In his last start, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Evening Attire was victimized by the small field and slow pace, finishing third behind Mineshaft and Quest. "The Gold Cup was not a good scenario for us," Kelly said. Earlier, he finished a fast-closing third behind Medaglia d'Oro in the Whitney (gr. I). His two victories this year have come in allowance company.
Evening Attire, winner of the 2002 Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I) will be pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic – Powered by Dodge (gr. I), and is scheduled to leave for California on Oct. 21 or 22, trainer Pat Kelly said Thursday."Mineshaft retiring was an important piece of the puzzle, not only for me but for everybody," Kelly said. "I talked to Mr. (Joseph) Grant (who co-owns Evening Attire with Hall of Fame trainer T.J. Kelly), and said, 'Let's work him and see how he comes out of it.' He had a nice easy 6-furlong work (in a bullet 1:12 4/5) and came out of it fine. I called Mr. Grant and said, 'If you want to get the paper work going let's ger started. "He's healthy, and he was well-respected at the windows in last year's Classic. He's a good traveler, and this point, we're willing to put up the $40,000 (pre-entry fee). Tex Sutton has a couple of planes flying out there on Oct. 21 or 22, and we'll be on one of them."