Breeders’ Cup notes: What Classic & Distaff horses are doing
This was the reported activity on Sunday for the horses pre-entered in Saturday’s $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Arthur’s Ride
Trainer: Bill Mott.
Set: 7:30 a.m. PDT.
Morning activity: Worked four furlongs in 49.0 seconds under assistant trainer Neil Poznansky.
Planned activity: Will walk the shed row Monday, although Mott said he might take him to the track.
Mott: “He can be very lazy by himself. Usually, if we want a good work, we will work him in company. When he is by himself, he is not going to do any more than you ask him to do. He finished up nicely and galloped out good. We will see how he is behaving tomorrow and decide whether we will take him to the track.”
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien.
Jockey: Ryan Moore.
Set: Quarantine barn.
Morning activity: Per the International Racing Bureau, City of Troy was the first horse led into the barn from Ballydoyle’s 11-strong Saturday evening ship-in. The trip from touchdown at San Diego International Airport to Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s barn area took approximately two hours.
Planned activity: Scheduled to make his first appearance on track Tuesday morning.
Derma Sotogake
Trainer: Hidetaka Otonashi.
Set: 6:30 a.m. PDT.
Morning activity: He went out for an easy exercise on the main track.
Fierceness
Trainer: Todd Pletcher.
Jockey: John Velázquez.
Morning activity: In transit from New York to Del Mar.
Planned activity: To be determined, per Pletcher.
Pletcher on changing plans and running him in the Aug. 24 Travers (G1) following his victory in the July 27 Jim Dandy (G2): “The four weeks he had between the Jim Dandy and the Travers, it would have been impossible not to try the Travers. Just the way he trained, the way he was behaving, the way he looked you could just tell he was thriving. His breezes were outstanding, and his energy level was everything you’d look to see. He convinced us that running in the Travers was the right move.”
Forever Young
Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi.
Set: 8 a.m. PDT.
Morning activity: He went out for an easy exercise on the main track.
Highland Falls
Trainer: Brad Cox.
Morning activity: Walked the shed row at Churchill Downs.
Planned activity: Ships Monday.
Mixto
Trainer: Doug O’Neill.
Jockey: Kyle Frey.
Set: 8 a.m. PDT.
Morning activity: Worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 on his own under Frey.
Planned activity: Walk day Monday.
O’Neill: “I thought he worked well and with the Breeders’ Cup here it made more sense to have his final work at Del Mar instead of Santa Anita. It was a really good morning for all of my horses.”
Worth noting: Among the 27 workers for O’Neill Sunday morning at Del Mar were Katonah for the Dirt Mile five furlongs in 1:01.0 before the renovation break and Raging Torrent for the Sprint five furlongs in 1:02.4 after the break. Antonio Fresu will have the mount Saturday on Raging Torrent, and Frankie Dettori has the call on Katonah.
Newgate
Trainer: Bob Baffert.
Jockey: Frankie Dettori.
Morning activity: Worked a bullet five furlongs in 58.8 seconds at Santa Anita under exercise rider Juan Ochoa.
Planned activity: Shipping from Santa Anita to Del Mar on Monday.
Baffert: “I have always worked him with blinkers, and I am going to leave them on for this race. He had them earlier in his career I want him to be a little more focused. Very happy with the work. He looked great today. I just wanted to sharpen him up. We’re all good.”
Next
Trainer: Doug Cowans.
Morning activity: Walked his barn at Turfway Park under tack.
Planned activity: Ships to Del Mar.
Pyrenees
Trainer: Cherie DeVaux.
Morning activity: Walked at Keeneland after posting a four furlongs work there Saturday.
Planned activity: Scheduled to ship to Del Mar Monday.
Rattle N Roll
Trainer: Kenny McPeek.
Jockey: Jose Ortiz.
Morning activity: After working five furlongs at Churchill Downs Saturday, walked shed row.
Planned activity: Traveling from Churchill Downs to Del Mar on Monday.
McPeek: “(Regular jockey) Brian (Hernandez Jr.) is not riding. His agent (Frank Bernis) gave the call away to ride Pyrenees, because I had not decided if I was going. I would never ask Brian to get off, so we have José Ortiz.”
Señor Buscador
Trainer: Todd Fincher.
Set: 8 a.m. PDT.
