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Be part of the action as we cover the Triple Crown starting with the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. See the best of the best horses battle it out in the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.
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The 26th Breeders’ Cup World Championships, horse racing’s richest and most prestigious global event, consisting of 14 Breeders’ Cup races and purses totaling $25.5 million, will be held at Santa Anita Park on November 6-7 during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting. This will mark the first time that the Breeders’ Cup will be held at the same track in consecutive years.
“Based on the strength of the pre-entries, in a little more than a week at Santa Anita, racing fans around the world will be treated to full fields of the best horses from both the US and abroad and to two very enticing days of watching, wagering and rooting for their favorites,” said Breeders’ Cup President and CEO Greg Avioli.
Zenyatta, the 5-year-old super mare, winner of all 13 of her career starts including last year’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, has been pre-entered to race against male horses in the 1 1/4 mile, $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss and trained by John Shirreffs, Zenyatta has won all four of her starts this year against female competition, including most recently the Lady’s Secret Stakes over the Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita. Zenyatta, who has also been pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic on Championship Friday, has never before raced against males. If she can win the Breeders’ Cup Classic, she will surpass the mark of Personal Ensign, who also won all 13 of her career starts while facing top competition.
Zenyatta’s main challengers in the Breeders’ Cup Classic include Drs. K.K. and Vilasini Jayaraman’s 3-year-old Summer Bird, winner of three grade I races. Trained by Tim Ice, Summer Bird got rolling during the second half of the year, capturing the Belmont Stakes, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Last year, European horses won five Breeders’ Cup races and ran one-two (Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator) in last year’s Classic.
This year, there are 37 horses from Europe pre-entered. Trainer Aidan O’Brien brings two 3-year-old standouts for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic in Rip Van Winkle (IRE) and Mastercraftsman (IRE). Rip Van Winkle captured the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in July and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in September. Mastercraftsman won the St. James’s Palace at Royal Ascot in June and most recently took the Diamond Stakes at Dundalk in Ireland by five lengths. Mastercraftsman has also been pre-entered in the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
The 4-year-old Gio Ponti, who dominated the turf division this year in the US with four grade 1 wins, including the Arlington Million, and the 7-year-old gelding, Einstein, winner of the Santa Anita Handicap, last March, have also been pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
John Gosden trained last year’s Classic winner Raven’s Pass. This year, he brings 4-year-old filly in Dar Re Mi (GB), owned by Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, for the $3-million Breeders’ Cup Turf at 1 1/2 miles. Dar Re Mi is also pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, where she earned an automatic qualifying berth when she won the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh in Ireland.
Dar Re Mi is one of 20 horses pre-entered, who gained automatic berths into the Breeders’ Cup 2009 through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series.
The 4-year-old Conduit returns to defend his title in the Breeders’ Cup Turf for owner Ballymacoll Stud and trainer Sir Michael Stoute. Conduit has won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes this year.
Race horse trainer Michael Stoute also has pre-entered Juddmonte Farms’ Spanish Moon, who captured the Prix Foy at Longchamp and the group 1 Prix de St. Cloud in France this year.
Front-running Presious Passion, with four victories this year, qualified by winning the UN Handicap at Monmouth Park this year, and also tacked on the Clement Hirsch Invitational three weeks ago at Santa Anita.
Last year, Augustin Stables’ Forever Together stormed down the course to win the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. The 5-year-old mare, trained by Jonathan Sheppard, is back to defend her title against Yellow Ribbon Stakes winner Magical Fantasy and Juddmonte Farms’ 3-year-old filly Midday (GB), who won the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.
The 4-year-old filly Goldikova, one of the top rated Thoroughbreds in the world, seeks to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile on turf again for trainer Freddy Head, who rode Miesque to back to back victories in the 1987-’88 editions of the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Goldikova has won three group 1 races this year, including the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville by six lengths.
The American challengers include Oak Tree Mile winner Cowboy Cal and Shadwell Turf Mile winner Court Vision. The Michael Stoute trained Zacinto (GB), second to Rip Van Winkle in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Delegator (GB), winner of the Celebration Mile at Goodwood for Godolphin, have also been pre-entered.
If Zenyatta’s connections opt for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, then two fillies who could vie for favoritism in the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic are the 3-year-old Careless Jewel, winner of the grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga and Godolphin’s 4-year-old filly Music Note, winner of the Ballerina at Saratoga and Beldame at Belmont Park. The John Shirreffs-trained 4-year-old filly Life is Sweet, winner of the Santa Margarita at Santa Anita in the winter, and second to Zenyatta in the Lady’s Secret, has also been pre-entered.
Race horse trainer Bob Baffert has won the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Sprint three times, including the last two years with Midnight Lute. This year he unleashed the lightning fast 3-year-old Zensational for Zayat Stables. A winner in five of six starts in 2009, the son of 1995 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Unbridled’s Song has reeled off consecutive grade 1 scores in the Triple Bend at Hollywood Park and the Bing Crosby and Pat O’Brien at Del Mar.
Among the major contenders are the 4-year-old Fatal Bullet, winner of the Phoenix Stakes Breeders’ Cup Challenge qualifier at Keeneland, and Kodiak Kowboy, who captured the six furlong Vosburgh in New York. Godolphin has a late closer in Gayego, who zoomed down the lane to win the Ancient Title at Oak Tree.
Ventura is back to defend her title in the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, The 4-year-old filly has had another solid season which included defeating males in the Woodbine Mile on turf. She will face a formidable challenge from the Jonathan Sheppard-trained Informed Decision, who has won five of six starts this year, most recently the Thoroughbred Club of America at Keeneland.
Race horse trainer Bob Baffert seeks to win the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile for the second straight year with the undefeated Lookin at Lucky, who won both the Del Mar Futurity and the Norfolk Stakes at Oak Tree. From the East comes Paul Pompa Jr.’s D’Funnybone, who won the Saratoga Special and the Futurity at Belmont Park.
The $2-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies features Blind Luck, winner of the Oak Leaf Stakes for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, and Devil May Care, trained by Todd Pletcher, who won the Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park.
A maximum of 14 Breeders’ Cup starters are allowed in each of the 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championships races, with the exception of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, which are limited to 12 starters.
The Breeders’ Cup has adopted a field selection system to select Breeders’ Cup contenders in the event fields are oversubscribed. This system ranks horses in order of preference based on (i) Breeders’ Cup Challenge race winners, (ii) a point system, and (iii) the judgment of a panel of racing experts. The field selection system was implemented as necessary following the taking of pre-entries on Monday, Oct. 26, to officially rank the oversubscribed fields. The Racing Secretaries and Directors Panel (the “Panel”) will rank all the horses pre-entered in the oversubscribed races. After pre-entry, any vacancies in the fields will be filled by horses in order of panel preference. There will be up to two (2) also-eligible horses for each Championship race. The also-eligible horses will be designated in accordance with the Panel’s order of preference for each Championship race that is oversubscribed at the time of pre-entry. Scratch time for all Championships races to be contested on both Championship Friday and Championship Saturday will be 7:00 a.m. PT, Friday, Nov.6.
Horse racing news edited from www.breederscup.com.
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