By Richard Rosenblatt
McKinzie
Breeders’ Cup Classic: It’s A Tossup
McKinzie: So what if he finished second behind 25-1 long shot Mongolian Groom in the Awesome Again (G1) over the same surface he’ll be running over on Nov. 2. The 4-year-old son of Street Sense won the Alysheba (G1) and the Whitney (G1) to go with four runner-up finishes this year, and you can never count out the big money duo of Hall of Famers Bob Baffert and Mike Smith. Plus, it’s not certain Mongolian Groom will even run in the Classic (his connections would need to come up with a $200,000 supplemental entry fee).
Vino Rosso: The 4-year-old son of Curlin nosed out Code of Honor for first in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), but was DQ’d for interfering with his rival in an exciting stretch duel to the wire. Vino Rosso also won the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita in May.
Code of Honor: Winner of the Travers (G1) and the winner by DQ in the JCGC, trainer Shug McGaughey may just have the best 3-year-old running right now. A win could give the son of Noble Mission a fifth victory in eight starts and perhaps a 3-year-old championship.
Higher Power: Third in the Awesome Again and fifth behind Vino Rosso in the Gold Cup, the 4-year-old colt did win the Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar for trainer John Sadler, with Santa Anita’s leading rider Flavien Prat aboard. Plus, Sadler had his breakthrough BC win last year with Accelerate.
Preservationist: The 6-year-old did not really fire in the JCGC, finishing fourth, but he did win the Woodward (G1) at Saratoga in August.
Tacitus: The runner-up in the Belmont Stakes, the Jim Dandy (G2) and the Travers was third in the JCGC, but the gray son of Tapit simply looks spectacular. Even with his only wins coming early on in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and the Wood Memorial (G2), would you be surprised to see him in the Classic winner’s circle?
Math Wizard: Winner of the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at 31-1 odds, this $16,000 maiden claimer is possible for the Classic. Could he pull another upset? In a season full of them, why toss him out?
Maximum Security: The way his health has been, who knows what version of this 3-year-old colt will show up – that is, if he shows up. Of course, he finished first in the Derby only be DQ’d to 17th for interference in the stretch. He returned to the races, and finished second in the Pegasus at Monmouth Park before reasserting himself by winning the Haskell Invitational (G1). But days before the Pennsylvania Derby, he had a bout with colic and did not run. He may run like a champion in the Classic.
Seeking the Soul: The 6-year-old clinched his spot in the Classic with a win in the Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill Downs — his only victory in six starts this year. He ran seventh in the Pacific Classic and fourth in the Awesome Again.
Draft Pick: Fifth of six in the Awesome Again, the 4-year-old son of Candy Ride did run second in the Pacific Classic and has top 3 finishes in nine of 13 career races.
Yoshida: Granted, it’d be tough to make a case for this 5-year-old horse bred in Japan, but he has been competitive against top-notch competition, finishing second in the Whitney and third in the Woodward. He could end up in a Breeders’ Cup turf race, though.
Owendale, Gunnevera: Late-comers to the scene, but let’s not forget these two. Owendale, has won Grade 3 derbies in Ohio and Oklahoma, ran third in the Preakness and fifth in the Travers, and the 5-year-old Gunnevera was fifth in the 2017 Classic and second in the 2018 Classic so why not consider this big-race veteran next month?
Pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup will be announced Oct. 23 at 11:30 a.m. ET. The Classic field is limited to 14.
Over the years while working at The Associated Press, Rich Rosenblatt became a familiar name to legions of the horse racing fans and industry insiders with his award-winning articles on horse racing and his stories from the backstretch.
In addition to being an astute observer of sports, Rosenblatt is the co-author of The All-American Chili Cookbook. His work has been seen in just about every publication in the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine.