Derby winner Rich Strike still is not certain for Breeders’ Cup
Louisville, Ky.
Don’t put Rich Strike’s name in ink yet when it comes to filling the field for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
As has been the case for weeks, trainer Eric Reed would not commit to it Monday morning at Churchill Downs. That is where Rich Strike, the 80-1 winner of the Kentucky Derby, will race older horses for the first time Saturday when he goes in the Grade 2, $500,000 Lukas Classic.
“We’ll see what happens after this race whether we go Breeders’ Cup or the Clark,” Reed said, referring to the Grade 1, $750,000 race Nov. 25, also at Churchill.
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Asked what the likelihood was that he and owner Rick Dawson would choose the Breeders’ Cup for Rich Strike, Reed said, “He’d have to run really, really good this weekend, I think.”
All the while, Reed said, he was working on Dawson’s behalf to field stallion offers, adding there could be an announcement in the coming days after meetings this week with two unidentified farms.
Rich Strike returned to Churchill Downs Monday morning to prepare for this weekend’s race. He was vanned from Reed’s Mercury Equine Center in Lexington, Ky. He looked full of pent-up energy going back into a stall in barn 17, which he called his temporary home before the Derby.
How the 3-year-old Keen Ice colt does in the 1 1/8-mile Lukas Classic has become the fork in the road for the rest of his career. A victory would make it hard to turn down a chance to send Rich Strike against world No. 1 Flightline in America’s richest race.
And what happens if Rich Strike runs well but still loses Saturday?
“As long as he makes the big run and gallops out strong against these horses, if he’s close enough and he finishes up like he’s capable of doing, then we’d have to really consider (the Breeders’ Cup) hard,” Reed said.
One thing Reed said might influence his decision about the $6 million race Nov. 5 at Keeneland would be whether Rich Strike’s closing style would fit well there.
“The Breeders’ Cup will have a lot of pace in it,” he said. “It’s going to be good for a horse like us, and it’s Keeneland, which is a little speed-favoring. His work’s cut out, no matter what. We’re going to run him all the way through his 4-year-old year if he stays healthy, so this is not a must-do. Maybe we can be the horse to beat next year in the Breeders’ Cup.”
That is if Dawson and Reed feel they have the final word on a 2023 campaign. With bloodlines to two-time U.S. champion Curlin, the storybook victory in the Derby and a strong fourth-place showing last month in the Travers (G1), Rich Strike’s stud value may be more than the current connections can resist.
“We’ll see,” said Reed, who added he was bound by the confidentiality of negotiations with breeding farms from saying much more.
Rich Strike has a career record of 10: 2-0-3 and earnings of $2,101,289. In the Travers he earned career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 105, according to Daily Racing Form, tied for fourth best on dirt among route-going 3-year-olds.
Although he is 2-for-2 at Churchill Downs, Rich Strike is likely to be an underdog Saturday against the likes of Hot Rod Charlie and Happy Saver. He was scheduled to have a pre-dawn gallop over the main track Tuesday. The Lukas Classic field will be drawn Wednesday.