Sports, Ink

Post Time: Cigar Mile preview

The Grade 1 $250,000 Cigar Mile Handicap represents the final Grade 1 race of the year in New York racing, to be run on Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct Race Track. It’s one of my favorite races of the year and a race that a big score can be ripe for the taking. In 2005, I sat in the Wehrle OTB and watched a 25-1 longshot named Purge close with a flurry to upset a star-studded field. His babies are running this year and we’ve been keeping a close eye on them due the big score he gave us that day in late November six years ago.

This year seven horses, including one entry by the Todd Pletcher barn will contest for the Grade 1 honors. Pletcher is tied with Bob Baffert with three career wins in this race over its 21 year history. One horse, To Honor and Serve, comes out of the biggest race of the year, the Breeders’ Cup Classic and tries to rebound after a solid effort in the Pennsylvania Derby.

1 – Calibrachoa (Pletcher, C Velasquez, 5-2) – Represents the first half of the Repole/Pletcher entry who will stretch  out to a mile for the first time ever. He runs back after winning the rescheduled Grade 3 Bold Ruler at Aqueduct three weeks ago.

1a –Caixa Electronica (Pletcher, J Velazquez, 5-2) – Second half of entry has never won more than a Grade 3 in his career. Solid horse but will have to run his best effort to surpass his counterparts. The entry is solid, but will play no better than third.

2- Pretty Boy Freud (Ortiz, O’Brien, 20-1) – Draws the rail with the bug boy in the irons, thus receiving a weight break of six to seven pounds to the highweights in this race. Has never won at the distance and has a tendency to throw in a clunker every now and again. Pass.

3- Haynesfield (Dominguez, Asmussen, 4-1) – Last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup champ and runner-up in the 2010 Cigar Mile, Haynesfield could be just the right price to take a shot at this one. Comes in second off the layoff for Steve Asmussen and has a solid workout under his belt. Dominguez owns the Big A, so he could spring the upset at a decent price.

4 – Hymn Book (McGaughey IIIl,Garcia, 8-1) – Shug cuts back in distance with Alan Garcia in the saddle. Has only missed the board twice in 12 efforts, represents a very possible upset victim. The cutback angle makes him dangerous and if it’s hot on the front end he could pick up the pieces late. We will make a flyer saver bet on him.

5 – To Honor and Serve (Mott, Lezcano, 7-5) – Deserving favorite who was within striking distance in the stretch at the Classic and had a lot of buzz going into the race. The mile distance may suit him perfectly. He won  the one mile Grade 2 Nashua here last November, so he can handle the track and the distance without issue. Bill Mott, who won the race in 1994 with the race’s namesake, has not won the race since it was renamed the Cigar Mile in 1997, but feels his horse is ready to contest. “Shortening back from 1 ¼ miles to a mile is not usually an easy task, but it’s possible,” said Mott. “I know it’s a bit of a squeeze to come back after a race like that, but he’s feeling good, it’s a Grade 1, and probably the last race of the season for him.”

6 – Sangaree (bin Suroor, Maragh, 5-1) – The Godophin entry has solid excuses in his last two races where he finished second, but he just doesn’t seem to get it done. His work tab looks fabulous so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to include him underneath in the trifecta and superfecta wagering, but can’t see him having the class to handle the best in here.

Post Time Outlook: 1 – Haynesfield; 2 –To Honor and Serve; 3 – Pletcher Entry

Long shot possibility : Hymn Book

Good luck and let’s go cash some tickets!

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

Post Time: Let's get this Derby trail started

By Gene Kershner

Say it ain’t so. The 2012 Derby trail is about to get started with the $1 million Grade 3 Delta Jackpot in Louisiana this weekend. Getting into the gate in the Kentucky Derby is all about graded stakes earnings and the first big race subsequent to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is in the South at the bullring known as Delta Downs on Saturday.

Of course, it’s so early in the season that only one horse of any winner since its inception in 2002 has actually made the gate in the Derby, that the chances are slim that the 2012 winner will actually show up in Louisville on the First Saturday in May. The 2008 winner ended up the Eclipse Award winner in the Sprint category in Big Drama, who challenged Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness, so it’s possible that a star could be born in this year’s edition.

One thing to consider when looking at Derby preps is that the favorite rarely wins, and these are the types of races to look elsewhere for value and a horse ready to move forward in his training pattern and win a big race of this nature.

