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Maker-Trained Field Pass Ships West For Twilight Derby; Taishan Seems To Prefer Grass

Field Pass was en route from Kentucky to California this morning to compete in next Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Twilight Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita Park.

The gray son of Lemon Drop Kid is one of five horses trainer Michael Maker had nominated to what is shaping up as a race worthy of Grade I consideration down the road.

“He prefers firmer going; that was the main reason bringing him in for the race,” Maker said by phone from the Blue Grass State.

Field Pass has five victories from 13 starts, including the Transylvania at Keeneland on turf and the Jeff Ruby Steaks on Polytrack at Turfway Park, each a Grade 3 event.

The Twilight Derby drew 21 nominations, eight conditioned by “out of town” trainers, including one by Todd Pletcher and the aforementioned five by Maker.

“Field Pass is very good around the barn but a bit of a handful to gallop,” Maker said. “Other than that, he's pretty straightforward.”

Louisville native Drayden Van Dyke has the mount.

Richard Baltas hopes Taishan wins his first stakes race when he runs in the Twilight Derby.

Taishan, a Candy Ride colt, was second last out in the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs Sept. 5, losing by only a half-length in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, despite being bothered at the start.

“It was his first time on grass and it was a very good effort,” Baltas said of the Kentucky-bred bay owned by Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran. “It was a half-million dollar race and there was a lot of speed, so I think it kind of set up for him.

“That being said, I think he was always meant to be on the grass. He ran against some tough horses on dirt at Oaklawn in Nadal (winner of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on May 2).

“Candy Rides are pretty versatile but I think they prefer the turf.”

Taishan's first three races were in Southern California, but his last seven included stops at Oaklawn Park, Indiana and Churchill Downs.

Florent Geroux, who rode Taishan in the American Derby, was impressed with his performance.

“They wanted me to get a position (near the lead) but they were rolling in front so we went to Plan B,” the Frenchman said after the race. “I set off inside nicely and made one run. He ran a big race, first time on grass. He handled it perfectly.

“He's a nice horse. He'd been working very well and I'm very happy with the way he ran.”

Taishan was a distant fourth in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at a mile on dirt at Santa Anita Jan. 4 behind Authentic, who would go on to win the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

Any way it shakes out, the Twilight Derby has the look of a very contentious race.

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Jockey Club Gold Cup Winner Happy Saver Jumps To Fifth In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

When he surged up the rail and hit the finish line first in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 10, Happy Saver inserted himself into the discussion of top tier contenders in the sophomore male division. Indeed, when the votes were tallied in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll, the son of Super Saver found himself among the elite.

Happy Saver bested a field that included such older foes as graded stakes winner Tacitus in the Jockey Club Gold Cup to give trainer Todd Pletcher his long-awaited first triumph in the storied race. That victory, which also marked the colt's first try against graded stakes company in four career starts, earned Happy Saver 174 points this week to move him into the fifth position. Following a debut victory on June 20 at Belmont Park, Happy Saver prevailed going two turns at Saratoga en route to a triumph in the Sept. 7 Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, ahead of his Jockey Club Gold Cup outing.

“What he's been able to accomplish you don't see very many other horses do,” Pletcher told the NYRA publicity team of Happy Saver. “He went from a seven-furlong maiden on June 20 to a mile and an eighth allowance at Saratoga, to a mile and an eighth stake at Laurel and came back to Belmont and then to win a Grade 1 going a mile and a quarter against older horses is something you don't see very often.”

Whether Happy Saver heads to the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7 is still to be determined. Should he end up in that starting gate, his list of challengers will likely include Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, who continues to hold the top spot in the 3-Year-Old Poll.

Authentic, who was beaten a neck by the filly Swiss Skydiver in the October 3 Preakness Stakes, earned 17 first-place votes and 342 points to hold onto the top spot for yet another week. Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law remains second with eight first-place votes and 328 points with Swiss Skydiver (12 first-place votes, 326 points) in third.

Grade 2 winner Art Collector (203 points) holds down the fourth position ahead of Happy Saver while Grade 1 winner Honor A. P., who has been retired to stud, drops one spot to sixth with 129 points.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Gamine (103 points) is seventh with Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil and Max Player now tied for eighth with 80 points apiece. Grade 2 winner Mystic Guide, who was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, rounds out the top 10 with 57 points.

With sophomore runners taking the top two spots in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the handicap division had no major shifts this week. Multiple Grade 1 winner Improbable remains out front in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 32 first-place votes and 365 points as the son of City Zip has won three straight top-level contests.

