Breeder's Cup WeBLOG

The two graded stakes races on closing weekend at Saratoga were supposed to shed some major light on both the Breeders’ Cup CLASSIC and the Breeders’ Cup SPRINT, but they left many more questions unanswered than they did answered!


In the 7F Forego, Tracy Farmer’s COMMENTATOR was favored to make it two straight wins in two starts this year and remain perfect at Saratoga after winning his first two career starts there in 2004 and adding last year’s 9F G1 Whitney to his list of accomplishments as the highlight of a brief three-race campaign in 2005. But COMMENTATOR, breaking from the two-hole, stumbled at the start, brushed slightly with FRIENDLY ISLAND, and had to rush up to avoid being swallowed up by the outside speed horses. COMMENTATOR never had a sniff of the lead, which went to longshot SPANISH CHESTNUT until the eventual winner, Silverleaf Farm’s POMEROY, took charge at the 5/16ths pole and repelled the stretch challenge of WAR FRONT to post the mild surprise. Based on what I saw, the connections of POMEROY definitely deserve to set their sights on Churchill Downs and the BC SPRINT, but –first—they’re likely to move on to the 6F Vosburgh at Belmont Park in early October. And given the bad start by COMMENTATOR, you shouldn’t be surprised to see his connections take one more shot at a BC prep by testing POMEROY again in a month.


If the results of the Forego were surprising, then the results of the 9F G1 Woodward had to be considered SHOCKING! This was a race that was supposed to ratchet up Breeders’ Cup CLASSIC hopes for the likes of SUAVE, SUN KING, FLOWER ALLEY, and even ANDROMEDA’S HERO. But on a difficult, tiring Saratoga surface, none of those four horses acquitted himself well, let alone gave indications that he could be considered a contender in the BC Classic, which will be run in 60 days. The race went to longshot PREMIUM TAP, under veteran jockey Kent Desormeaux, at odds of more than 30-1. SUAVE ran into traffic troubles on the first turn, ‘Mo settled his horse just off the early pacesetter SECOND OF JUNE, made the lead at the top of the lane, put away a that dogged rival late, and easily withstood a mild rally by SUN KING. After the race, Desormeaux commented that his horse, fifth in the G1 Whitney August 5, couldn’t get in any workouts for about a three-week period in late July and early August, but was able to get in solid 4F and 5F drills prior to the Woodward. This race was probably most damaging to the BC hopes of FLOWER ALLEY, the CLASSIC runner-up to the late ST. LIAM last October at Belmont Park. He was off for eight months before winning the sloppy Salvatore Mile at Monmouth Park in June, threw in a clunker (seventh, beaten nine lengths) in the Whitney, and really damaged his BC hopes with a dull and uninspiring effort in the Woodward. The win by PREMIUM TAP, whose tongue dangled out the left side of his mouth the entire race, prompted Hall Of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey –on the ESPN broadcast – to say, “I couldn’t have bet this horse even on the replay!”


With two months left until “the big day” in Louisville, there’s finally some action in the Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies divisions to discuss. Michael & Doreen Tabor’s CIRCULAR QUAY, a horse we talked up quite a bit on Thoroughbred Connection prior to his Bashford Manner win at Churchill Downs in July, overcame a slow break to post an impressive victory in Saratoga’s G1 Hopeful on Labor Day. Later in the afternoon, the Bob Baffert-trained filly POINT ASHLEY registered a 2 ½ length victory in the G1 Del Mar Debutante.