Let’s take a look at this year’s Jackpot’s talented field …

1 – Longview Drive (Hollendorfer, Rosario, 10-1) – An intriguing horse that’s won at the distance and has a three-race winning streak going. Recent Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer changes jockeys and goes with the talented Joel Rosario to try and make his mark in south Louisiana. I’m kind of digging this horse with an excellent pedigree (see A.P. Indy as grand sire).  He’s in my mix for sure.

2- Seven Lively Sins (Stall, Leparoux, 9-2) – Looks like a sharp horse, but I’m staying away based on the Average Winning Distances (AWD) of his sire and dam sire. Looks to be more of a sprinter to me and will take a lot of money at the windows based on the connections and morning line odds. No thanks.

3- Tiz Moe (Calhoun, Theriot, 15-1) – I’m a big Tiznow fan, and the price may be right to throw a deuce on this horse, only because he can get the 9-furlongs without a problem. Got whacked pretty good by 5-My Adonis in the stretch last out, but these are young horses and we can see progression from poor performances. He shows an awesome workout on November 12, so don’t discount based on his last effort.

4 – Basmati (O’Neill, Nakatani, 8-1) – Finally broke his maiden in his sixth race, but his speed figures match up with the top contenders in here and top trainer Doug O’Neill not afraid to head east of the Mississippi to grab some graded earnings. Cautiously optimistic about this guy, but will probably lay off and play wait and see before investing any hard earned cash on this one.

5 – My Adonis (Breen, Trujillo, 4-1) – Hasn’t missed the exacta in five races and has a win over the bullring. That alone has this one in my mix. His bloodlines say that he can handle the route distance and winning over the track puts him in the forefront for his handicapper.

6 – Drill (Baffert, Garcia, 2-1) – He’s the odds-on favorite for the race. Running back in two weeks after a dismal tenth place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. This is the one to try and beat if you’re looking to make a few bucks. Not sure he’s the bullring type, so I’m laying off him. Good chance he disappears with a poor performance here.

7 – Laurie’s Rocket (Stewart, Hernandez, 10-1) – I loved Bluegrass Cat in his day, but this colt looks more like a sprinter to me based on his previous races. His best speed figure that would even challenge his foes in this race was in his last race at 6 1/2-furlongs. We’ll be taking a pass on this one.

8 – Sabercat (Asmussen, Melancon, 8-1) – Tough not to like a Sabercat in Buffalo, and this one actually has a decent chance off his last two efforts. Asmussen is dangerous in these scenarios and he wouldn’t have this colt in here if he didn’t think he had a legitimate chance at bringing this one home. Considering.

9 – Dougs Buddy (Petrowski, Stokes, 20-1) - So he’s undefeated in four starts at Northlands Park in Edmonton. He sports a solid workout at Delta, but coming from Canada, he’s a complete unknown. Hard to wager any hard earned cash based on that alone. Not that I won’t be eating my tuque if he comes through.

10 – Jake Mo (Milligan, Simmigton, 15-1) – That’s one jockey/trainer combo I’ve never seen, so I’m skeptical and tossing even though he’s run well in sprints at Prairie Meadows. I’ve got certain angles I like to play, and this isn’t one of them.

Post Time Outlook: 1 – My Adonis; 2 – Sabercat; 3 – Longview Drive

Long shot possibility: Tiz Moe

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

Post Time: Live from the Breeders' Cup

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Good afternoon from Churchill Downs where the sun is shining on Breeders’ Cup (BC) Saturday under the Twin Spires. The track conditions are good for both the dirt track and the turf. Officials are expecting upwards of 70,000 racing fans at the historic race course today.

On Friday, 40, were on hand to see the 3-year old filly Royal Delta ($6.40) win the Ladies’ Classic under the lights. She more than likely wrapped up the 3-year old filly Eclipse Award with that effort after winning the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan on Preakness weekend and the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga this summer. She defeated It’s Tricky by 2-1/2 lengths to take home the first place check worth $1,080,000. Not a bad day at the park.

The filly in our feature story in Thursday's paper, Bona Venture Stables’ Royal Bonnie, was in contention for the first six furlongs of the one mile Juvenile Fillies Turf, but was caught four wide most of the way around the track and faded in the stretch to 10th. They had a few minutes of glory as she looked to be placed right outside the leaders, unfortunately she didn’t fire.

Overall handle on Breeders’ Cup Friday was down $3 million to $50 million, a decrease of 5.6 percent. Today’s first Breeders’ Cup race, the Marathon is scheduled to go to post at 1:20 p.m. Follow along through the afternoon as we’ll share various notes and nuggets and by the end of the day you’ll know how to concoct a Zenyatta cocktail, an adult beverage being debuted by one of the BC Sponsors.