Champion Maximum Security, runner-up to Improbable in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes on Sept. 26, is second with two first-place votes and 271 points. Tom's d'Etat (two first-place votes, 218 points) is third followed by Vekoma (one first-place vote, 202 points) and champion Monomoy Girl (191 points).

Multiple graded stakes winner By My Standards remains sixth with 147 points while Authentic (124 points) and Tiz the Law (117) rank seventh and eighth, respectively. Swiss Skydiver (104 points) and multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (71) complete the top ten.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in both the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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Magical Set To Defend Her Title In Saturday’s QIPCO Champion Stakes

The £750,000 (approximately US$885,866) QIPCO Champion Stakes held on Saturday, Oct. 17, will be the richest race in Great Britain this year and looks set to be the race of the season with Magical and Addeybb, who dominated the finish of last year's renewal, renewing old rivalries again.

Magical prevailed by three-quarters of a length 12 months ago, after which her trainer Aidan O'Brien intimated she had run her final race.

However, the daughter of Galileo was kept in training and the decision has been handsomely rewarded, with the mare chalking up three more Group 1 victories (taking her overall haul to seven) and probably running as well as she's ever done when getting the better of Ghaiyyath, the world's highest-rated turf horse, to win a second Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown last time.

She could be joined in the line-up for the mile-and-a-quarter showpiece by star stablemates Serpentine, this year's Investec Derby winner, plus Mogul, winner of the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris, not to mention last year's Juddmonte International winner Japan, and Sovereign, winner of last year's Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.

Addeybb has not rested on his laurels, either, chalking up two Group 1 victories in Australia in the spring before finishing runner-up in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. He swiftly got back to winning ways in a Listed race at Ayr last time.

Standing in the way of the O'Brien contingent and Addeybb are two outstanding candidates trained by John Gosden in Mishriff, the Prix Du Jockey Club victor, and Lord North, emphatic winner of the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

Mishriff followed up his French Classic success by landing a Group 2 contest at Deauville, while Lord North was third behind Ghaiyyath and Magical in the Juddmonte International at York on his latest start.

Another fascinating runner among the home team is the William Muir-trained Pyledriver, who drops half a mile in distance after being beaten just over a length into third in the Pertemps St Leger at Doncaster last time. His exploits earlier in the season included emphatic wins in the King Edward VII Stakes, at Royal Ascot, and Sky Bet Great Voltigeur, at York.

Muir is delighted by the well-being of his stable flagbearer and is relishing dropping him back in distance. The trainer, seeking a first Group 1 win after 29 years with a licence, said: “He's getting stronger and is starting to retain his weight easier. His work has been good, the same as ever, and I'm very confident I've still got him at his best.

“I think if it hadn't been for this type of year, we would probably not run him over a mile and a six in the St Leger. You can't be dogmatic and say he didn't stay because he ground it out, but that was his class. He wasn't as effective because we took his gears and speed away from him. Martin [Dwyer] was sitting, waiting and having to hold him on to him when he wanted to kick.

“I'm not worried about the ground and the trip won't be a problem. Straight after he won the Voltigeur, the jockey went on TV and said he had the pace to win a Group 1 over a mile and a quarter.”

Pyledriver will be staying in training next year. Muir said: “We've got loads to look forward to with this horse and, no matter what else, the boys [the trio who own the horse] have had a fantastic time. We've enjoyed every minute of it and we've got next year and the year after with him, when we will be looking at the big races all around the world.”

Cirrus Des Aigles (2011) and Almanzor (2016) have been French-trained winners of the QIPCO Champion Stakes in the past decade and Skalleti will attempt to again take the prize across the Channel.

The 5-year-old grey, trained by Jerome Reynier, has won 12 of his 15 races and scooped the Group 2 Qatar Prix Dollar for a second time at Longchamp this month. Before that, he had mastered Sottsass, the subsequent Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, in a Group 3 contest at Deauville.

Other possibles among the 16 entries include three-time Group 1 winner Benbatl, who is also engaged in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (sponsored by QIPCO).

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Breeders’ Cup Contender Harvest Moon Winning ‘For Her Mama’

Alice Bamford, co-owner and breeder of Harvest Moon, gives her beloved 3-year-old filly a pep talk before every start. “Harvest Moon,” she will say, “go and do it for your Mama.” It can be debated whether the horse understands Bamford’s encouraging words. There is no questioning her response, however.