Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist; and Is It Gold (Indygo Shiner), will be offered as a broodmare prospect by Hunter Valley Farm, agent.

More Than Ready himself had a massively successful weekend, as the sire of Uni, winner of the G1 First Lady Stakes, and as the broodmare sire of Simply Ravishing (Laoban), the winner of the G1 Alcibiades Stakes.

The final filly who put the boys in their place was the Japanese-bred Gran Alegria, a daughter of the great sire Deep Impact. She shares a sire with the 3-year-old Contrail, who will attempt to win his country's Triple Crown after victories in the Satsuki Sho (2,000 Guineas) and Tokyo Yushun (Japan Derby).

In contrast to the classic winner Contrail, the 4-year-old Gran Alegria tackled colts in the G1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama over 1,200 meters on turf. Lagging behind all but one of her competitors, Gran Alegria went outside all the racers in front of her as she turned on a stretch finish that would have made Winx blush.

Turning into the stretch with only one competitor behind her, Gran Alegria swept past them all to win by two lengths in 1:08.3. It is an exhibition worth watching and a link to the race video is available on the website of Horse Racing in Japan.

This fast bay filly is out of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Filly Turf winner Tapitsfly (Tapit), who sold to Katsumi Yoshida for $1.85 million at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton November sale. A two-time G1 winner, Tapitsfly produced Gran Alegria as her first named foal, and the Sprinters Stakes winner is her dam's only surviving offspring. Tragically, Tapitsfly died foaling another Deep Impact foal on Mar. 2, 2018.

Some of the bravest and fleetest of our racers, mares put their lives into producing the next generation of racing stock. On the course and in the paddocks, they deserve our salute.

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Dual-Surface Colt War Of Will Likely To Make Final Career Start In Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Though War of Will has campaigned exclusively on the turf in 2020, including a victory in the Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile in July, the 4-year-old son of War Front will return to the dirt next month at Keeneland in what is likely to be his final career start.

According to bloodhorse.com, trainer Mark Casse is planning to enter Gary Barber's colt in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 7.

“It would be nice—he's already a grade 1 winner on the turf this year—to win another grade 1 on the dirt,” Casse told bloodhorse.com. “This will probably be his last start I would say before he retires to stud.”

War of Will will stand at Claiborne Farm for the 2021 season.

As a 3-year-old, War of Will won the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, the G2 Risen Star, and the G3 Lecomte, while also placing third in the G1 Pennsylvania Derby. He'd run on turf as a 2-year-old, finishing second in the G1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine and fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Most recently, War of Will finished third in the G1 Woodbine Mile. Overall, the colt's record stands at 5-1-3 from 17 starts with earnings of $1,871,803.