Winners, losers from Breeders' Cup 2018's post position draw

As 14 races were drawn Monday for the 2018 Breeders’ Cup, a few for big-name contenders certainly stuck out. A pair of Breeders’ Cup favorites drew attention when drawn widest of all, but there are also post positions that figure to boost contenders’ chances during in the Friday and Saturday races at Churchill Downs.

A handful of winners and losers from the Breeders’ Cup post position draw:

Winner: Catholic Boy has been forwardly placed in his last three starts – all wins – and should benefit from post No. 3 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, positioned outside of two European runners. The 3-year-old will be making his first start since winning the Travers Stakes (G1), which followed his Belmont Derby Invitational (G1) win on turf. Trainer Jonathan Thomas believes 1 ¼ miles is Catholic Boy’s best distance and, like the Travers, he could very well find himself up front with Mendelssohn again.

Loser: The Classic's 5-2 favorite, Accelerate, will break from the outside post in a full field of 14. The four-time Grade 1 winner tends to come from off the pace, but he could be forced wider, or used earlier than preferred. To add, he's used to defeating much smaller bunches in California. Although the crowd at the draw reacted to the news, trainer John Sadler said he considers it to be “not a bad post at all.”

“Accelerate, mile and a quarter, 14 is actually a good post because you’re out in the clear,” he said. “You have plenty of time to make a trip.”

Winner: Stretching out to 1 1/4 miles for the first time in the Classic, Mind Your Biscuits will break from post 11. The Grade 1 sprinter is known for his closing runs, but came from off the pace when winning at two turns in the Lukas Classic (G3). The speed in this Breeders' Cup could also help Mind Your Biscuits close and, prior to the draw, trainer Chad Summers named this post as one he'd prefer.

“The only thing I’d say is being a full field, and he’s a little bit antsy in the gate, we’d prefer not to be in the gate that long. It’ll be a double load.” Summers said. “So if we get post 6, that’s OK. If we get post 11 or 12 that’s fine too because we just don’t want to have to sit in the gate.”

Loser: Thunder Snow nearly won the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) when rallying from a distant third, but the No. 1 hole in the Breeders’ Cup Classic could force him into the pace duel. He won the Dubai World Cup (G1) on the lead, but the Meydan dirt was also notably rail-biased that night. Thunder Snow could benefit sitting off the pace like he did when nipped by Discreet Lover last out.

Winner: Serengeti Empress ended up right where trainer Tom Amoss wanted in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Although Amoss has given her a target in works to practice rating, he was hoping to draw close to the rail and use her speed, which helped her dust rivals in the Pocahontas Stakes (G2) by 19 ½ lengths at Churchill.

“I want the inside because quite frankly I think that I can be as fast as I need to be with Serengeti Empress,” Amoss said earlier Monday. "...If we do draw an inside post position, then I’m willing to say ‘You know what? Catch us if you can.’ We’re going to try and force the pace.”

Loser: Favored over Serengeti Empress in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies is Bellafina, but the West Coast shipper will have to make up ground from the 10 hole. Bellafina enters off two Grade 1 victories where she sat close to the leader before taking over. She’ll have work to do if Serengeti Empress runs back to her form.

Winner: The Breeders’ Cup Sprint will have plenty of speed in it, and Promises Fulfilled should benefit from post No. 2. He’s riding a three-race win streak into the Sprint, all of them graded stakes, and has wired the field in his last two outings. Promises Fulfilled has shown he can both use speed early and last late in races.

Loser: Monomoy Girl will depart from post No. 11 in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, the widest in the field, and is favored over Abel Tasman. There is only one race this season in which the Kentucky Oaks winner has not come from farther back than third. When making her seasonal bow, she rallied from seventh after a bad break. The wide Distaff post is also no concern to trainer Brad Cox.

“I think it could be a good thing," he said. "It could help us see who's going to show the way or if we want to take control of the race, ultimately that will be up to (jockey) Florent (Geroux).”