Magic City Thoroughbred Partners’ Golden Ticket, dead-heat winner with Alpha in the Travers (G1) in August, was not pre-entered in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
“He worked really poor on Saturday and I was not happy,” trainer Ken
McPeek said of the five-furlong work in 1:02.40. “We scoped him after
the work and he was really clogged and had a lung infection.
“We postponed the decision until 11 yesterday morning, but it was
pretty obvious he was not 100 percent. We will nominate him for the
Clark (Handicap, G1, to be run November 23 at Churchill Downs) but it is
doubtful he’ll run. Our goal is to get him ready for next year and have
him compete with the top older horses.”
McPeek also said Charles Fipke’s Java’s War, third in the Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (G1), would not make the Breeders’ Cup.
“He had a 103-degree fever Saturday morning and his white count was up,” McPeek said. “He will be out for a period of time.”
McPeek does have one Breeders’ Cup pre-entry: Shortleaf Stable’s Atigun
for the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Marathon (G2) to be run November 2.
Atigun is scheduled to work this week and ship to California on Sunday.