Alpha – Godolphin
Racing’s Alpha galloped 1 1/2m under exercise rider Rob Massey at Santa Anita
Thursday morning in preparation for a scheduled start in the $5 million
Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Kiaran McLaughlin-trained 3yo colt then visited the
starting gate.
“He was super,” McLaughlin said.
Alpha has impressed his trainer with his development this
season, particularly his dead-heat victory with Golden Ticket in the Travers
Stakes at Saratoga.
“Physically and mentally he’s up to the challenge (of the Classic),
I just don’t know about ability. It’s a tough field,” said McLaughlin with a
chuckle. “He’s in tough, but he’s doing well.”
Alpha’s success at the 1 1/4m distance has given his trainer
a measure of confidence.
“He wants the mile and a quarter, but he might not want the
competition in there,” McLaughlin said. “But he’s doing great.”
Brilliant Speed – The 4yo son of Dynaformer arrived on by plane from New York
on Wednesday, but trainer Tom Albertrani was still stranded on storm-ravaged
Long Island, hoping to get out on a flight Thursday morning to California.
The Live Oak Plantation runner got
his first look at Santa Anita Thursday morning with a maintenance gallop
over the main track where he’ll contest Saturday’s Classic.
His entrance in the Classic came
as a bit of a surprise since Brilliant Speed’s last nine starts have been on
grass. Last year he led in the stretch of the Breeders’ Cup Turf before
finishing third behind St Nicholas Abbey.
“We just weighed all of our
options and decided to go back to the dirt,” said Albertrani, whose home is
still without power and his cell phone had to be charged in his car to make
calls. “He’s been a little disappointing this year (0-for-6 with three thirds),
but he’s had some good races on dirt in the past. This is going to be his last
race before he goes to stud, so we’re hoping he has one more big race in him.”
Despite having only three career
victories, two of them on grass, Brilliant Speed still has managed to earn $1.2
million from 20 career starts. He won the 2011 Blue Grass on Polytrack,
finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Belmont Stakes. His
last race on dirt came in Saratoga’s 2011 Jim Dandy, a fifth-place performance.
“We couldn’t be happier with the
way he’s been training,” Albertrani said. “He’s got a good post (six) in the
middle, so that worked out well. We know we’re taking a big step up here, but I
think he’ll run well. It’s been a rough week, so maybe it’ll end better.”
Brilliant Speed is getting a rider
switch to Junior Alvarado from Javier Castellano, who was aboard when he
finished third in the Bowling Green at Belmont Park on Sept. 8.
Flat Out/ Ron the
Greek/ To Honor and Serve – Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s Classic trio
galloped 1 3/8m Thursday morning and walked through the paddock on their way
back to the barn.
Mott is bidding for his record third victory in the Classic.
He won with the Hall of Famer Cigar in 1995 and Drosselmeyer last year. Charlie
Whittingham (1987, Ferdinand and 1989, Sunday Silence) and Jay Robbins
(2000-01, Tiznow) are the only other trainers to win the race twice.
Also, Mott is in position to repeat his sweep of the Ladies’
Classic and the Classic that he accomplished last year with Royal Delta in the
Ladies’ Classic and Drosselmeyer in the Classic. Royal Delta is the morning-line favorite in
the Ladies’ Classic. John Shirreffs completed the double in 2009 with Life is Sweet
in the Ladies’ Classic and Zenyatta in the Classic.
Flat Out was moved into Mott’s care this year by the owner,
Preston Stables. The 6yo Flatter horse was previously trained by Charles
“Scooter” Dickey. Last year, Flat Out won the Jockey Club Gold Cup before
running fifth, beaten three lengths, in the Classic. Mott used a similar
schedule this year and Flat Out repeated in the Jockey Club Gold Cup by a head
over Stay Thirsty.
“We haven’t changed anything,” Mott said. “The trainer that
had Flat Out last year did a very good job and I guess I was the lucky
recipient of him because the people wanted him in New York.
“They thought that if he trained up in Saratoga it would
probably be a benefit to the horse because he’s always been plagued with having
some tender feet. I train at Payson Park and I train at Saratoga (on the
Oklahoma training track) and they felt it would probably give him his best
chance for his feet to stay in good shape. They are two very forgiving tracks
for that particular issue. So far we’ve been very lucky with him.
“He’s a challenge because of sometimes tender feet, but
we’ve just trained him like a horse and he’s been a willing student and done
everything we’ve asked of him, and most of all, won the Jockey Club Gold Cup
last time, which was a big move for him.”
Ron the Greek was transferred to Mott in the summer of 2011
and has blossomed into a four-time stakes winner. He won the Santa Anita
Handicap over this course in March and the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on
June. In a rare off-the-board finish he was a well-beaten sixth in the Jockey
Club Gold Cup on Sept. 29.
