Breeders’ Cup Report
By Michael – Louis Ingram, Editor
BASN
PHILADELPHIA (BASN/BASN NEWSROOM) — Once again the sports world gets to go to the post as thoroughbred racing takes center stage with the latest edition of the Breeders’ Cup.
As in last year’s event, the venue is Santa Anita Race Track, a blessing for fans, but a potential curse for many handicappers since the switch to Pro Ride, a synthetic surface which, in my humble opinion, doesn’t offer any pattern of consistency in charting and handicapping a horse’s progress from one race to the next.
The fact that this venue sports an artificial surface is the sole reason for the quirkiest of quirks – the front-runner for Horse of the Year will sit out the event because of the plastic track.
Her Royal Highness, Rachel Alexandra, Dominatrix of Dirt and Warrior Queen of all Thoroughbreds, has forced the hand of her greatest rival. “Lady Z” aka Zenyatta, has decided to bypass the Ladies Classic and run against the boys in an attempt to wrest the title from Queen Rachel.
Zenyatta has run an amazing 13 for 13 in her career to tie the great Personal Ensign; if she were to prevail in the Classic against the “Bird Brothers” (Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird), well – many would say, “Let the debate for Horse of the Year begin.”
New Format
The format for this Cup has been expanded from previous events. Now there are 14 feature races spread out over an entire weekend.
Friday has been designated as “Ladies Day,” with six Cup races filling out the day’s card. Saturday brings the males (and the ladies that would dare run against them) for eight races, with the finale being the BC Classic.
The betting will be hot and heavy, and ticket prices were scaled down to ensure a good gate; apparently, someone was paying attention to the economy…
In addition to the punters’ new best friend, the ten – cent superfecta box, there is separate betting on which jockey will score the most victories, another chance to place a couple of bucks on who will be the best of the best astride the Noble Beast this weekend.
So, without further ado…
It is now Post Time!
As stated in a previous column, I did not do sufficient study to warrant anyone spending their hard – earned cash on any harebrained ideas I had, so I opted to not bet at all last year, due mostly to the synthetic track. But now, we have a strategy; and thanks to the ten – cent superfecta, we might get a chance to create a few aftershocks to the bank account – OW!
What we say is what we play – so if we’re jingling, baby – so, hopefully, are you. Anyway, good hunting to all, and awaaay we go…
We will handicap Friday’s card for this column, and the balance of races will be featured on Saturday:
Breeders’ Cup Marathon $500,000 Three-Year-Olds and Up 1 3/4 Miles (ESPN2, 3:35 p.m. ET)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Black Astor | Alex Solis | 12-1 |
| 2 | Muhannak (IRE) | Ryan Moore | 12-1 |
| 3 | Nite Light | John Velazquez | 4-1 |
| 4 | Cloudy’s Knight | Rosemary Homeister, Jr.
|
8-1 |
| 5 | Father Time (GB) | Eddie Ahern | 3-1 |
| 6 | Mastery (GB) | Lanfranco Dettori | 9-5 |
| 7 | Sir Dave | Joel Rosario | 20-1 |
| 8 | Eldaafer | Rafael Bejarano | 30-1 |
| 9 | Man of Iron | John Murtagh | 8-1 |
| 10 | Gangbuster | Kent Desormeaux | 30-1 |
(The Play: The debut race for the Ladies, the Marathon is an event I feel will favor the European contingent. Muhannak, Father Time and Mastery have all run and won at higher weights than the 126 pounds assigned all the entrants, so they all go in the box. The freshest horse – meaning most recent to run, is Cloudy Knight, with Rosemary Homeister, Jr. in the irons. I will include Nite Light & Man of Iron to fill the box. A ten – cent superfecta box #2#3#4#5#6#9 = $36.00.).
