Breeders' Cup Classic decision pending for Diversify
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Eclipse Sportswire
Ralph M. and Lauren Evans' New York-bred Diversify emerged from his one-length victory in Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in good order, as the connections mull whether to send the 4-year-old Bellamy Road gelding to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic.
"So far, so good," said Ralph Evans by phone, who co-owns Diversify with his daughter Lauren. "He came out of the race fine. He scoped clean, no more tired than normal after a race like that. We'll wait a few more days and make whatever decisions we have to make from there."
While Diversify's gate-to-wire Jockey Club Gold Cup triump earned the Rick Violette, Jr. trainee an all-fees-paid berth in the $6 million Classic on November 4 at Del Mar, Evans said a Breeders' Cup bid is far from set in stone, adding that the connections will make a decision about his fall campaign after Diversify returns to the track in the coming days.
"We think, with a 4-year-old gelding, hopefully we have a bright future," said Evans. "There's lots of good races ahead, whether they're New York-bred [stakes] or not. The Breeders' Cup is very seductive, particularly having the entry fee paid and everything. To go out there and try to beat Arrogate and Gun Runner and so forth is probably a tall order. Some owners might say, well if I run third, it's still $500,000 or what have you, but I'm not sure if I'm in that camp at the moment. My idea is to have a good 5-year-old and a good 6-year-old."
Purchased in November by the Evans as a racing prospect for $210,000, Diversify has been a solid runner with seven wins from 10 lifetime starts, and seems tobe enjoying a meteoric 4-year-old campaign.
Diversify easily won his first start for his new owners in December and started 2017 with an allowance score against open company in January and transitioned to open company stakes in the Stymie in March, where he faded to seventh, six lengths behind Sunny Ridge. He was the runner-up to Rally Cry in an open allowance in April before making a wide, off-the-pace run in the Commentator for New York-breds, where he came up a nose short of Weekend Hideaway.
He got some much-needed racing experience while facing New York-breds over the summer, first in the Saginaw in July at Belmont where, despite breaking through the gate prior to the start, he edged clear to a 2 ¾-length win, and then in the Evan Shipman on August 21, where he wired the field at Saratoga Race Course and drew off by an eye-catching 11 ½ lengths.
"You don't win seven out of 10 regardless of competition unless you're good," said Evans. "In the Stymie, he got caught down on the rail late in the race. He was not going to win, but he was shut off a bit and would've been somewhat closer than what he got beat there. That was his first effort in open company stakes and I think he's probably a bit more seasoned and a bit better horse now than he was then. At least that's what it appears to be.
"We knew we had a nice New York-bred when we tried him in the Stymie, but it seems as if the light bulb has gone on, if you will," he added. "Based on his last two races, we moved our expectations up quite a bit."
Those expectations led them to the Jockey Club Gold Cup, where he earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure, close to the personal-best 108 he earned for his Evan Shipman win.
"His last two races before this race had been exceptional and we have learned that given a moderate early pace, he's very difficult to run down," Evans said. "So, we came into this race obviously concerned about the distance, as I'm sure some of the other horses were as well, but the game plan has been the same as the last few races, try and make as easy a lead as possible. He has a relatively high cruising speed and he's very tough to run down. The game plan was the same, the competition was clearly a lot different."
Evans said Diversify is likely for one more race in 2017 and, if the connections decide to skip the Breeders' Cup, the gelding would be under strong consideration for the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap on December 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
"Looking at the Breeders' Cup, if we chose not to run there, perhaps the field for the Cigar Mile would not come up quite as tough as it ought to," he said. "All things being considered, he might run once more this year and he might not run at all. I just want to be confident that I've got a 5-year-old and Rick knows that and he's very careful. He gave him seven weeks between his last race and this one so we weren't in a hurry necessarily to do something. Being a little guy, it's not like if this one doesn't work out, I've got one right behind him and one right behind that one. He is my stable star, so we're trying to take good care of him."
Source: NYRA Communications
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