Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies candidates Runway Model, Dance Away Capote and Sis City were among those putting in their final major workouts Monday and are being prepared to ship to Grand Prairie, Texas, for Saturday's race.
Trainer Paul McGee sent 3rd Turn Stable's NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) hopeful Honor in War out for a leg-stretcher on a misty Thursday morning at Keeneland.
North American-based entrants have managed to win half of the 20 runnings of the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT), and despite the likely presence of the reigning queen, French-based Six Perfections, the home team stands a decent enough chance to go over the .500 mark in this year's running of the $1.5-million race sponsored by NetJets.
Del Mar Derby (gr. IT) winner Blackdoun worked seven furlongs in 1:28 1/5 around the dogs over a Santa Anita turf course labeled "good" Monday morning under regular exercise rider Jose Dominguez after which time Canani gave owners Marsha Naify and Christina and Laurent Zilber the OK to supplement the gray 3-year-old to the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) and pre-enter.
Nothing to Lose dominated the $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile (gr. IT) Saturday at Keeneland to give owner/breeders Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey a third contender for the Breeders' Cup World Championships to be held in three weeks at Lone Star Park near Dallas.
Musical Chimes, poised for a possible return trip to the Breeders' Cup, will challenge males for the third time for trainer Neil Drysdale in Saturday's $250,000 Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IIT) on the Santa Anita turf.
Prestonwood Farm's grade I winner Special Ring has returned to trainer Julio Canani's barn in California where he will begin preparations for a 7-year-old campaign.
Touch of the Blues, a 6-year-old horse who finished second in the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) last month, has been retired, trainer Neil Drysdale reported Friday from Hollywood Park.
Gary A. Tanaka's Sarafan, runner-up in the Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IIT), was scratched out of Saturday's Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT).
Medaglia d'Oro was installed as the 3-1 favorite for the $4-m illion Breeders' Cup Classic – Powered by Dodge (gr. I) when a field of 10 was entered Wednesday for the 1 1/4 mile race at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Charles Fipke's Shadwell Turf Mile (gr. IT) winner Perfect Soul (Ire) stretched his legs on the Keeneland grass Tuesday morning in his final preparation for the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) to be run at Santa Anita Park on Saturday.
Congaree went to the track Wednesday morning for some light exercise, equipped with a temporary patch for his quarter crack. Trainer Bob Baffert said tomorrow will be a key day in determining the colt's chances of making the Breeders' Cup Classic – Powered by Dodge (gr. I).
A sprained ankle has knocked 3rd Turn Racing Stable's Honor In War, winner of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (gr. IT) at Churchill Downs and runner-up in the recent Shadwell Keeneland Turf Mile (gr. IT) at Keeneland, out of consideration for the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. I).
On the day in which pre-entries were taken for the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, the horses that will compete in the Oct. 25 races continued their preparations at host site Santa Anita Park and at across town at Hollywood Park.
Grade II winner Decarchy, a half-brother to Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Empire Maker, has been purchased by Dennis Narlinger and Magali Farms from Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms for stallion duty at Magali near Santa Ynez, Calif.
Del Mar Handicap (gr. IIT) winner Irish Warrior will make his next start in the NetJetsBreeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT), trainer Wally Dollase said.
Head2Head wagering, first introduced at last year's Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, is back on the wagering menu for this year's races that will be hosted by the Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita Park on Oct. 25.
Bob and Beverly Lewis' Senor Swinger worked six furlongs in 1:15 2/5 around the dogs over Santa Anita's firm turf course Sunday in what could be a prep for the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) on Oct. 25, trainer Bob Baffert said.
Eddie Read Handicap (gr. IT) winner Special Ring will make his next start in the Oct. 5 Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IIT) and win or lose, will most likely be in the gate for the Oct. 25 Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT), trainer Julio Canani said.
Moyglare Stud Farm's Refuse to Bend, winner of the 2,000 Guineas (Ire-I) and a possible starter in the Breeders' Cup Mile, returned from a summer break with a romping three-length victory in the one-mile Desmond Stakes (Ire-III) at Leopardstown Sunday.
Larry Ryan, breeder of 1984 Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) winner Royal Heroine and a former chairman of the Irish National Stud, has died.
