2014 Breeders' Cup Classic: The Challenge Winners
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This year’s Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In series consisted of seven challenge races that
would qualify the winner for the 2014 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, carded at the classic distance of 1 ¼ miles. For
the third year in a row, the year-end championships will be run at scenic Santa
Anita Park, but there is one very important factor setting this year apart from
the previous two years: track maintenance officials have installed a brand new
racing surface for the current meet, one designed to play fairly rather than set
up a speed bias as the previous surface did.
The seven Classic challenge races yielded six different
winners, the most impressive being three-year old Shared Belief. Last year’s Two-Year-Old Male Eclipse Award winner
is undefeated in 7 career starts and garnered an automatic berth in the Classic
starting gate by virtue of a decisive 2 ¾ length victory over his elders in the Grade 1
Pacific Classic at Del Mar. As if winning the Pacific Classic wasn’t enough to
let fans and critics know that the 3-year-old gelding was in fact the real
deal, Shared Belief then went on to triumph over his elders once again in a
second challenge race, the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita.
Due to an injury, the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee missed the
Triple Crown trail, but after two resounding victories over older males, one
can’t help but wonder if California Chrome would have taken the first two legs of the Triple Crown had he faced
Shared Belief. It does little good to play the “What if…” game, but one thing is for certain, Shared Belief has
cemented his status as one of the top 3-year olds in the country in his last
two outings.
Bayern was the
first 3-year-old to earn a position in the Classic starting gate when he took
the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in wire-to-wire fashion. The
Haskell was the only challenge race restricted to 3-year-olds, and Bayern will
have to up his game in order to prove that he can not only run with the best of
his crop but also the best older males in the country.
Like Shared Belief, three-year-old Tonalist qualified for the Classic with a win over his elders in
the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. Returning to the scene of his
previous biggest career win, the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, Tonalist and pilot
Joel Rosario managed to avoid most of the trouble in the roughly run race and
got up in the final 70 yards for the win.
Upstart Moonshine Mullin was the first to qualify for the Classic by virtue of a 10-1 upset
in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. Running for a tag as recently
as this past November, the 6-year-old son of Albert the Great has developed
into one of the better handicap males this year. Unfortunately, his connections
announced that he would not run for the rest of the year due to a minor issue
that did not require surgery. Fans need not be too bitterly disappointed as the
plan is for Moonshine Mullin to head to Oaklawn and possibly make his 2015
debut in the Grade 3 Razorback on March 14.
Six-year-old Majestic Harbor has only gotten better with age, and he hit his best stride this
year. The older half-brother to 2014 Grade 1 Arkansas Derby hero Danza picked up his first career stakes
win in the 1 ½ mile Grade 3 Tokyo City Cup. Two starts later, Majestic Harbor
romped in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita and earned a spot in the starting
gate on November 1 in the process. Since that career best race, the son of
Rockport Harbor has been in a backward slide, failing to hit the board in his
last two starts.
Trained by the polarizing Eric Guillot, Moreno has just three career wins. It just so happens that his
third career win, the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes, punched his ticket to the
Breeders’ Cup Classic. Like Majestic Harbor, Moreno has been off his game since
having a career best day at the track.
Others possible for this year’s rendition of the Breeders’
Cup Classic include: Tapiture, Cigar Street, Clubhouse Ride, 2014 Kentucky
Derby and Preakness hero California Chrome, Imperative, Lea, Departing, Prayer
for Relief, Toast of New York, Last Gunfighter, Footbridge, Medal Count, Long River and Zivo.
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