JC / Railbird

Breeders’ Cup Archive

Breeders’ Cup Results

– Juvenile Fillies
The favorite: Dreaming of Anna (5-2)
The winner: Dreaming of Anna ($7.20)
My picks: Bel Air Beauty (8th), Quick Little Miss (10th)
The Breeders’ Cup card got off to a scintillating start with a dominating performance by Dreaming of Anna in the Juvenile Fillies. Living up to her pre-race hype, the filly took an early lead, rebuffed challenges from Appealing Zophie and Octave in the stretch and pulled away to a 1 1/2 length victory.
– Juveniles
The favorite: Circular Quay (3-1)
The winner: Street Sense ($32.40)
My picks: Stormello (5th), Circular Quay (2nd)
Street Sense was no less impressive, bursting through a hole on the rail to win the Juvenile by a record margin of 10 lengths.
– Filly and Mare Turf
The favorite: Ouija Board (7-5)
The winner: Ouija Board ($4.80)
My pick: Ouija Board
Ouija Board was the one sure thing on the Breeders’ Cup card and jockey Frankie Dettori rode the five-year-old mare with confidence.
– Sprint
The favorite: Henny Hughes (8-5)
The winner: Thor’s Echo ($33.20)
My picks: Bordonaro (4th), Siren Lure (8th)
Henny Hughes broke slowly, ran into traffic, and was out of contention early, finishing last. Thor’s Echo found his way along the rail, which was golden at Churchill yesterday, and took advantage of a formless pace situation to win.
– Mile
The favorite: Aussie Rules (3-1)
The winner: Miesque’s Approval ($50.60)
My picks: Echo of Light (14th), Araafa (8th), Librettist (9th)
The biggest upset of the day, Miesque’s Approval surprised with a big come from behind move.
– Distaff
The favorite: Fleet Indian (5-2)
The winner: Round Pond ($29.80)
My pick: Round Pond
Round Pond delivered in a race that was sadly marred by the fatal breakdown of Pine Island and the career-ending injury of Fleet Indian.
– Turf
The favorite: Hurricane Run (3-1)
The winner: Red Rocks ($23.60)
My picks: ‘Run (6th), Scorpion (5th), English Channel (3rd)
He rated, he rallied, he won.
– Classic
The favorite: Bernardini (1-1)
The winner: Invasor ($15.40)
My picks: Invasor, Sun King (9th), David Junior (Eased)
Jockey Javier Castellano rode Bernardini like he has in every race, but when the colt made his big move in the Classic to open up a lead, he had Invasor to contend with in the stretch, and Invasor had no trouble running right past the three-year-old, winning by a length and firmly establishing himself as the leading Horse of the Year candidate.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on November 5, 2006

Breeders’ Cup Picks

– Juvenile Fillies: Bel Air Beauty, Quick Little Miss
Bel Air Beauty is an unknown on the dirt, with her first two starts over Polytrack, but she showed tactical speed winning the Alcibiades and put away favored Untouched Talent with ease in the Keeneland stretch. Quick Little Miss has been beaten by likely second favorite Cash Included twice, by seven lengths in the Oak Leaf at Santa Anita and four in a maiden special at Del Mar, which is a lot of ground to make up in the BC, but Cash Included’s morning line odds are 3-1 and Quick Little Miss’s 30-1, making the filly an enticing longshot to play underneath.

– Juveniles: Stormello, Circular Quay
The one race I don’t have a strong opinion about. Stormello showed great improvement winning the Norfolk, while Circular Quay has the best career record. Really, though, this race could go to any number of starters.

– Filly and Mare Turf: Ouija Board
Ouija Board will have a worthy competitor in three-year-old phenom Wait a While, but the 2004 winner of this race is simply the best in the field, coming into it after facing — and beating — some of the best male turf horses in the world over the past year.

– Sprint: Bordonaro, Siren Lure
Bordonaro is pure West Coast speed and he can wire this field. But should he and likely favorite Henny Hughes end up in a disastrous speed duel, Siren Lure could be right there to pick up the win.

– Mile: Echo of Light, Araafa, Librettist

– Distaff: Round Pond
Round Pond has many factors in her favor: A trainer change, third start off a layoff, and room for improvement, and at morning line odds of 15-1, she’s well worth a straight win bet.

– Turf: Hurricane Run, Scorpion, English Channel
Arc winner Hurricane Run appears to have gone off form, with two recent flops on his record. Even at his worst though, Hurricane Run stand outs in a mixed field of overmatched locals and miscellaneous foreigners. Scorpion is a dangerous possibility, and English Channel has done little wrong this year (he’s also won at 1 1/8 over the Churchill turf, beating Cacique). One I’ll pass on is Cacique. Churchill reports the turf as firm today and that’s compromised him enough in the past that at 4-1 against Euros and English Channel he’s a likely underlay here.

– Classic: Invasor
Bernardini is the even money morning line favorite and for good reason: He comes into the Classic off a string of dominating wins and shows a line of ascending Beyers. In fact, his last three Beyers are higher than the lifetime best of any other starter in the field. But I won’t be playing him: He’s a three-year-old facing serious older competition — Lava Man, Sun King, and Invasor won’t be as easily dispatched as Wanderin Boy or Andromeda’s Hero — for the first time and the Classic field is twice as large as any in his last three races.

Invasor has a gap in training, having missed the Jockey Club Gold Cup due to a fever, but he appears to be coming up to the race well. He was tough in the Whitney, recovering from a stumble at the start, making a big move going into the stretch, and digging in to hold off Sun King at the wire. He’s undefeated in the US this year, and he’ll top my tickets.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on November 4, 2006

Breeders’ Cup Photos

My friend Bud, official photographer of Thoroughbred Racing Fans of New England, has put online a fantastic collection of photos from the Breeders’ Cup, as well as pictures from the weekend’s other stakes races and Gary Stevens’ 5,000th win. I wonder if Stevens actually got to have a slice of that chocolate cake …

Posted in Breeders' Cup on November 2, 2005

Breeders’ Cup Wrap Up

The winners: Saint Liam and Richard Dutrow; Stevie Wonderboy and Merv Griffin; Pleasant Home, Intercontinental, and longshots all around.
The losers: Lost in the Fog; those who bet Leroidesanimaux to win; and anyone who doesn’t like Richard Dutrow.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on October 31, 2005