12:30 p.m.: We're 50 minutes to post (MTP) for the BC Marathon, which is Race 3 on the Churchill card. To be honest with you, I'm not a big fan of this race and will start playing some rolling Pick-3's starting with Race 4. If I had to make a selection here I'd go with 9-Cease, trainer Al Stall's 4-year old gelding. He's owned by the same team that had last year's BC Classic winner Blame. If 5-Giant Oak gets the right pace scenario, he could also factor with a late closing effort. Back after the Marathon.

1:35 p.m.: Holy smokes, 8-Afleet Again ($85.20) just blew up the tote at 41-1. The Breeders' Cup is chaos at its best. Cease made his move at the top of the lane, but the fairly quick early fractions did him in. Birdrun completed a $668 exacta for $2.

As expected, the track was upgraded to fast after the Marathon. The Grade 1 BC Juvenile Turf is up next for 2-year old colts and geldings, going one mile on the turf course. This race is pretty wide open and with the likely favorite (Finale) in the 13 post, I’ve decided to go pretty deep in here. Some of the long shots used in my Pick-3 include 4-Faraaj, 5-Wrote, 9-Daddy Nose Best, and 11-Escaper. The turf races were the ones that paid the most yesterday, so this is where we’re going to go deep today.

2:17 p.m.: We'll take that result with the Irish-bred Wrote (11-1) overtaking 33-1 long shot Escaper, who ran a big race. If you want to follow along the rest of the Pick-3 with me, I have 2,5,6,7,​with 1,8,13,14 over the next two legs. Wrote paid $25.20 to win, so we've had our second straight double digit winner. Escaper paid $30.40 to place and completed a whopping $964 exacta for $2. Too bad I didn't box my selections above, but I promised it would be a wide open race.

The Grade 1 $1.5 million BC Sprint is up next, where nine horses will try and defeat the defending champion 8-Big Drama. I threw him out of my Pick-3 based on his light schedule for the year. If I get through this leg I may have to try one of those Zenyatta drinks!

2:45 p.m.: Amazombie ($17.80) ran a huge race at 7-1 overtaking Force Freeze (6-1) in the final furlong. Mike Smith gets the win and this is going to be another nice exacta ($145 for $2). We're still alive in our Pick-3 to four horses (1,8,13,14) going into the BC Turf Sprint. Let's get this last one home in the final leg. The will-pays range from $250 (8-Regally Ready) to $2,287 (1-Grand Adventure), let's say that will pay a lot of bills. Time to think about hedging.

2:53 p.m.: We'll throw $10 to win on 4-Perfect Officer who is taking money and $10 on 7-Havelock to hedge our Pick-3 bet. By the way, lunch was a nice piece of chicken with green beans, very tasty. Another turf race where anything can happen, don't be afraid to box four or five horses as the prices on some of these quality horses are higher than they normally on. By the way, that's the third straight favorite to go down. 

3:30 p.m.: Right on! Regally Ready ($6.60) was too much to handle, and a favorite finally has won a BC race here at Churchill. He won a Grade 3 on Kentucky Derby day while I was live blogging that event, so I guess you could say he's my lucky charm. Now we're playing with house money. Time for that Zenyatta drink. By the way, it's made with 1-1/4 parts Grey Goose Le Citron, 2-1/2 parts pink lemonade and a mint sprig.

The $1 million Grade 1 BC Dirt Mile is up next and I am fortunate enough to garner an elusive paddock pass, so I will be heading down to the paddock. We’ll fire up another $0.50 Pick-3 which finishes in Race 9 with heavy favorite Union Rags in the BC Juvenile (my only single for the day). We’ll share the play with you here: 2,4,5,6,7,8 with 1,2,6,7,9 with 10. My top horse is 5-Wilburn, but I have some bombers in 4-Tres Borrachos and 6-Irrefutable in the mix. This is the first time I get to see 1-The Factor in action for conditioner Bob Baffert who had Triple Crown aspirations earlier in the year. The race is pretty wide open (as you can see I spread with six horses) and also has the Preakness winner 2-Shackleford shooting for a BC win.

3:32 p.m.: The track superintendent has just upgraded the turf course to firm. Heading down to the paddock for the BC Dirt Mile.

