The field is almost set for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park on Saturday (Nov. 4). The 1¼-mile Classic is the centerpiece of racing’s two-day, 14-race, $31 million championships. In the days leading up to the race, usracing.com will publish snapshots of the entries. Updates with odds and post positions will be published following the draw on Monday, Oct. 30.
Breeders’ Cup Classic Contenders: BRIGHT FUTURE
Bright Future- Photo Credit Coglianese Photo
Like many of Super Sire Curlin’s offspring, Bright Future has gotten better with age.
A late bloomer who didn’t debut until mid-March of his 3-year-old season, the rangy chestnut made a breakthrough this summer at Saratoga, coasting by 4¾ lengths in a 1 1/8-mile allowance optional claimer before taking the 1¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) by a nose over multiple-stakes winner Proxy.
“He wanted that fight down the stretch,” co-owner Mike Repole said. “He wanted to win it.”
Besides his sire, also a chestnut, Bright Future shares the same owners (Repole and Vinny Viola) and trainer (Todd Pletcher) as his connections’ only Classic winner (Vino Rosso).
That colt also was a 4-year-old when he won the big race in 2019 at Santa Anita, site of this year’s Cup. And here’s an eerie similarity: Vino Rosso finished first by a nose in the Gold Cup in his final Classic prep (he was placed second in a controversial disqualification).
Vino Rosso dominated his Classic by 4¼ lengths and paid a generous $11.20. Expect Bright Future to go off at significantly higher odds than 9-2, but dismissing an improving Pletcher runner is not wise.
“He’s going to need to make another move forward,” Pletcher said after the Gold Cup. “The (Classic) division appears to be pretty wide open. I guess we’ll learn a little more in California. We’ll see.”
Breeders’ Cup Classic Odds and Post Positions
Betting advice: You’ll get a fair price on an underdog with talent. He’s won at the distance, a major plus, and should get a good pace to track. A victory? Improbable but not that farfetched. Worth a small win saver.
Post position: 11
Odds: 10-1
Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owner: Repole Stable (Mike Repole), St. Elias Stable (Vinny Viola)
Biggest Win: Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), Saratoga, Sept. 2
Age: 4
Career record: 7-4-0-2
Career earnings: $716,940
Top Equibase speed figure: 111
Pedigree: Curlin-Sophia’s Song, by Bellamy Road
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Stalker
Notes: Purchased for $350,000 at Keeneland September Yearling Sale (2020) … Hall of Famer Pletcher’s endless resume (more than 5,600 winners) includes two Kentucky Derby wins, four Belmont Stakes and 12 Breeders’ Cup races. The 56-year-old Texas native is the sport’s all-time leading money winner (more than $472 million) … Repole on his longtime ally: “Todd wins with everything – colts, fillies, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, older horses, going long and short, dirt and turf. He’s the best, and I’m starting to think he’s the greatest of all time.”