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The sudden and unexpected death of Dubai World Cup champion ELECTROCUTIONIST over the weekend took a leading star away from this year’s Breeders’ Cup and caused a shakeup in the new NTRA Breeders’ Cup World Championship polls.


The Godolphin stable color-bearer, the five-year-old ELECTROCUTIONIST (RED RANSOM), died of an apparent heart attack only days after a cardiac abnormality was first detected. According to Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford, the horse initially responded well to treatment, but was fatally stricken early Saturday morning.


The multiple stakes winner came to Godolphin after the end of the 2005 racing season and promptly rattled off a pair of impressive wins at Nad al Sheba, taking the Maktoum Challenge Round III March 2 and the Dubai World Cup over BRASS HAT three weeks later. He resumed his 2006 campaign in June, finishing second to Breeders’ Cup Filly/Mare Turf leader OUIJA BOARD (GB) and –in what proved to be his final start– finished second to Breeders’ Cup Turf contender HURRICANE RUN in late July.


With ELECTROCUTIONIST unfortunately out of the picture, Breeders’ Cup Turf leader SHIROCCO (GER) moved way up into the Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings, coming from out of the top ten to take the sixth spot. DAVID JUNIOR moved up from sixth to fifth, with the top four unchanged: BERNARDINI, INVASOR (ARG), LAVA MAN, and SUN KING.


In the Turf rankings, a weekend victory by SHIROCCO (GER) over HURRICANE RUN at Longchamp in France, forced a flip-flop of last week’s one-two ranked runners, while the departure of ELECTROCUTIONIST, seventh last week, allowed GO DEPUTY to sneak from out of the top ten to ninth place. And Irish Derby winner DYLAN THOMAS (IRE) scored a narrow victory over OUIJA BOARD (GB) in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown to move up three notches to sixth place. Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor, the owners of DYLAN THOMAS (IRE) --also seventh in the Classic division rankings-- will face a decision on which of the two BC races to send their ace three-year-old to on the first Saturday in November.


Three G1 stakes races run over the weekend at Belmont Park all had Breeders’ Cup implications … the Man O’ War Stakes, the Garden City Breeders’ Cup, and the Gazelle. Turf contender CACIQUE (IRE) moved up two spots to third after posting a two-length victory over GO DEPUTY and SHOWING UP in the Man O’ War. In the Garden City BC, the Todd Pletcher-trained MAGNIFICENT SONG took advantage of the absence of barnmate WAIT A WHILE to beat TAKE THE RIBBON and JADE QUEEN. But, even with the victory, the winner couldn’t crack the top ten in the Filly/Mare Turf rankings, with OUIJA BOARD (GB) and GORELLA (FR) listed one-two. In the Gazelle, PINE ISLAND tallied over TEAMMATE and LAST ROMANCE to move up to fourth in the BC Distaff rankings.


Even though the first Breeders’ Cup Juvenile rankings aren’t due out for another week, trainer Richard Mandella served notice that he might have a contender by sending out HORSE GREELEY to win the G2 Del Mar Futurity on closing day at the scenic seaside oval.