JC / Railbird

Breeders’ Cup Archive

Kitten’s Joy Retired

Turf champion Kitten’s Joy has been retired to stud (New York Post). “The cartilage has worn through in his left knee where he had surgery [last November to remove bone chips],” said owner Ken Ramsey. “Dr. [Larry] Bramlage said the knee might have been bothering him when ran he ran second in the Arlington Million [his last start]. But I’m not complaining. We had a great ride, a great run.” I give Ramsey credit for being so philosophical. Early in July, after Kitten’s Joy won his 2005 debut, the Firecracker, Ramsey outlined a big year for his star. He’d run in the Arlington Million, the Arc de Triomphe, the Breeders’ Cup, and the Japan Cup. “If he could win the Arc and that race in Tokyo, there would be nobody else they could compare him to as far as achievement goes,” Ramsey said then. How quickly disappointment came.

Posted in Breeders' Cup, Horses on September 26, 2005

Breeders’ Cup Notes

This Saturday offers a preview of Breeders’ Cup day with five grade one stakes races scheduled at Belmont (New York Daily News). In addition to the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Beldame, Vosburgh, Flower Bowl, and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic are on the card. Flower Alley, Ashado, and Sand Springs were among the expected starters in next weekend’s races putting in workouts on Sunday (NYRA).
Saturday is more than a preview — it’s a day to get big questions answered: Is Wonder Again ready for tougher competition? Are Flower Alley and Roman Ruler ready to take on their elders? And what about Ashado? (Daily Racing Form — sub. req.)
From across the pond: Despite Dettori’s ill-judged ride in last Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, beaten favorite Dubawi is still on track to run in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (Guardian).

Posted in Breeders' Cup on September 26, 2005

Breeders’ Cup Report Card

Election numbers may not be final, but Breeders’ Cup numbers are: Ghostzapper earned a Beyer of 124 (“The biggest figure ever run in the Classic”), Roses in May pulled off a 119, and Azeri matched her best with a 109. (Daily Racing Form)

Posted in Breeders' Cup on November 3, 2004

The Day After

“Demonstrating the kind of decisive superiority seldom seen at the highest level of thoroughbred racing, Ghostzapper thrashed the $4 million Breeders Cup Classic yesterday to stamp himself not only the best horse in America but maybe the whole universe. He was, in a word, stupendous!” (New York Post)
More: Ghostzapper’s performance leaves “no doubt as to Horse of the Year” (Daily Racing Form); trainer Bobby Frankel “gets bonus points for his ability to strategize” (Times Union); and Ghostzapper was the best horse in the Classic but, “Is he better than Smarty Jones?” (Boston Globe)
Related: It wouldn’t be a Breeders’ Cup without a few surprises. British shipper Wilko shocked in the Juvenile (LA Times); the “unheralded gelding” from Maryland Better Talk Now held off favorite Kitten’s Joy in the Turf (ESPN); and trainer Todd Pletcher gets not one, but two wins in the Breeders’ Cup (New York Times)
Complete results (Equibase)
Watch the races (MSNBC)

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 31, 2004

Today’s the Day

Finally, the Breeders’ Cup arrives and everyone’s talking about …
Horse of the Year: Turf could produce Horse of the Year … Classic field really chasing Smarty Jones … HOTY more than a spring fling … It’s a race for no. 1 … Contenders abound.
The Euros: A Lone Star state of mind … Powerscourt best chance for Europeans at BC … Whipper can crack it in the Mile … O’Brien braced for Texan trail.
The curse: There is no curse … Sure, there is.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 30, 2004

Where History Is Made

“From the outset, when the inaugural running was billed as the best day of racing staged anywhere and surpassed even that expectation, the Breeders’ Cup has provided a stage on which the key elements of the thoroughbred — speed, stamina and courage — are put to the acid test, as are the skills of the world’s most accomplished riders and trainers; a level field upon which the most powerful stables and those of more modest means compete eye to eye, the outcome is always left to the animals….” (Newsday)

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 30, 2004

More Breeders’ Cup Notes

Last year’s Pick 6 winner picks Artie Schiller in the Mile, Speightstown in the Sprint, and Ouija Board in Filly & Mare Turf … Big day for “affable buttinsky” Ken Ramsey … Baffert saddling Juvenile favorite … Dettori back to winning ways.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 30, 2004

Setting the Standard

When it comes to drug testing and monitoring, the Breeders’ Cup has the resources and the will to enforce a standard that few tracks can. “Ironically, the integrity of the event produces even more cynicism among America’s already cynical racing fans.” (Washington Post)

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 29, 2004

Funny Cide, Birdstone

The two New Yorkers are coupled in a head-to-head proposition bet, one of the many offered by Lone Star Park on this Saturday’s races. “The pair of them going mano-a-mano is likely to start arguments on the streets of Manhattan or fistfights in a Long Island saloon, but there’s some question as to what controversy it is apt to produce in Grand Prairie, Texas. It’s sort of like waiting 40 years to see the Yankees hook up with the Mets, only to play the Subway Series in El Paso.” (Boston Herald)
Related: “Head2Head wager offers new twist this year” (Blood-Horse)

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 28, 2004

One for the Ages

“Take a generous helping of Annika Sorenstam testing her mettle against the men of the PGA, season with Ali vs. Frazier in the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ and you have the makings of Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic: a cross-gender slugfest pitting the great mare Azeri against a dozen of the toughest, orneriest male horses in the land.” (MSNBC)
Related: “Add Bobby Frankel to the list of skeptics who doubt Azeri belongs in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. The only way she could beat the boys, Frankel said, is if ‘the gates don’t open for the rest of the horses.'” (San Francisco Chronicle)
Trainer Patrick Biancone isn’t one of the skeptics: “I think the shock to people is going to be when she wins,” he said. (New York Daily News)

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 28, 2004