“In his last race, I think he was compromised a little bit
by the racetrack condition,” Mott said. “We had a lot of rain in New York and
the track surface was probably a little bit slippery. It was a little wet underneath
and I’m not sure that he was really getting a hold of it. He never looked like
he was comfortable over the surface. I would say we’re probably not going to
get rained out here on the weekend, so that would be a good thing for him
because I don’t think a wet track is his optimum surface.”
Mott has trained To Honor and Serve throughout his
three-year, 16-race career. The Bernardini colt, owned by Live Oak Plantation,
has won eight times and earned $1,798,840 in purse money. To Honor and Serve
won the Nashua and Remsen as a 2yo and was a top Kentucky Derby candidate in
2011. He was found to have a leg injury and needed a break that kept him out of
the Triple Crown races.
“He came back and won an allowance race at Saratoga, the
Pennsylvania Derby and then the Cigar Mile after he was beaten only 3 1/2
lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” Mott said. “He came back and showed us
that the wait was worthwhile. He paid us back for giving him a little time off
earlier in the year last year.”
Mott said there were high expectations for the colt right
from the beginning.
“One thing he did
early on in his career is that he broke his maiden in his second start and then
went on to win two graded stakes as a 2-year-old,” Mott said. “Obviously, going
in with the hopes that we had for him after he won the Remsen, as a Derby
candidate the next year, we were very, very excited. It didn’t work out. He
developed the splint problem, we had to back off of him and he missed the
Triple Crown races. That’s the nature of the business.
“I didn’t think he was in good enough shape to run in the
Kentucky Derby and so we opted to give him some time. We had him back late in
his 3-year-old year and his 4-year-old year. He’s a very sound horse now,
although he’s probably going to go to the stallion barn after the Breeders’
Cup. He would be fine to run another year if we wanted him to.”
Fort Larned – Janis
Whitham’s Fort Larned made his initial appearance on the track at Santa Anita
Thursday morning, backtracking to the wire and then galloping a mile under
exercise rider Kate Merritt.
“I just wanted to give him a light day today,” trainer Ian
Wilkes said of Fort Larned, who arrived at Santa Anita on Wednesday afternoon.
“The plan is to school in the paddock this afternoon and then go out about 6
tomorrow morning.”
Fort Larned’s trip to California was delayed a day because
of the disruption of travel because of Hurricane Sandy.
“The plan was to ship Tuesday and then have a walk day here
Wednesday,” Wilkes said. “It is just one day and if one day makes a difference,
then we are in trouble. I am very happy with where he is and he is doing very
well.”
Fort Larned will be ridden in the Classic by Brian Hernandez
Jr., who has directed the 4yo homebred to three victories and a third-place
finish the four times he has been aboard.
“They make a good team and he lets the horse do what he
wants,” Wilkes said. “Not that the other riders didn’t, but we wanted someone
who would stick with the horse and Brian has.”
Hernandez will be flying here Friday night after he fulfills
a riding obligation that afternoon at Churchill Downs for Wilkes with Neck ‘n
Neck in the Ack Ack Handicap.
Game On Dude – The
Classic morning-line favorite had another strong gallop Thursday morning,
heading out with trainer Bob Baffert’s 7:45 set under regular exercise rider
Dana Barnes. He returned to the Baffert
barn on the Santa Anita backstretch and got a treat of a couple of carrots from
Barnes, who is married to Baffert’s chief assistant, Jim Barnes.
Jim Barnes was asked how he thought Game On Dude was doing
coming up to the Classic. “Super,” he said. “He couldn’t be doing better.”
Baffert, who stations himself in the middle of the track’s
grandstand terrace to watch his extensive crew of workers and gallopers, backed
the Barnes assessment all the way.
“He’s on his game,” Baffert said. “Some of my horses, they
don’t have to work well to run well. Capital Account (Sprint) is one. He never
works well, then he runs great. But with ‘Dude,’ he needs to work well to run
well. He’s been training great and he figures to run that way, too.”
As he watched his horses train, Baffert was asked by a media
member which one of his 10 Breeders’ Cup runners had the best chance to win.
The trainer narrowed it down to four, with one of them being Game On Dude. The other three were Executiveprivilege,
Power Broker and Title Contender.
Handsome Mike/Richard’s
Kid – The Doug O'Neill trainees each galloped 1 1/2m on the main track at
Santa Anita Thursday under exercise rider Jonny Garcia to O’Neill’s satisfaction.
The entrance to O'Neill's Barn 88 is adorned with wall
placards honoring 2012 victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness
Stakes by I'll Have Another.
