Photo: NYRA, Adam Coglianese
The 2012 Breeders’
Cup Pre-Entries are in. While there is still time to come in late time is
running out as Monday is the official entry deadline for all divisions. If the
Juvenile field does not increase it will feature three accomplished trainers
that will all be going for the very first Juvenile win.
Breeder's Cup Juvenile Pre-Entries
Outside of
Mark Casse, John Sadler or Kiaran McLaughlin scoring their first Juvenile there
is one other big question; will Know More be running? The promising young colt has officially been
pre-entered in both the Juvenile Turf and the Juvenile but right now the first
choice is the turf dropping the Juvenile field to nine. If so, one
thing is for sure; a smaller field means better odds that 2012 becomes a
memorable Breeders’ Cup first for one of these three trainers.
John Sadler
is set to play a strong hand this year. He has two horses pre-entered and being
that he is a West Coast trainer he’s definitely in a better position to keep
his Breeders’ Cup momentum going. In 24 lifetime starts Sadler has a record of
0-2-3 and earnings of $1,365,500. Before 2008 Sadler missed the board in his
first eight starts. In 2008 however, he got over the hump when he finished
third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita. Since then he hasn’t left a Breeders’
Cup without hitting the board including two 2nd place finishes in
the last two years.
Believe or
not another interesting fact about Sadler is that despite his previous 24
starts, 2012 will be his first Juvenile. What better way to get the ball
rolling then by playing twice. In my opinion Capo Bastone has a better shot. By
Street Boss and Fight To Love this young colt gets my vote because he is Graded
Stakes tested. After breaking his maiden in his career debut, Capo Bastone returned
at Del Mar for the G1 Del Mar Futurity. After a 4th place finish in
the 12 horse field it was on to the G1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita.
Despite a shaky start Capo Bastone showed a lot poise for a 2-yr-old when he made
a strong move from last to finish 3rd.
Set to go
for Sadler as well is Monument, a pure California bred by Cindago and Grant
Marty a Wish. He may not be as well known because he has yet to enter a Graded
Stakes but he may be on the rise. In four lifetime starts Monument holds three wins
and one second place finish. His most notable accomplishment was earlier this
month at Santa Anita, a victory in the Bob Benoit California Cup Juvenile
Stakes. The 2 ¾ length score over a 1 1/16 Mile was probably the effort Sadler
needed to give him the green light for the Juvenile. But he got it so, Monument
enters as a dark horse that we may need to keep an eye on and list as a
potential spoiler.
Of the
three Kiaran McLaughlin is without a doubt the most successful Breeders’ Cup
trainer. In 21 lifetime starts he holds a record of 2-3-1. His two big wins,
Invasor - 2006 Classic and Lahudood – 2007 Filly & Mare Turf, helped bring
his total BC earnings up to 5,086,200. Even with his outstanding Breeders’ Cup
record McLaughlin isn’t a Juvenile regular either. In fact, 2011 was his very first Juvenile when Alpha finished a disappointing 11th. Luckily for Alpha he will have the chance to rebound from that in the Breeders’ Cup Classic this year. As for McLaughlin he is also ready for a rebound in the 2012 Juvenile
with Fortify.
Also owned
by Godolphin Racing and by Distorted Humor and Kotuku, Fortify has so far had
to deal with an unfortunate event on back to back occasions; racing against
Shanghai Bobby. But to be the best you have to beat the best so maybe Fortify
is waiting for just the right moment to settle the score on a runner-up finish
in the G2 Hopeful and 3rd place in the G1 Champagne.
In ten career
Breeders’ Cup starts Mark Casse is 0-1-1 with a lifetime earnings of
$1,030,000. In his ten starts eight have been in one of the Juvenile
divisions. Although the Juvenile Fillies has been the dominant race, 5 lifetime
starts, Casse has had two previous entries in the Juvenile. He did not hit the
board in 2006 or last year with Prospective but he’s back in 2012 with Dynamic Sky.
By Sky Mesa
and Murani this Canadian bred colt will be heading out to the dirt for the very
first time. We’ll see how that turns out but one thing I really like about this
horse was his closing effort in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. Coming
around wide through the final turn he made a bold move on Joha at the front of
the pack and came at him with everything he had. Although it was not enough he still finished 2nd and I was impressed.
One of the
biggest obstacles in the way of these trainers is a pair of horses that have
shown the most 2-yr-old talent. What makes it even more challenging is that their
trainers have already scored in Juvenile. Todd Pletcher, trainer of Shanghai Bobby,
won his first with Uncle Mo in 2010 and Bob Baffert, trainer of Power Broker,
won in 2002 with Vindication and again in 2008 with Midshipman. Despite the
question mark on Know More Doug O’Neill is still certain to be going for his second
Juvenile win with He’s Had Enough. His first was with Stevie Wonderboy in 2005.
Finally,
let’s not forget about Edward Plesa Jr. Although Plesa has sent out the least
amount of BC starters, just four, he still has a second and third place finish.
This will be his first Juvenile and he looks to make a very big splash with
Speak Logistics, winner of Florida Stallion In Reality Stakes at Calder his
last time out.
With the
field dwindling down to nine the opportunity is ripe so good luck to all four
of our trainers that will go for their very first Breeders’ Cup Juvenile win.