Aidan O’Brien embraces Del Mar; D’Amato has 8 pre-entries.
Chad Brown’s Breeders’ Cup Favorites: Can Chancer McPatrick Lead the Way?
Chad Brown is America’s leading trainer with a resume that will put him in racing’s Hall of Fame the minute he becomes eligible. The upstate New Yorker has won 18 Breeders’ Cup races and is likely to send out several favorites among his pre-entries in the 41st Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Nov. 1-2.
One of those top choices would be Chancer McPatrick in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). The Kentucky-bred colt is 3-for-3, including victories in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) at Saratoga and the Champagne Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct.
Brown, who also trai
“He always showed a lot of promise from the day he stepped foot in the barn,’’ Brown said during a national conference call this week. “We were cautiously optimistic that when we debuted him, we had something that was very special. And he’s never disappointed … He’s run like a mature, experienced horse. He’s endured some trouble, particularly his first two starts, and he was able to overcome it, which you love to see with a young horse. And I’ve just, I’ve been impressed with this horse every day I’ve seen him.”
Brown is considered a master turf trainer, with 14 of his 18 BC wins coming on the grass. He’s won the Juvenile (on dirt) once, in 2017 with Good Magic, who finished second to Justify in the 2018 Kentucky Derby (G1).
In May, Brown came close in the Derby again with Sierra Leone, who came up a nose short against Mystik Dan in a three-horse photo finish with Forever Young third.
Chancer McPatrick, with a strong showing in the Juvenile, would be tabbed a leading contender for the 2025 Derby and perhaps give Brown his first victory in the Run for the Roses.
Aidan O’Brien embraces trip to Del Mar
Irishman Aidan O’Brien, considered the world’s top trainer, has a large contingent of Breeders’ Cup pre-entries (18), including multiple Group 1 winner City of Troy for the Classic.
While City of Troy will be running on a dirt surface for the first time, his other contenders will be on the more familiar turf. O’Brien, like Chad Brown, has 18 BC wins, with 16 of them on the turf.
O’Brien is not only looking forward to success, he’s happy to spend time in California.
“If you lived in our climate, you’d only be looking forward to going to Del Mar,’’ he said. “We don’t get much nice, good weather like you do in a beautiful place. And that’s obviously a great racetrack, but it’s competitive fiercely and we wouldn’t expect anything different.
“And it is in America. So, for us, it’s a new, different, exciting world, really. And we look forward to going and trying to compete.”
D’Amato out pre-enters Baffert
Of the 212 horses pre-entered for the 14-race Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, 44 make their home at Santa Anita.
Among Santa Anita-based trainers, Phil D’Amato leads the way with eight pre-entries to Hall of Famer Bob Baffert’s seven.
Doug O’Neill has six, followed by Tim Yakteen with four, and John Sadler with three.
D’Amato’s pre-entries: Vodka With a Twist (Juvenile Fillies); Thought Process (Juvenile Fillies Turf); Iron Man Cal (Juvenile Turf); One Magic Philly (Filly & Mare Sprint); Motorious (Turf Sprint); Che Evasora (Distaff); Gold Phoenix (Turf); Hang the Moon (Filly & Mare Turf).