Macho Uno, Others Work Toward Breeders' Cup

The work tab at Belmont Park was busy Sunday, with a plethora of contenders in the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Racing Championships working out.

Champion Macho Uno, being pointed toward the Classic, breezed three furlongs in :37 4/5 over the training track. Trainer Joe Orseno said the colt's third-place finish at 1-5 odds in the Ohio Derby was an anomaly, noting that Macho Uno had a bout of colic a week prior to the Sept. 29 race. "I think it was a combination of things," Orseno said. "I usually like to ship my horses in about three or four days, let them settle in and get used to the track. I wasn't able to do that. It's not my style shipping a day before. Was he a hundred percent for the race? Probably not. Was he good enough to run? Definitely. He's proven in the past that he belongs with the best horses around. I haven't lost any faith in him."

Orseno reported that 2000 Preakness winner Red Bullet, who worked five furlongs in :59 over the training track Saturday, will make his next start in the Cigar Mile (gr. I) on Nov. 24. Orseno said he considered the Classic for Red Bullet because of the way he is training but opted against it due to the colt's dislike for Belmont Park's main track.

Another Sprint contender, Left Bank, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 2/5 over the main track, with jockey John Velazquez aboard. Trainer Todd Pletcher, who conditions Left Bank, also worked Balto Star five furlongs over the inner turf course, with a time of 1:03.

Two Breeders' Cup horses trained by Bobby Frankel worked over the main track Sunday. Squirtle Squirt, who is being pre-entered in the Sprint, zipped four furlongs in :46 4/5, the fastest of 33 horses working that distance. Frankel's Turf Classic winner Timboroa breezed a half-mile over the inner turf course in :50 1/5.

Also working over the inner turf course were England's Legend and Volga, both Filly & Mare Turf hopefuls trained by Christophe Clement. England's Legend went a half-mile in :49 3/5 and Volga was time in :50 2/5 for the same distance.

From Linda Rice's barn, City Zip worked five-eighths of a mile over the inner turf course in 1:00 3/5 and galloped out seven furlongs in 1:24 4/5. Rice said City Zip is likely to start in the Mile but that the Sprint is also under consideration.