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf $1,000,000 Two-Year-Old Fillies 1 Mile (Turf) (ESPN2, 4:08 p.m. ET)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Potosina | John Velazquez | 20-1 |
| 2 | Elusive Galaxy (IRE) | Rafael Bejarano | 12-1 |
| 3 | Smart Seattle | Jeremy Rose | 8-1 |
| 4 | Rose Catherine | Javier Castellano | 8-1 |
| 5 | La Nez | Mike Smith | 20-1 |
| 6 | Jungle Tale | Shaun Bridgmohan | 15-1 |
| 7 | House of Grace | Michael Luzzi | 4-1 |
| 8 | Lillie Langtry (IRE) | John Murtagh | 3-1 |
| 9 | Hatheer | Alan Garcia | 10-1 |
| 10 | Tapitsfly | Robby Albarado | 8-1 |
| 11 | Junia Tepzia (IRE) | Kieren Fallon | 8-1 |
| 12 | Lisa’s Kitten | Julien Leparoux | 12-1 |
| 13ae | Dad’s Crazy | Ramon Dominguez | 15-1 |
| 14ae | In the Slips | Garrett Gomez | 12-1 |
(The Play: Again the Europeans love the turf and are usually loaded for bear when coming for BC cash; which means Elusive Galaxy, Lillie Langtry & Junia Tepzia are in. Potosina comes in the freshest of these two-year-old fillies, having raced less than 15 days, an angle I’ve always used.
I like how Rose Catherine came in after breaking her maiden, and how Jungle Tale closed running up in Canada at Woodbine. A ten cent super box with #1,#2,#4, #6, #8, & #11 = $36.00).
Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (Grade I) $2,000,000 Two-Year-Old Fillies 1 1/16 Miles (ESPN2, 4:45 p.m. ET)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Zilva | Jeremy Rose | 30-1 |
| 2 | Ms Vanenzza | Joseph Rocco, Jr.
|
30-1 |
| 3 | Blind Luck | Tyler Baze | 3-1 |
| 4 | Beautician | Robby Albarado | 6-1 |
| 5 | Bickersons | Joel Rosario | 20-1 |
| 6 | Connie and Michael | Kent Desormeaux | 4-1 |
| 7 | Devil May Care | John Velazquez | 8-1 |
| 8 | She Be Wild | Julien Leparoux | 8-1 |
| 9 | Champagne d’Oro | Martin Garcia | 50-1 |
| 10 | Negligee | Rajiv Maragh | 6-1 |
| 11 | Always a Princess | Garrett Gomez | 6-1 |
| 12 | Biofuel | Eurico Da Silva | 15-1 |
(The Play: This race is the first clear indicator of my search for consistency on the synthetic track. Connie and Michael is the freshest horse, and she cruised at Keeneland; her Devil’s Bag bloodline insists she has speed to spare. Biofuel comes down from Woodbine with some Canadian muscle in Eurico Rosa Da Silva. Champagne D’Oro is a beautifully bred filly out of Medaglia d’Oro with another speedball thread via Saratoga Six; she was a DQ’d winner at Del Mar and got the squeeze play when stepping up to a Grade I stake race. She doesn’t know she’s 50-1!
Negligee with Rajiv Maragh could be the post-time favorite – I like her a lot.
She Be Wild will likely be on the lead and Julien “The Werewolf” Leparoux stays in front if he gets away clean. I’ll add Blind Luck – because I may need some for this box. A ten cent super box with #3, #6,#8, #9, #10 & #12 = $36.00).
Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (Grade I) $2,000,000 Fillies and Mares, Three-Year-Olds and Up 1 1/4 Miles (Turf) (ESPN2 5:23 p.m. ET)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Visit (GB) | John Velazquez | 10-1 |
| 2 | Forever Together | Julien Leparoux | 5-2 |
| 3 | Rutherienne | Alan Garcia | 8-1 |
| 4 | Magical Fantasy | Alex Solis | 3-1 |
| 5 | Pure Clan | Garrett Gomez | 5-1 |
| 6 | Midday (GB) | Thomas Queally | 4-1 |
| 7 | Dynaforce | Kent Desormeaux | 8-1 |
| 8 | Maram | Jose Lezcano | 15-1 |
(The Play: A little different strategy due to the smaller field. I’m going to go against the British Invasion, and use Forever Together, Rutherienne & Magical Fantasy to front my superfecta partial: $.10 superfecta wheel 2,3,4 with 2,3,4 with 2,3,4 with All = $3; $.10 superfecta wheel 2,3,4 with 2,3,4 with All with 2,3,4 = $3; $.10 superfecta wheel 2,3,4 with All with 2,3,4 with 2,3,4 = $3; $.10 superfecta wheel All with 2,3,4 with 2,3,4 with 2,3,4 = $3 for a total of $12.00; plus a $.10 superfecta partial with #4 {Magical Fantasy is the freshest horse} with 2,3,5, with 2,3,5, with all for $4.00; and the same with #3 Rutherienne on top of 2,4,5, with 2,4,5 with all for $4.00 – total investment = $20.00).
Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (Grade I) $1,000,000 Fillies and Mares, Three-Year-Olds and Up 7 Furlongs (ESPN2 6:02 p.m. ET)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Free Flying Soul | Mike Smith | 50-1 |
| 2 | Sara Louise | Lanfranco Dettori | 9-2 |
| 3 | Game Face | Edgar Prado | 10-1 |
| 4 | Only Green (IRE) | Olivier Peslier | 20-1 |
| 5 | Silver Swallow | Alex Solis | 30-1 |
| 6 | Evita Argentina | Joel Rosario | 20-1 |
| 7 | Informed Decision | Julien Leparoux | 5-2 |
| 8 | Seventh Street | Rajiv Maragh | 4-1 |
| 9 | Ventura | Garrett Gomez | 8-5 |
(The Play: Only Green is the freshest horse, so she’s in. I’ll add the favorite and the longest shot on the board; Ventura is a stone killer when it comes to racing in the money, and Free Flying Soul won at this track, albeit at a far lower level – would be nice if she snuck into the superfecta. Sara Louise, Informed Decision and Silver Swallow round out my box; a $.10 superfecta box with #1, 2, 4, 5, 7, & 9 = $36.00.
Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (Grade I) $2,000,000 Fillies and Mares, Three-Year-Olds and Up 1 1/8 Miles (ESPN2, 6:45 p.m. ET)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Careless Jewel | Robert Landry | 2-1 |
| 2 | Life Is Sweet | Garrett Gomez | 8-1 |
| 3 | Mushka | Kent Desormeaux | 12-1 |
| 4 | Lethal Heat | Alex Solis | 20-1 |
| 5 | Proviso (GB) | John Velazquez | 8-1 |
| 6 | Cocoa Beach (CHI) | Richard Migliore | 8-1 |
| 7 | Music Note | Rajiv Maragh | 9-5 |
| 8 | Rainbow View | Julien Leparoux | 6-1 |
(The Play: This race was supposed to be Zenyatta’s walkover, but thanks to Rachel Alexandra, Lady Z had to take on the boys; how amazing is that when 14 – 0 in an undefeated career lifetime would not be sufficient because of the level of competition? So out of the rest we opt for the superfecta partial: $.10 superfecta wheel 1,4,8 with 1,4,8 with 1,4,8 with All = $3; $.10 superfecta wheel 1,4,8 with 1,4,8 with All with 1,4,,8 = $3; $.10 superfecta wheel 1,4,8 with All with 1,4,8 with 1,4,8 = $3; $.10 superfecta wheel All with 1,4,8 with 1,4,8 with 1,4,8 = $3 for a total of $12.00; plus a $.10 superfecta partial with #8 {Rainbow View is the freshest horse} with 1,2,4, with 1,2,4, with all for $4.00; and the same with #1 Careless Jewel on top of 2,4,8, with 2,4,8 with all for $4.00 – total investment = $20.00).
Next Time: Saturday’s Card – and the BC Classic. Can Zenyatta out diva the Warrior Queen, Rachel Alexandra?
Until then, when you see your hoss running her oats off to hang on deep stretch, help get her home in time and scream…
WORK THAT NOBLE BEAST!!!!
michaelingram@blackathlete.com/basneditor@basnnewsroom.com
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