Having cleared quarantine the evening of Oct. 31, trainer Aidan O'Brien's powerful string of Breeders' Cup contenders took to the oval at Santa Anita Park for the first time to stretch their legs the morning of Nov. 1.
Along with St Nicholas Abbey, who is bidding to win the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) for the second time in succession, fellow Turf contender Treasure Beach and Mile (gr. IT) runner Excelebration were also out on the oval.
With regular rider Joseph O'Brien in the saddle, St Nicholas Abbey loosened up with a gentle walk and a trot, then put in a steady canter around the main track.
Excelebration and Treasure Beach were next to follow, and just like St Nicholas Abbey, they went for a steady canter on the dirt.
The remainder of the Ballydoyle team of Turf Sprint (gr. IT) runner Starspangledbanner; Marathon (gr. II) starter Fame And Glory; Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT) contender Up; Juvenile Turf (gr. IT) starter George Vancouver; and Lines of Battle, also in the Juvenile Turf, all followed a similar pattern. So too did Infanta Branca, with Ryan Moore on board, who is on the also-eligible list for the Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT).
As he rode back on a borrowed pony to the quarantine barn, O'Brien confirmed all his string to be in good shape, and that their first visit to the track had gone well. To the observation that one or two had appeared to have got a little warm, he said, "There was nothing out of the ordinary there, I'd be more concerned if they hadn't."
Back at the barn, Aidan O'Brien again spoke with journalists present, reiterating many of the points he made Oct. 31 regarding his leading hopes Excelebration and St Nicholas Abbey. He also explained his decision to run Starspangledbanner at Dundalk on Oct. 26, where he finished fourth in a listed race over five furlongs.
"We wanted to get him back into the sprinting habit and felt a race would be better for him than a series of workouts," the trainer said of the Turf Sprint contender. "Five furlongs is on the short side for him now, and from a bad draw I thought he ran well. I am not sure his draw (14) here is ideal, but a strongly run race over six and a half furlongs on this ground should suit him."
The first of the Europeans to appear on the track at around 6:40 a.m. local time Nov. 1 was the Ralph Beckett-trained Waterway Run, gearing up for a start in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. She had a nice stretch on the dirt under race rider Frankie Dettori before returning home.
Marathon contender Sense of Purpose was also out on the dirt this morning, and her preparation was closely watched by her trainer Dermot Weld.
Rider Pat Smullen said after his exercise stint aboard Sense of Purpose, "I think she's in great shape, but it's all about how she takes to the surface. It's an unknown and it's different, and there's nothing you can really do back at home to prepare them for it."
The turf track also saw some action with the Jeremy Noseda-trained pair of The Gold Cheongsam for the Juvenile Fillies Turf and Fantastic Moon for the Juvenile Turf taking nice, steady canters.
Noseda said, "I am very happy with both of them, they are picking up and looking better and better each day out here."
The Noseda duo was closely followed by the John Gosden-trained The Fugue, with William Buick on board. In similar fashion to those in front of her, she completed a circuit of the turf at a steady canter.
Richard Hannon's Juvenile Fillies Turf runner Sky Lantern, in the hands of British champion jockey Richard Hughes, also put in some gentle work on the turf. She walked a circuit before cantering one lap of the track.
Richard Hannon Jr, who is representing his father said, "All went well this morning. Sky Lantern took to the grass well and came round the turn nicely. She's very well, and right now it's so far, so good."
Trainer Roger Charlton, who arrived in Los Angeles the evening of Oct. 31, saw his Juvenile Turf charge Dundonnell walk a circuit of the track with his pony before doing a lap on his own in the hands of James Doyle at a nice, steady pace.
Doyle, Dundonnell's jockey, said, "He seems very well and has adapted to the track. He seems to like his pony and this ground should suit him. It's good to be here, and to be on a horse with a live chance in a race like this is massive."
