JC / Railbird

Breeders’ Cup

It Takes Two

For all the complaints about its short field, the Cotillion ended up a pretty good reminder that it only takes two game horses to make a race exciting:

Posted in Racing on September 23, 2012 / Tagged Breeders' Cup, Cotillion Stakes, Distaffers, My Miss Aurelia, Parx, Questing, Stretch Duels

Looking Outward

Santa Anita’s willingness to guarantee a Lasix-free Breeders’ Cup in 2013 was a major factor in the decision to return to Arcadia:

“It is very important to us,” said Christian, speaking in Baden-Baden before Sunday’s Grosser Preis von Baden, which is now part of the Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge series.

“We consider ourselves [an] international event, not an American event — and when you’re an international event you have to adhere to international standards.”

Posted in Racing on September 2, 2012 / Tagged Breeders' Cup, Drugs in Racing, International, Lasix, Raceday Medications, Santa Anita

An International Triple Crown

Greg Wood commenting on his column re: the Arc or America dilemma:

For as long as Champions Day sits between Paris and America, it will force owners to send a horse to two out of three, and the benefit of extra time to recover means that will, in many cases, be the events on either side of Ascot.

It’s just stupid that they should need to choose at all. Put Champions Day in the right place and you have the makings of a modern Triple Crown, on offer to a horse that can win at Ascot, Longchamp and then in America. What an achievement that would be.

Indeed! It’s hard not to like a proposed schedule that makes the Breeders’ Cup the culmination of a top-tier international season, but there’s a disjunction between audiences that weakens the likelihood of such a set-up, even if the BHA succeeded in finessing the scheduling issues involved — the BC dirt races don’t stir Euro passion, and the turf races are secondary to Americans. On this side of the Atlantic, whether Champions Day is in September or October is all the same to many fans. On the other side, the question is why bother?

Posted in Racing on August 28, 2012 / Tagged Breeders' Cup, Champions Day, International, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, UK

“If They Had Polytrack We’d Have Been There”

Juddmonte racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe:

“Prince Khalid loves the Breeders’ Cup and we would love to take Frankel to Santa Anita, Bobby Frankel’s home town — the emotional ties would be fantastic.

“But unfortunately the right race is not there — we are not going to race him on dirt. It’s a pity, because if they had Polytrack we’d have been there.”

No dirt. Even a $5 million purse and sentiment aren’t enough.

Posted in Racing on August 24, 2012 / Tagged Breeders' Cup, Frankel, International, Santa Anita, Track Surfaces