Led by multiple grade I winner Game On Dude, defending Ladies’
Classic champion Royal Delta, dominating turf stars Wise Dan and Point
of Entry, and 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, 180 horses,
including eight defending or former Breeders’ Cup Champions, have been
pre-entered for the 2012 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
The 29th Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing’s most
prestigious global event, consisting of 15 races and purses totaling
more than $25 million over the two days, will be held at Santa Anita
Park for the sixth time on Friday, November 2 and Saturday, Nov. 3.
There will be six Breeders’ Cup races on Championship Friday and nine
Breeders’ Cup races on Championship Saturday.
The Breeders’ Cup will be televised live by the NBC Sports Network and
NBC. For the first time, the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic will be
televised live and in primetime on NBC (8-9 p.m. ET).
The Breeders’ Cup Classic, the climactic event of the Championships,
will be run on the main track at 1 ¼ miles. Since the event’s inception
in 1984, 11 winners of the Classic have been voted Thoroughbred racing’s
Horse of the Year, and this year, several horses could lay claim to
that title with a Classic victory. This Classic is led by Diamond Pride,
Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable and Bernie Schiappa’s 5-year-old
Game On Dude, trained by Bob Baffert. In 2011, Game on Dude held the
lead into deep stretch in the Classic at Churchill Downs, only to be
overtaken in the final yards by 15-1 Drosselmeyer.
This year, Game On Dude has returned to win four races in six starts,
including the Californian, the Hollywood Gold Cup and most recently the
Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park, where he has won all five of
his career starts. Baffert, has won eight Breeders’ Cup races in his
Hall of Fame career, but has yet to win the Classic.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott won last year’s Classic with
Drosselmeyer. Mott, who also trained 1995 Classic winner Cigar, has
pre-entered four horses for this year’s race: Ron the Greek, Flat Out
and To Honor and Serve. Royal Delta has been pre-entered as a second
choice Brous Stable and Wachtel Stable’s 5-year-old Ron the Greek, was
the division leader during the first half of 2012 with wins in the Santa
Anita Handicap in March and the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs.
Preston Stable's Flat Out, who earned an automatic berth into the
Classic with a win in Belmont Park's September 29 Jockey Club Gold Cup
through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series, was fifth in last year’s
Classic, when trained by Scooter Dickey. To Honor and Serve, a winner
of 8 of 16 lifetime starts, won the Woodward Stakes in Saratoga in
September.
Janis Whitham's homebred Fort Larned earned an automatic Classic
berth in Saratoga's Whitney in August and will look to build off his
third-place run in the Gold Cup. Ian Wilkes trains the 4-year-old son of
E Dubai, who is 7-for-18 lifetime and also owns wins in Gulfstream
Park's Skip Away in March and the Prairie Meadows' Cornhusker in June.
Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Mucho Macho Man, who won Belmont's Suburban
in July and was beaten a neck by To Honor In Serve in the Woodward for
trainer Kathy Ritvo; Will Farish Jr.'s Pool Play, perfect in two starts
over conventional dirt, with wins in the Hawthorne Gold Cup on Oct. 6
and last year’s Foster; Triple B Farm’s Richard’s Kid, third in the
Awesome Again, and 2011 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner Brilliant Speed,
would also deserve Classic consideration.
Since the retirement of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have
Another in June, the 3-year-olds have taking turns beating each other
and will bring a mixed bunch to the Classic. Godolphin Racing's Alpha is
the most accomplished, having won 4-of-7 this year for trainer Kiaran
McLaughlin, including dead heating for the win in the Travers. Donegal
Racing's Dullahan beat Game On Dude in track record time in Del Mar's
"Win and You're In" Pacific Classic in August. The son of Even the Score
has been a synthetic specialist and won Keeneland's Blue Grass (GI) in
April but did finish third in the Derby for trainer Dale Romans. Paul
Reddam’s Handsome Mike, who upset the Pennsylvania Derby for his second
career win for trainer Doug O’Neill, has also been pre-entered.
{2012 Breeders' Cup Classic field}
The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on turf precedes the Classic on the
Saturday program. Morton Fink's homebred Wise Dan, one of the most
versatile horses in training this year, leads this year’s pre-entered
field of 13.. The 5-year-old son of Wiseman's Ferry has won 4-of-5 on
turf and Polytrack, with his lone defeat coming by a nose in Churchill's
Stephen Foster on the main track to Ron the Greek. Trained by Charlie
Lopresti, Wise Dan broke a track record in winning Keeneland's Ben Ali
in April and has won three straight on turf this summer, the
Fourstardave at Saratoga, the Woodbine Mile in September and Keeneland's
Shadwell Turf Mile in his last start October 6. A Mile victory would
place Wise Dan squarely in the Horse of the Year picture. The Mile is
also set to mark the return of 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal
Kingdom, who has not started since winning an optional claiming race at
Gulfstream February 18 for Team Valor International and trainer Graham
Motion. Little Mike, who won the Arlington Million in August and the
Turf Classic at Churchill Downs for trainer Dale Romans, will cut back
for the Mile.
