Godolphin's homebred Grade 1 winner Proxy had his final serious drill on Sunday at Keeneland for his expected start in the $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.
The 5-year-old son of Tapit breezed five furlongs in 1:02 on the fast track with regular jockey Joel Rosario in the saddle.
The plan was to go in company with Godolphin's unraced 2-year-old colt Surveyor, but the duo was unexpectedly joined by workers from other trainers. Despite the surprise, trainer Mike Stidham, Godolphin Chief Operating Officer Dan Pride and Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan were all smiles watching from the grandstand.
“The main thing we were looking for today was that we would let him break off a little bit behind,” Stidham said. “The other horses getting in there was not planned. That just happened. It turned out to be four horses working together. And when Joel took him out – and got him out in the clear – that's what we wanted to see. He needed that type of work; that was the most important work.”
Stidham said Proxy will have a lesser workout on Saturday, Oct. 28 or Sunday, Oct. 29 before shipping to Santa Anita on Oct. 30. Pre-entries for the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be announced Wednesday, Oct. 25, and post positions will be drawn Monday, Oct. 30.
“Next week will be less of a blowout for the Breeders' Cup,” Stidham said about Proxy's next assignment. “Today's work was exactly what we were looking for. He handled it well and galloped out great and did everything right. We couldn't be happier.”
Proxy was outfitted with his usual brown cheekpieces that he wears in his races. The equipment, which is more popular in Europe than the U.S., has a similar effect as blinkers.
“When he was a 3-year-old, we had experimented with the blinkers, but we didn't think that they made a huge difference,” Stidham said. “We've used the cheekpieces on a few horses over the years, and they're just a bit more of a subtle change than actual blinker cups. They just take away the rear view, and they allow the horse to still have the peripheral view. We tried them in the morning; we thought that maybe they could help him to focus a little bit. And then we used them in the race and obviously, he's been running well with them, so we're not going to try anything new.”
Sunday's breeze was Proxy's third at Keeneland. He went five furlongs in 1:01 Oct. 7 and six furlongs in 1:15.20 six days later.
Winner of the 2022 Clark (G1), Proxy has two wins and two second from six starts this year. He took the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) in April and the Monmouth Cup (G3) in July. Proxy most recently finished a nose behind Breeders' Cup Classic candidate Bright Future in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) on Sept. 2 at Saratoga. An earner of $2.2 million with his 19-6-7-2 record, Proxy is scheduled to begin his stallion career in 2024 at Godolphin's Darley America at Jonabell Farm in Lexington.
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