It's official. There will be no Breeders' Cup for Acclamation this year. Trainer Don Warren confirmed speculation that the 2011 Eclipse Award winner as outstanding older male would not make the championship events at Santa Anita on November 2-3.
"It flared up a little bit again," Warren said Sunday morning, referring to a sprain in the horse's left leg.
"It heated up on me, the sprain that he had a month ago. He worked good on the training track four or five days ago, but it heated up the next day, so we're going to give up on the Breeders' Cup."
The six-year-old California-bred son of Unusual Heat had been ticketed for the $3 million Turf at 1 1/2 miles.
Warren said Acclamation "probably" would remain at Santa Anita.
"Everything had to go perfect to make the race. We're done for the rest of the year. We've got to get him fixed right. We've got to give him more time."
Meanwhile, time and hope were diminishing for Caracortado to make the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. The late-running California-bred gelding hasn't raced since the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes at Santa Anita last January 8 due to a burn on the frog (an integral component of the hoof) of his right front foot.
"I don't know if he'll make the race," trainer Mike Machowsky said by phone from Hollywood Park. "I haven't ruled it out yet. It's still up in the air. I'd say it's 50-50; we'll keep our fingers crossed."
Caracortado breezed several times at Del Mar, but has not appeared on the worktab since August 4. Caracortado won his first five starts, including the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis stakes as a three-year-old. He sports a 19-9-2-3 mark with earnings of $864,105.
In other Breeders' Cup news from Santa Anita, a rematch looms in the Breeders' Cup Sprint among Coil, Capital Account, Jimmy Creed and Amazombie, the first four finishers in Saturday's Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship.
Coil, trained by Bob Baffert, beat stablemate Capital Account by a head in the six-furlong race. Capital Account was three-quarters of a length in front of Jimmy Creed, who was a half-length better than defending Breeders' Cup Sprint champion Amazombie, the 4-5 favorite ridden by Mike Smith.
"Both ran gallant races," Baffert said Sunday morning of Coil and Capital Account, each off at 7-1 odds. "They'll both run back in the Sprint."
Smith hasn't lost confidence in Amazombie despite the disappointing defeat.
"He should improve off that race," the Hall of Fame rider said. "I'm not at all discouraged. I think he'll move up off that race. I think he'll run big."
"(The three-year-old Jimmy Creed) came out good," trainer Richard Mandella said. "I think I would consider the Breeders' Cup Sprint with him."
Mandella also had word of his promising two-year-old filly Beholder, asmashing 11-length allowance winner on Thursday.
"Beholder came out of her race great," Mandella said. "I would say her next race is between the two-year-old (Breeders' Cup) Sprint (at six furlongs against males) and the Juvenile Fillies (at 1 1/16 miles)."
All Breeders' Cup systems were go for Merit Man, hero of Saturday's Tim Conway Stakes.
"We're going to shoot for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint," trainer Bob Hess Jr. said, "but it's the same old story -- we want everything to go right and, as of today, everything is right, so we're excited and we have a happy, healthy horse with a little bit of talent."
Prominent on the Santa Anita worktab Sunday was unbeaten champion My Miss Aurelia, who traveled five furlongs on the fast main track in 1:03 1/5 ahead of the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic.
The Steve Asmussen trainee just won a thrilling duel with Questing in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at Parx.