Glyshaw expects in-the-money finish for Bucchero in Breeders' Cup

Trainer Tim Glyshaw and owner Ironhorse Racing Stable have been on quite the adventure over the last year with their stable star Bucchero. He was the first of two Breeders’ Cup runners for Glyshaw last year when he finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and now will make a second attempt at the race.

In between, he took his connections to Royal Ascot in England where he finished a head bob away from a top three placing when fifth in the King Stand Stakes.

“He’s been great for all of us involved and especially seems to get good this time of year and that seems to be the case again," Glyshaw siad. "He starts shining in his coat and just seems to train a lot more aggressively."

“We love the post (two) for him. We know we have tactical speed, so in a perfect world, Fernando (De La Cruz) just rides the exact same race as the last two Woodfords at Keeneland, where he saves some ground, gets him out turning for home and hopefully runs them down.

“He may have lost a little weight from the trip to England, but I haven’t noticed it much because I’m around him every day and he has obviously bounced back in great shape. He’s probably the best shipper in my life and I don’t think the trip for Ascot took anything out of him. We put him in a box stall last fall and rode him all the way to Aqueduct and he just stood there the entire time.

"He just has a little water and eats some hay and that’s it. When he flew it was the same way.”

With all his training behind him, Glyshaw has no concerns going to the race, even with the prospect of a soft turf course.

“He’ll run on anything. I’m not going to say he would relish it like (Canadian International winner) Bullard’s Alley would, but he has shown he will run on anything," he said. "If anything, maybe it helps us some because maybe some of the California and New York horses won’t like that."

Bucchero comes into the Turf Sprint off a repeat victory in the Woodford Stakes at Keeneland and is listed at 10-1 on the morning line. Glyshaw says he feels confident heading into the race.

“It’s pressure in a sense of all the attention, but I feel a lot more pressure when I’m 3-5 in an allowance race at Indiana Grand. We have pressure we put on ourselves, naturally, and we want to win. According to the odds, we are expected to finish fifth, so I think if we go out there and run our race, we are top three.

“As I’ve said for a long time about turf sprints: It’s all about trip. Every time he’s run a subpar race or finished poorly, it’s been when something happens to him in the race. So, if he doesn’t get in any trouble and runs his race, it’s hard for me to believe he’s not going to be in the top three.”