4:20 p.m.: Good start to our Pick-3 with Caleb's Posse ($15.60) who came flying down the lane to overtake Shackleford who had taken the lead at the top of the stretch. The last few BC Dirt Miles have been won by horses who were cutting back in distance. Caleb's Posse had run his last in the 1-1/16 mile Indiana Derby where he finished in third behind Shack. He nipped Uncle Mo at the wire in the 7-furlong King's Bishop at Saratoga, it seems that the mile distance is right in his wheelhouse.

The $3M BC Turf is up next and it's full of Euros. We've five deep in our Pick-3 using all of them. My top choice is 7-Sea Moon. Let's see if we can keep up the momentum. It's really a beautiful day here at Churchill and definitely a few degrees warmer than yesterday. The Turf is also the start of the late Pick-4 and I've partnered with Keith McCalmont from Woodbine Entertainment and Mike MacAdam from the Schnectady Daily Gazette.

We'll be back after the Turf as a lead-in to the Juvenile. Good luck! 

5:12 p.m.: How about 18-year old jockey Joseph O'Brien winning the BC Turf for his father, trainer Aiden O'Brien with 1-St Nicholas Abbey ($15.60) edging out my top choice, Sea Moon, in deep stretch. He becomes the youngest rider to win a Breeders' Cup race. 

That keeps our Pick-3 ticket alive to 10-Union Rags in the BC Juvenile. The will-pay is $73 to the heavy favorite who is currently 6/5 on the board. We'll protect our $15 Pick-3 investment by playing $2 win bets on the following horses: 3-Crusade, 8-Speightscity, 9-Alpha, 11-Daddy Long Legs and 13-Optimizer. Will we be seeing the leading contender for next year's Kentucky Derby? Last year, Uncle Mo, who runs later this evening in the BC Classic ran away with the Juvenile.

We're also alive in our Pick-4 plays and if you want to follow along the rest of the way we have two tickets alive with 10/1,5,10,13/2,8,9,10,12 on one ticket and 5,7/1,5/2,10 on a backup. Let's bring these home!

5:38 p.m.: Sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield. In that race, I was the bug. We wrote about Hansen ($16.20) in last Saturday's preview column as a Turfway horse (sound familiar, Animal Kingdom) who crushed his first two races by more than a combined 25-lengths. He wired the field and hung on at the finish. Union Rags was caught four wide and just had too much ground to cover and was beaten by a head. He also drifted out at the wire on jockey Javier Castellano. It reminds me of 2009 BC Juvenile when Lookin at Lucky was caught five wide early in the race and couldn't get to the eventual winner at the wire. I wouldn't count this horse out just yet, and these two should be showing up on plenty of Derby lists come winter.

The BC Mile is up next and history is at the forefront here at Churchill. 1-Goldikova is looking for her fourth straight BC victory, winning two straight at Santa Anita Park and winning here last year. We're now down to our Pick-4 backup ticket and need to root home Goldi and 5-Gio Ponti in the BC Mile. I also favor 3-Courageous Cat who I think may be sitting on a big race. If you're looking for a long shot 8-Byword fancies a look.

6:30 p.m.: Ka-boom! Court Vision ($131.60), the longest shot in the field at 64-1 wins a photo over 11-1, Turallure. Big balloons in the exotics, the $2 exacta paid almost $2,000. Goldikova finished a disappointing third in her attempt at history. She gave us a game effort where she just didn't have enough in the tank when she made her move around the 1/8th pole. 

The $5M Classic is up next and in early wagering my top choice in today's paper, 2-Flat Out is 7/2 and 12-Uncle Mo and 10-Havre de Grace are both 5-1 at 35 MTP. We're out of luck in our joint Pick-4 play and now it's time to focus on the big one. Post time is 7:00 p.m.

6:40 p.m.: Today's attendance was announced at 65,143, about 7,600 lighter than last year's Breeders' Cup Saturday. The absence of a star like Zenyatta seems to have affected the turnstiles at Churchill this year. The total attendance of 108.220 over the two days, however, was the second most all time.

6:50 p.m.: Best quote of the day so far goes to Turralure's trainer Charles Lopresti after his horse was beat in the Mile by a photo, "What a race! Doggone it I thought we had it!"

Very little change in the odds of the top three with 10 MTP in the Classic and the tension is starting to build here under the Twin Spires and the lights are on for the continent's richest race. We're going to take our place at the rail and we'll check back in with final thoughts after the big race. Good luck and may all your tickets be winners.

