Trainer Michael Stoute notified Breeders' Cup officials at 9:30 a.m. EDT Nov. 6 that Workforce, the morning-line favorite for the Emirates Airline Turf (gr. IT), would not run in the race at Churchill Downs. Stoute had been considering withdrawing the Gran Prix de l’Arc (Fr-I) winner for days due to the firm condition of the Churchill turf course.
"The ground has not gone our way," said Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for owner Juddmonte Farms. "There has been no rain and the ground is firmer than we would like for Workforce. We have absolutely no complaints, but the welfare of the horse is paramount. (Juddmonte owner) Prince Khalid has always been a great supporter of the Breeders’ Cup, and no one is more disappointed than he.”
In another scratch on the second day of the Breeders' Cup, Joseph Lacombe’s homebred Typhoon Slew has been scratched from the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IIT). The son of the Stormy Atlantic is trained by Mike Maker. The colt, who broke his maiden on turf, was a 15-1 outsider in the morning line.
"We took him to the track this morning and he was fine," Maker said. "I ran over to (the Churchill Downs Training Center), and when I came back, the vets had taken him out of his stall and he was lame. So we felt it was not best to run him."
The scratches were the only news of the morning at Churchill Downs as Zenyatta and several other Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) participants went to the track. Morning temperatures were in the low 30s, with a high in the low 50s predicted.
Accompanied by trainer John Shirreffs and about two dozen onlookers, Zenyatta went to the track and jogged before returning to the barn. The 6-year-old daughter of Street Cry will be seeking her 20th victory against no defeats in the Classic.
Also on the track was Blame , one of the leading candidates to upset Zenyatta. The son of Arch who has a grade I win on the Churchill surface also jogged under the watchful eye of trainer Al Stall Jr.