"We've taken time to celebrate a great year so far, and
it would be absolutely incredible to add a Breeders' Cup win," said
O'Neill. "That feeling would be hard to put into words.
"I'm just so blessed to be here," added O'Neill.
"If both stay injury-free and get to the gate, I think they both have a
great chance."
Pennsylvania Derby winner Handsome Mike is owned by
Paul Reddam, who owned I'll Have Another and owns five of O'Neill's seven
Breeders' Cup entrants.
"I met Paul through Mark Schlessinger, another
client, about 10 years ago," said O'Neill, never dreaming of the heights
they would reach. "He got Paul to claim a horse." O'Neill trains
about 15 horses for Reddam.
Mucho Macho Man – Reeves
Thoroughbred Racing’s Mucho Macho Man took to the Santa Anita track Thursday
morning, demonstrating no negative side effects from his cross-country flight
on Wednesday. The strapping 4yo colt galloped a 1 1/2m under Nick Petro Jr.
before visiting the starting gate on the way back to Barn 66.
“He just floats (over
the track),” said Ritvo, who accompanied Mucho Macho Man on the flight from
Newburgh, N.Y. “He was very professional today. Everything’s fine.”
Mucho Macho Man, who stands over 17 hands, has followed up a
solid 3yo campaign that included a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby,
with a successful season this year, winning the Sunshine Millions Classic,
Gulfstream Park Handicap and Suburban.
“It’s been unbelievable. He’s just a great horse,” Ritvo
said. “He’s a nice horse to be around. He’s got a nice personality.”
Ritvo, who grew up in a racing family at Suffolk Downs, is
enjoying the ride with Mucho Macho Man.
“There’s no pressure. He does the job. He makes it easy.
There’s not any pressure to me. I waited six months for a transplant, for my
heart. This is easy,” said Ritvo, who suffered from degenerative heart disease
before undergoing a successful transplant four years ago.
“The first time I ran in a big race, maybe it was the Derby,
with my new heart, I thought, ‘I wonder how I’ll feel.’ But I was fine. I’m
very blessed.”
Nonios – TheClassic prospect had a routine jog
Thursday morning following a walk day on Wednesday.
“He jogged to the paddock where he checked things out,” said
Christina Jelm, looking after matters for the absent Jerry Hollendorfer. The
son of Pleasantly Perfect then jogged to the gate for a “standing” moment and
then jogged on to the barn.
Hollendorfer, who spent Wednesday at his Northern California
base at Golden Gate Fields, was to return to Santa Anita later on Thursday
morning.
Pool Play – As
owner Bill Farish and trainer Mark Casse watched Classic contender Pool Play
come off the track following his easy gallop on Thursday morning, their faces
lit up with big smiles.
“I’m very, very happy with him right now,” said Casse, who
the day before said he believes that the 7yo multiple graded stakes-winning son
on Silver Deputy is peaking at the perfect time.
Casse, ranked fifth among all North American trainers in
earnings with $9,074,935 and also fifth in the number of graded stakes wins
(13), is having his most successful season. The four-time Sovereign Award
winner as Canada’s outstanding trainer credits Farish with giving him a leg up
earlier in his career.
“So much of what’s going on in my life has to do with Bill,”
said Casse, who estimates he has won about 30 stakes this year and will saddle
five horses in the Breeders’ Cup. “I was kind of just going along and Bill gave
me the opportunity to go out and buy some horses and show what I could do, and
then others took notice. So I owe a lot to Bill.”
Casse will saddle Dynamic Sky in the Juvenile and Spring in
the Air in the Juvenile Fillies for John Oxley, with whom he has been
associated for many year, as well as Delegation in the Dirt Mile and Spring
Venture in the Juvenile Fillies Turf for Gary Barber, with whom he had dinner
last night.
“I only met Gary for the first time this week even though
I’ve been training for him for two years. He’s a wonderful man and he’s pretty
hands on. He knows what’s going on and he knows what he’s doing,” said Casse.
“Mr. Oxley, and his wife as well, love this game and he told me they are living
the dream. They’re on their way to Santa Anita and are very excited.
“We’re fortunate in that we have some wonderful owners who
have faith in us and are letting us go out and spend the money. Hopefully, it
will be a snowball effect. In this business, I never take anything for granted.
I live each day happy with it all.”
Pool Play is Casse’s first Classic horse and he is looking
for his first Breeders’ Cup victory. In 10 previous tries, he has one second
(Sealy Hill in the 2008 Filly & Mare Turf) and one third (2010 Juvenile
Fillies third-place finisher Delightful Mary, owned by Oxley).