We get it. There was a bazillion graded stakes races over the long weekend in California, Florida, Kentucky, and New York. There was a sloppy track at Aqueduct on Saturday and Sunday (moving some turf races to the dirt), with the weather a non-issue everywhere else.
Certainly, handicappers took note and made proper changes in their wagering.
All totaled, there were 17 Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” races from Oct. 4-8 on the final weekend of the BC Challenge series in the United States that offers fees-paid, automatic berths into the two-day, 14-race, $31 million Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita on Nov. 3-4.
What did we learn from all these races ranging from 5 ½-furlong sprints to 1 ½-mile marathons?
First, Hall of Fame Todd Pletcher should have a lot of horses in the mix, from sprints to long distances, on turf and on dirt, with 2-year-olds and up.
And, as usual, six-time Kentucky Derby (G1) winning trainer Bob Baffert has a few superb 2-year-olds after Muth ($2.80 on a $2 win bet) and Wine Me Up ran 1-2 in the American Pharoah (G1) at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Muth and Wine Me U prepare for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup World Championships| Alex Evers/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
“I loved the way Muth settled, when I saw that I thought well we’ll see how good he is, and I think Juan (Hernandez) just helped him a lot. It’s nice when you have two nice colts,’’ Baffert said. “(Wine Me Up) definitely earned his way into the Breeders’ Cup. We still have Prince of Monaco, too.”
Since Baffert’s suspension from racing at Churchill Downs-owned tracks was extended through 2024 (due to the Medina Spirit DQ for a medication overage revealed after his first-place finish in 2021), the best big-race winning trainer is prohibited from saddling a Derby starter.
Pletcher has himself a bunch of talented 2-year-olds – boys and girls – that earned spots in three 2-year-old championships.
Agate Road ($6.90) won the Pilgrim (G2) at the Big A for a spot in the BC Juvenile Turf (G1); Candied ($10.16) won the Darley Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland for a place in the BC Juvenile Fillies (G1); and Locked ($3.52) won the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland to earn a berth in the BC Juvenile (G1).
In addition, Pletcher’s Up to the Mark ($6.58) nipped Master of the Seas in the Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland for a berth in the BC Turf (G1).
Pletcher said Up to the Mark is versatile, and the decision would be made about which Breeders’ Cup race he’ll run in.
“He’s a horse that can probably do anything. He showed today that he’s a Grade 1 horse at a mile. He showed that he’s a Grade 1 horse at a mile-and-a-quarter (Manhattan win), so either race could work: the mile (BC Mile) or the mile-and-a-half (BC Turf),’’ Pletcher said. “We’ll just see how he comes out of it, assess everything and make a decision.”
On Locked, Pletcher said: “He’s a colt that we always felt like ‘the further, the better.’ He kind of got a little bit of two-turn experience in that sort-of two-turn mile race at Saratoga (maiden win Sept. 1), which is always a difficult race. … he’s just been a colt that’s done everything right since Day 1.”
Pletcher also ran 1-2-3 in the off-the-turf Jockey Club Derby Invitational (G3) with Last Ark, Classic Catch, and Fearless Soldier.
Breeder’s Cup Contenders Emerge from Exciting Weekend Races
On Sunday, two of Pletcher’s stars were unable to come through at Keeneland: 3-1 favorite Noted was nosed out at the wire by 27-1 longshot Can Group ($56.34) in the $350,000 Bourbon (G2) — Can Group gained an automatic berth in the BC Juvenile; and 4-5 favorite Nest was never in contention as even-money Idiomatic ($4.12) took the Spinster.
Trainer Chad Brown had a productive weekend as well: Hard to Justify ($16.60) won the Miss Grillo a(G2) at the Big A on Oct. 4 for a berth in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf; and his General Partner ran second to Brad Cox-trained Timberlake ($11.80) in the Champagne (G1), giving Cox’s colt a place in the BC Juvenile.
Not only did Cox win his first Champagne, he won his first $600,000 Spinster (G1) at Keeneland on Sunday with Idiomatic ($4.12), who went gate-to-wire in the 1 1/8-mile “Win and You’re In” race for the BC Distaff. Nest, the 4-5 favorite, trained by Pletcher was never a factor in the field of six.
Brown also ran 1-2 in the First Lady (G2) at Keeneland with Gina Romantica ($25.02) and In Italian, and the Waya (G3) with McKulick.
War Like Goddess ($9.60) easily took the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (G1) at the Big A on Saturday. The 6-year-old mare with nearly $2.5 million in earnings is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott.
Looks like her next start will be against boys. “If she runs, she’ll run against the boys (in the BC Turf). I won’t run her a mile-and-a-quarter. She’s a mile-and-a-half filly.”