Domedriver, 26-1 upset winner of the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) on Oct. 26, will bid to add another "I" to his resume in the Hong Kong Mile (HK-I) on Dec. 15.
Trainer Wally Dollase said that Good Journey returned in top shape from a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) and is considering two options for his next start.
The Niarchos family and its Flaxman Holdings operation have enjoyed uncanny success in the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT). Of the 22 starts made under the blue-on-blue Flaxman silks in Breeders' Cup races, 11 have been in the Mile.
Irish breeders Sean and Anne Coughlan played a big role on Breeders' Cup Day, with connections to winners Domedriver and High Chaparral.
French-based Domedriver held off a stiff challenge from 4-5 favorite Rock of Gibraltar to post a three-quarter length victory in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. I). The race was marred by the breakdown of Landseer, who broke a cannon bone shortly after the field entered the stretch.
Looking for a live longshot for the NetJets Breeders' Cup (gr. IT)? Look no further than Green Fee, who is listed at 50-1 on the morning line and was the last horse to draw into the 14-horse field.
Aidan O'Brien, Europe's leading trainer as caretaker of the horses from the Coolmore operation at Ballydoyle, has seven horses entered for the World Thoroughbred Championships. His standout for the day lies in the form of Rock of Gibraltar in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) -- the best "rock" to come out of Ireland since U2.
Perhaps the most important of the post position draws for the World Thoroughbred Championships is the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT). Taking into consideration the tight track configuration and a full field of 14 top-quality horses, horsemen like to draw inside to help save ground or gain a forward position
Wally Dollase was on top of the world in 1996 and '97, when he saddled eight Breeders' Cup starters. He won the Distaff with Jewel Princess in '96 and finished second in the Classic with Deputy Commander. In 1997 Career Collection finished second in the Juvenile Fillies. The following year, he had a big chance in the Distaff with Sharp Cat, but the filly tied up badly during Breeders' Cup week and nearly died. Now, he is back with Good Journey.
Atto Mile (gr. IT) winner Good Journey, winner of the Atto Mile Stakes at Woodbine, worked a bullet six furlongs in 1:12.80 at Hollywood Park on Thursday in preparation for the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) at Arlington Park on Oct. 26.
The Rock of Gibraltar is recognized the world over as a symbol of strength and stability. Guarding the meeting point of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, the Rock of Gibraltar's reputation is one of an impregnable fortress. While its ownership has been in dispute for centuries, it has remained in British hands since the early 1700s.
Congaree and D'wildcat, two horses trying to establish their credentials for the Breeders' Cup Mile, will meet Saturday in the $250,000 Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IIT) at Santa Anita.
This is the weekend we've been waiting for: the three major North American preps for the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT).
Graded stakes winner Capsized may rates the mild edge when he faces seven rivals in the $150,000 Sea O' Erin Breeders' Cup Mile Sunday on the turf at Arlington Park.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien said Monday night that Rock of Gibraltar, winner of seven consecutive group I stakes, would be withdrawn from Saturday's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot if the ground remains firm and could close out his career in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
NetJets, a company headed by Thoroughbred owner Richard Santulli, has become title sponsor of the $1-million Breeders' Cup Mile.
Val Royal wins the Mile at Belmont Park, just like his sire, Royal Academy, did in 1990 .
Pedigree Analysis for Forbidden Apple
Top European contender for the Mile (gr. IT), Banks Hill, was pre-entered in the race only as a second preference along with fancied American runner Hap, but a surprise nominee from Sir Michael Stoute's Newmarket yard, Sheikh Maktoum's No Excuse Needed, was among the pre-entries on Monday.
Affirmed Success, likely for the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT), worked five furlongs in 1:00 Thursday on the "good" inner turf course at Belmont Park.
Pedigree Analysis for Hap
Hap's 1 1/2-length victory in Sunday's $500,000 Shadwell Keeneland Turf Mile H. (gr. IIT), coming from third in the field of nine under Jerry Bailey, was his fourth graded stakes win of the year and appeared to set him up perfectly for the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT). Bill Mott, who trains the son of Theatrical for the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust, wasn't so sure.
Pedigree Analysis for Noverre
Mile Pedigree Analysis: Irish Prize
AFFIRMED SUCCESS
NUMEROUS TIMES
IRISH PRIZE
