JC / Railbird - Breeders’ Cup

Breeders’ Cup Archive

Baffert Considers Sprint

Trainer Bob Baffert is considering the Breeders’ Cup Sprint for Roman Ruler (Daily Racing Form):

“He worked good enough today where I would seriously consider the Sprint,” said Baffert. “The problem I have with the Classic is that he’s not mature enough to run with the older horses. He’s got brilliant speed. He’s not as quick away from the blocks, but he has speed.”

Roman Ruler last started in the Goodwood, where he finished second to likely Classic favorite Rock Hard Ten after setting the pace. Not a bad performance for a three-year-old — if that race didn’t take too much out of him, I could easily see Roman Ruler as the one most likely end Lost in the Fog’s winning streak.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 13, 2005

Looking Beyond the BC

The Breeders’ Cup is still more than two weeks away, but Steve Haskin is already thinking about the 2006 Triple Crown season:

This may sound like an outrageous question in October, but could it be that we finally are going to see a Triple Crown winner next year?

One guess as to who Haskin thinks could be the Triple Crown winner. Not that I disagree — I saw the colt every day for three weeks at Saratoga and he is an amazing specimen. Such presence! Such grace! And he has run a tremendous two-year-old campaign.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 11, 2005

Alex to Miss Classic

Disappointing, but not unexpected news: Afleet Alex is out of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Trainer Tim Ritchey and veterinarian Patricia Hogan released a joint statement on the Afleet Alex web site this afternoon saying the colt’s injured ankle needs more time to heal:

After the recent works, Alex was radiographed again and although it is very subtle, it is evident that the bone is still in the end stages of the healing process. We are 99% there but for this horse we require 100%.

Ritchey said Afleet Alex will continue to jog and may still return to racing this year, possibly in the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on November 26.
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Check out the photo on this MSNBC article: You can almost hear Afleet Alex being read his rights.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 10, 2005

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