Charlton remarked, "When you come to these big international meetings, you see so many trainers doing so many different things, walking, jogging, working their horses, giving them easy lead-ups to the races, there are a lot of different approaches. He's fit and well, and I think Dundonnell will be fine on the firm turf, but if it turns out to be too firm, it's too firm—we'll find out on the day."
Roger Varian's Filly & Mare Turf contender Nahrain had a very gentle canter around half a circuit of the track.
Varian said of his filly, "We just took her to the track today for a jog and a canter. She's fit and well and in good form, and that's the main thing. Time will tell if she's good enough. We are putting a pair of blinkers on her at the suggestion of her jockey (John Velazquez) in the Flower Bowl, who said that even though she'd won, she'd run a little lazily that day. Maybe the blinkers will give her a little extra edge. This is a tougher race, and you can't give anything away."
Frankie Dettori has the mount Nov. 2.
Another Filly & Mare Turf contender, I'm A Dreamer, stepped up on her work from Oct. 31 and, having cantered a circuit of the track, picked up the pace a little in the hands of Laura Pike.
Once again the French came out to the track together, but soon split up into different parties. Moonlight Cloud, Freddy Head's filly pointing to the Mile, had a nice stretch of her legs before returning to the barn.
"I am very happy with her," said Head. "She has had a really good preparation for this race over the past month and a half. She's been training around a bend back home in Lamorlaye (France), and I have no concerns about the ground. She's had the perfect build up, and while I have a big respect for Wise Dan and Excelebration, it's possible she can turn that (Deauville) form around."
Mikel Delzangles, who flew in from Australia Oct. 31, saw his pair of Flotilla (Juvenile Fillies Turf) and Ridasiyna (Filly & Mare Turf) put in a couple of nice steady canters on the main track. As soon as his two runners have raced, Delzangles will be heading back to Australia to supervise Dunaden's participation in the Nov. 6 Melbourne Cup (Aus-I).
Delzangles said of Flotilla, "She's quite a mature filly for a 2-year-old, and has taken to things well out here. She seems to have taken her run in the Marcel Boussac (finished 4th) well and I was pleased with that run given the soft ground that day. She should handle the ground here OK, and I will be hoping for a race run at a decent, even pace."
Of Ridasiyna, Delzangles added, "She impressed me last time in the Prix de l'Opera as I was worried about the soft ground beforehand, but she won well in spite of it. This will be faster ground than she has raced on, and she had her only bad run at Deauville on firm ground, but before that she won on quick ground at Chantilly, so I think it will be OK for her."
In similar fashion to Oct. 31, Alain de Royer-Dupre's Turf contender Shareta was put through her paces with another solid gallop on the track. The daughter of Sinndar, with two group I wins this season in the Prix Vermeille and the Yorkshire Oaks, is looking to put the disappointment of her 9th place in last month's soft ground Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe behind her.
Mahmood Al Zarooni's Juvenile Turf runner Artigiano, who will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, had a stretch on the training track before heading out on to the dirt.
Juvenile Sprint runner Ceiling Kitty was the last of the Europeans to go to the main track. Trainer Tom Dascombe's daughter of Red Clubs looked a lot more settled than she did Oct. 31 and went three-quarters of a circuit at a trot with her pony before returning back down the stretch at a gentle canter.
Asked about her chances, Dascombe said of Ceiling Kitty, "To be honest I am not sure how she'll go. Five furlongs may be her best trip, the dirt surface is an imponderable, so I am not sure quite what to expect. If she breaks well, if she handles the dirt, and if she gets the trip, then she'll go close."
The Japanese runner in the Turf, Trailblazer, arrived at the Quarantine Barn at Santa Anita at around 3:15 a.m. Oct. 31 after a short ride from Betfair Hollywood Park and was hand-walked on arrival for about an hour before being allowed the rest of the day off.
On Nov. 1, Trailblazer walked for a while in the area close to the receiving barn before going to the track and galloping a circuit. Speaking on behalf of Team Japan, interpreter Mikki Tsuge reported all to be well with the horse, and that his connections were pleased with the way he is coming into the race.