Woodbine Mile Success does not Equal Breeders' Cup Mile Success
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As autumn nears, people anticipate cooler temperatures and the changing of the leaves, just as horseplayers look forward to the Breeders’ Cup and the prep races that precede it. This Sunday, Woodbine Race Course in Toronto, Canada hosts the $1,000,000 Ricoh Woodbine Mile contested at 1-mile on the turf as a tune up for the Breeders Cup Mile. Though the purse is huge for a Breeders’ Cup prep race, the Woodbine Mile has not produced many successful participants on racing’s biggest day.
Since being transformed to a 1-mile-grass race for 3-year-olds and up in 1997, the Woodbine Mile has been run 14 times with no horses completing the Woodbine/Breeders’ Cup Mile double. Furthermore, no Woodbine Mile participants have ever found the winner’s circle on Breeders’ Cup day. Only 3 horses have come out of the Woodbine Mile to hit the board in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. The Bill Mott-trained, Geri, won in Toronto and then came back to run 2nd to Spinning World in the 1997 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Hollywood Park. Labeeb was victorious in the 1998 Woodbine Mile, but could only manage a 3rd place finish to Da Hoss at Churchill Downs later that fall. Finally, Good Journey captured Woodbine gold in 2002 only to wind up 3rd to Domedriver at Arlington Park.
In that same time frame, the Oak Tree Mile at Santa Anita, of which the purse is only $150,000 this year, has produced 4 Breeders’ Cup Mile winners. Silic (1999), War Chant (2000) and Val Royal (2001) captured both races, and Singletary captured the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 2004 after running 3rd in the Oak Tree Mile. In addition, Keeneland’s $600,000 Maker’s Mark Mile has produced 3 Breeders’ Cup Mile winners (Artie Schiller in 2005, Miesque’s Approval in 2006 and Kip Deville in 2007) since 1997 as well. Even though the Woodbine Mile is a rich race, with a deep and competitive field, it has not been a good barometer of Breeders’ Cup success. This trend does not bode well for Woodbine Mile morning-line favorite, Courageous Cat, even though he gave Goldikova her toughest Breeders Cup challenge on the way to her 3-peat, when he fell ½ length short of Goldikova in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Mile. Courageous Cat’s prep race that year was a 3rd place effort in the Jamaica Handicap at Belmont Park. Though the Breeders’ Cup Mile has been primarily dominated by Europeans, look to runners in other North American prep races to find challengers to attempt to dethrone Goldikova.
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