Morning activity: Backtracked to finish line then galloped 1 3/8 miles under Dennis Means.
Planned activity: Gallop at 7:45 PDT on Monday.
Assistant trainer Dennis Means: “He’s good this morning. I may back him up and go a bit further with him tomorrow.”
Sierra Leone
Trainer: Chad Brown.
Jockey: Flavien Prat.
Set: Belmont Park.
Morning activity: Scheduled to ship in from New York to California on Sunday. The Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner had his final work on Saturday at Belmont Park.
Planned activity: To get off the plane and go into the barn.
Brown: “He did a little something easier this week, by design, but he’s all good. I’m very, very pleased with him.”
Tapit Trice
Trainer: Todd Pletcher.
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Morning activity: In transit from New York to Del Mar.
Planned activity: To be determined, per Pletcher.
Pletcher: “The one thing that I think he has done this year is he’s become a little more confident. There was a time where we felt like he wanted to be outside in the clear and that he needed a certain kind of trip. But I think he's shown this year that, as he did the Woodward, that he’s not afraid to be inside of horses or behind horses. He can be ridden however is best for that particular race.”
Ushba Tesoro
Trainer: Noboru Takagi.
Set: 7:45 a.m. PDT.
Morning activity: He galloped on the main track.
Distaff
This was the reported activity on Sunday for the horses pre-entered in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
Awesome Result
Trainer: Yasutoshi Ike.
Set: 6:45 a.m. PDT.
Morning activity: She did an easy exercise on the dirt track and schooled in the paddock.
Unidentified stable representative: “She moved well, and everything goes well so far. She can be nervous, but she has settled in the environment here at Del Mar.”
Batucada
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Set: 9:15 a.m. PDT
Morning activity: First day on track, jogged 1m opposite way around
Planned activity: Gallop about 1 1/4m around the same time
Joseph: “She just jogged. She gets worked up and has to go with the pony. Other than that, it was all right. She’ll gallop tomorrow and she’s high strung, so we’ll see how she behaves tomorrow.”
Candied
Trainer: Todd Pletcher.
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Morning activity: Galloped about 1 3/8 miles at Keeneland.
Planned activity: Scheduled to travel from Kentucky to Del Mar.
Pletcher: “Eclipse (Thoroughbred Partners) did a terrific job purchasing her for a reasonable sum ($165,000 as a yearling), and to be a Grade 1 winner, and kind of an unlucky third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies when she kind of missed the break from the inside and closed well. She's a high-quality filly, has been super consistent throughout her career and deserves a chance.”
Che Evasora
Trainer: Phil D’Amato.
Morning activity: Walked at Santa Anita morning after working five furlongs in 1:00.0.
Planned activity: Leaving for Del Mar before noon EDT on Sunday with the rest of D’Amato’s Breeders’ Cup pre-entrants.
D’Amato: “All is good this morning.”
Honor D Lady
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Set: 8:15 a.m. EDT.
Morning activity: Galloped about 1 1/4 miles.
Planned activity: Same as Sunday.
Joseph: “She had a really good gallop. She’ll do about a mile-and-a-quarter or a mile-and-three-eighths every day.”
Raging Sea
Trainer: Chad Brown.
Jockey: Flavien Prat.
Set: Belmont Park.
Morning activity: Scheduled to ship in from New York to California on Sunday. The Personal Ensign (G1) winner had her final work Saturday at Belmont Park.
Planned activity: To get off the plane and go into the barn.
Brown: “She was traveling very nicely in her work and bounced out of her last race in good shape. I quite like how she’s doing. In these dirt races, I have closers for the most part, so she like the others is going to have to have a pace setup. We’ll have to see if it works out.”
Sugar Fish
Trainer: Jeff Mullins.
Jockey: Tyler Baze.
Morning activity: Walked at Santa Anita morning after a five-furlong work.
Planned activity: Return to the track at Santa Anita in the morning.
Thorpedo Anna
Trainer: Kenny McPeek.
Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Morning activity: Scheduled to arrive at Del Mar after shipping from Saratoga Sunday.
Planned activity: To be determined.
Hernandez: “It has been a magical year. To accomplish the things she has accomplished to this point is just a dream come true. She is one of those rare horses of a lifetime that you try and hope to associate yourself with. To be part of this ride has been a lot of fun. She really has built quite the resume for herself.”