Europeans have enjoyed great success in the Mile and will be led by
Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith’s 4-year-old
Excelebration (IRE) who gained an automatic berth into the race with his
Breeders’ Cup Challenge win at Deauville in the Prix Jacques le Marois
on August 12. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Excelebration followed up that
triumph by winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on October 2.
Freddy Head trained Goldikova to an unprecedented three consecutive
Breeders’ Cup Mile wins. This year he brings George Strawbridge Jr.’s
4-year-old filly Moonlight Cloud (GB), who nearly defeated Black Caviar
at Royal Ascot in June in the Diamond Jubilee, but since then has won
two major races in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville and the Prix
de Moulin at Longchamp on September 16.
{2012 Breeders' Cup Mile field}
Championship Friday is accentuated by one of the most talented fields
ever for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at 1 1/8 miles.
Besilu Stable’s 4-year-old filly Royal Delta, the defending champion,
leads the nine pre-entered. The 4-year-old daughter of Empire Maker,
trained by Mott, looks ready to defend her title off a romping 9
½-length win in Belmont’s September 29 “Win and You’re In” Beldame. She
added that victory to her wins in the Delaware Handicap (GII) in July
and also Churchill’s Fleur de Lis in June.
Royal Delta’s many challengers include Stronach Stable’s Awesome
Feather, who will put her unbeaten 10-for-10 record on the line for
trainer Chad Brown. The 4-year-old daughter of Awesome Of Course won the
Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs in 2010 to
cap off a championship 2-year-old season and, after battling tendon
issues, returned from an eight month layoff to win Belmont’s Nasty Storm
by 11 ¼ lengths in a dazzling 1:33.47 for the 1-mile in her Ladies’
Classic prep. Green Hill Farm’s Love and Pride and Jay Em Ess Stable’s
Include Me Out, the 1-3 finishers of Santa Anita’s “Win and You’re In”
Zenyatta (GI) September 29, are two 4-year-old fillies who have been
pre-entered. The former, a 4-year-old daughter of 1992 Classic winner
A.P. Indy trained by Todd Pletcher, enters in career form, having also
won the Saratoga’s Personal Ensign in August over Royal Delta. Include
Me Out, a 4-year-old daughter of Include, earned an automatic berth into
the Ladies’ Classic with her win in Del Mar’s Clement Hirsch in August
for trainer Ron Ellis, and won a pair of graded stakes at Santa Anita
this winter in the La Canada in January and Santa Margarita in March.
The 3-year-old fillies are extremely formidable in the Ladies’ Classic,
led by Stonestreet Stable and George Bolton’s My Miss Aurelia, the
reigning Grey Goose Juvenile Fillies winner and Godolphin Racing’s
homebred Questing (GB), the 1-2 finishers of Parx Racing’s Cotillion on
September 22. Steve Asmussen trains My Miss Aurelia, a daughter of Smart
Strike who stayed unbeaten in six lifetime starts with her determined
head victory over Questing, a daughter of Hard Spun who won the Coaching
Club American Oaks and Alabama this summer at Saratoga for trainer
Kiaran McLaughlin. Add in Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stable and Stuart
Grant’s Grace Hall, who was second in the Juvenile Fillies last year and
recently won the Indiana Oaks at Hoosier Downs October 6 for trainer
Tony Dutrow, and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber’s In
Lingerie, who earned an automatic berth into the Ladies’ Classic with a
win over her elders in Keeneland’s Spinster on October 7 for Pletcher
and the 3-year-old fillies offer a serious challenge in the Ladies’
Classic.
Royal Delta, Awesome Feather, My Miss Aurelia, Amazombie (Sprint),
Musical Romance (Filly & Mare Sprint), California Flag (Turf
Sprint), St Nicholas Abbey (Turf) and Eldaafer (Marathon) are all
defending or returning champions pre-entered for this year’s Breeders’
Cup.
{Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic field}
In defending his title in the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf, run at 1 ½
miles, St. Nicholas Abbey, winner of the Coronation Cup at Epsom earlier
this year, is expected to face a major test in the Phipps Stable’s
4-year-old Point of Entry, who has won five in a row and three straight
grade I’s - the Man ‘o War at Belmont in July, Sword Dancer at Saratoga
in August and the Turf Classic at Belmont September 29. Slim Shadey (GB)
and Turbo Compressor, the 1-2 finishers of Santa Anita’s John Henry
(GII) September 30, are also pre-entered. Trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre
trained the first Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, Lashkari, in 1984 for HH
Aga Khan. This year, they have pre-entered the 4-year-old filly Shareta
(IRE), winner of both the Darley Irish Oaks and the Qatar Prix Vermeille
at Longchamp. The Japanese-bred Trailblazer, second in his US debut in
the Arroyo Seco Mile at Santa Anita, and the winner of the Kyoto Kinen
(G2) earlier this year, has been pre-entered.
{Breeders' Cup Turf field}
The complement for the Turf is the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf,
run at 1 ¼ miles on Championship Friday. Glen Hill Farm’s 4-year-old
filly Marketing Mix earned a berth into the race with her course and
distance win in the Rodeo Drive on September 29, and along with Zagora
(FR), second in Belmont’s Flower Bowl (GI) September 29, tops the U.S.
contingent. Their task could be a tall one, however, as several
Europeans have already been pre-entered, led by Nahrain (GB), second in
the Filly & Mare Turf last year, who earned a berth into this year’s
race with her win in the Flower Bowl at Belmont Park; I’m a Dreamer
(IRE), winner of Arlington Park’s Beverly D. in August; Ridasiyna (FR), a
winner of 4-of-5 starts this year, including the Prix de l’Opera at
Longchamp, and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Fugue (GB), second in the
Yorkshire Oaks (G1).
{Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf field}
This year, both the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint and
the $1.5 million Xpressbet Breeders’ Cup Sprint will be run on
Breeders’ Cup Saturday. Defending champion 5-year-old mare Musical
Romance returns in the 7-furlong Filly & Mare Sprint against the
4-year-old Groupie Doll, a winner of four consecutive graded stakes
races, including most recently the Thoroughbred Club of America at
Keeneland; and Test Stakes (GI) winner Contested, for trainer Bob
Baffert.
{Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint field}
Trainer Bill Spawr has the 6-year-old gelding Amazombie back to defend
his title in the Xpressbet Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Amazombie, a winner
twice in five starts this year, including the Bing Crosby (GI) at Del
Mar, and two Baffert runners, Coil, who won the Santa Anita Sprint
Championship and Capital Account, who won the Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del
Mar, lead the West Coast contingent. From the East comes the 3-year-old
The Lumber Guy, winner of the Vosburgh Stakes, and Forego Handicap
winner Emcee for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.
{Breeders' Cup Sprint field}
The 2011 Preakness winner, Shackleford, returns to try to improve upon
his second-place finish in last year’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt
Mile against Kelso Handicap winner Jersey Town and San Diego Handicap
winner Rail Trip.
{Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile field}
Each year, the 2-year-olds bring a certain air of excitement to the
Breeders’ Cup, with the present meshing with thoughts of the future, and
this year should be no different as both the 1 1/16-mile Grey Goose
Juvenile and Grey Goose Juvenile Fillies are loaded with untapped
potential.
The Juvenile Fillies offers a scintillating matchup between the West Coast’s divisional leader Executiveprivilege and the East Coast’s counterpart Dreaming of Julia,
who are a combined 8-for-8, with the former earning an automatic berth
in the track and distance Chandelier Stakes September 29 and the latter
earning a berth with a win in Belmont’s Frizette October 6.
{Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies field}
The Juvenile could culminate a perfect season for Shanghai Bobby, who
twice earned automatic berths into the race with wins in Saratoga’s
Hopeful in September and Belmont’s Champagne on October 6. Stiff
opposition could come from track and distance winner Power Broker, who
broke his maiden and gained an automatic berth in the FrontRunner (GI)
September 29 for Baffert.
{Breeders' Cup Juvenile field}
***
A maximum of 14 starters are allowed in each of the 15 Breeders’ Cup
World Championships races with the exception of the Dirt Mile (12).
Breeders’ Cup Limited has adopted a field selection system to select
runners 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 following
the taking of pre-entries on Monday, Oct. 22, to officially rank the
oversubscribed fields. The Racing Secretaries and Directors Panel (the
“Panel”) ranked all 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. Entry for the Breeders’ Cup World
Championships races will be Monday, Oct. 29 by 10:00 a.m. (PT). At the
time of entry, a maximum of 14 horses (or 12) will be accepted for each
race based on the order of preference established at pre-entry.
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
Breeders’ Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries 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 8:00 a.m. PT,
Friday, Nov. 2.
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