7:15 p.m.: It's Drosselmeyer ($31.60) in the Classic! Mike Smith closed late on Game On Dude who ran a game race on the lead all the way until the final 100 yards. Trainer Bill Mott pulls off the Ladies' Classic-Classic Double, duplicating John Shireffs' effort in the 2009 Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. The 2010 Belmont Stakes winner came down the middle of the track denying Chantal Sutherland from being the first female jockey to win the Classic. This year's Belmont Stakes winner, Ruler On Ice, finished third.

Thanks for stopping by today through the nine BC Championship races, it sure was a rollercoaster day. Check Sunday's paper for a Post Time commentary on the Classic.

-- Gene Kershner

Gene is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

Post Time: Hello from Louisville

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The big day arrives on Friday afternoon where six Breeders' Cup championship races are slated over the course of the day, culminating in the $2 million Ladies Classic to be held under the lights at historic Churchill Downs.

   It looks like it could result in a rather chalky day as the favorites in a majority of the races look very strong. That doesn't mean we can't mine for gold when looking at the deep fields for horses that will creep up on the odds board at post time that could offer tremendous value.

   Let's look at the day's last four races and provide some quick picks and thoughts to consider when handicapping:

Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint

   Thirteen sprinters will line up in the gate in attempts to capture the $1 million purse. The 7-furlong sprint features heavy favorite 3-Turbulent Descent (6-5) has been off since early June after winning the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga. Mike Puype hasn't been afraid to ship her around the country and she sports several solid works leading up to the F&M Sprint. She shouldn't disappoint. One horse I can't seem to figure out why her morning line is so high is 9-Golden Mystery (20-1) who I will play around the favorite. The 5-year old mare comes off two back to back wins with solid speed figures and her trainer is 35 percent third off the layoff and 25 percent with shippers. Even though she drew outside post 12, I would be hard pressed to throw 12-Pomeroy's Pistol out of our multi-race plays. Javier Castellano garners the ride and she looks ready to fire based on her work tab.

   Another long shot consideration is 10-Tamarind Hall (20-1) who trains down the Thruway at Finger Lakes for conditioner Jeremiah Englehart. I caught up with the trainer on Thursday afternoon and he is very high on his horse's chances: "She's been doing really well, I'm very happy with how she is training and going third off the layoff, I really do believe she could be right there."

   She finished second behind Pomeroy's Pistol in her last effort in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom at Belmont, where jockey David Cohen told Englehart she was struggling with the track. "I've never made excuses for this horse before, but David said she was having trouble getting a hold of the track," said Englehart. He was happy with the outside post position after getting stuck on the rail in the Grade 1 Ballerina on Travers Day. "I wanted her to be more towards the outside, so I'm happy with the post."

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies  

   The class of the race appears to be 9-My Miss Aurelia (5-2), who dominated the racing at Saratoga and came back to win the Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont. She scared off some competition, notably Mike Repole's Stopshoppingmaria who opted for the Juvenile Fillies Turf. The $2 million race for 2-year old fillies at 1 and 1/16 miles over the Churchill strip still drew 14 fillies, but I can't see more than two or three that could threaten the favorite. Fillies that could challenge include west coast shipper (but NY-bred) 11-Weemissfrankie (4-1) and the Empire Maker filly 5-Grace Hall (4-1). Weemissfrankie once again will have the talented Rafael Bejarano in the irons trying to win his fourth straight aboard the Sunriver filly. She sports a win at the distance at Santa Anita and has looked very sharp in the mornings. Grace Hall has the breeding to capture the Juvenile crown after winning three straight. Ramon Dominguez who rode her to victory in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga regains the mount and I can't see leaving her out of the mix against these. I'll probably also include 2-Candrea in my exotics as she only lost by a half length to Weemissfrankie in her last effort and Bob Baffert isn't here to take a back seat to anyone.

Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf

   Enter the Euros. It's hard to ignore the European turf horses in this one. I favor 5-Nahrain (7-2) who is the second choice on the morning line. She's won four in a row, gets a four pound weight break and is running on Lasix for the first time. Veteran Breeders' Cup jockey Frankie Dettori gets the mount for this talented Darley filly.  Mechanicville N.Y. native Chad Brown enters America's best hope in this race and morning line favorite 2-Stacelita (2-1). She is coming off back to back Grade 1 wins in the Flower Bowl at Belmont and the Beverly D. at Arlington Park on Million Day. If the turf is a little soft, she will have no problem handling it and should finish in the money against the tough Euros. Rounding out my trifecta will be 6-Announce, a French horse who finished second to Nahrain on Arc Day at Longchamp earlier last month by a nose.  These three horses will be in my Pick 3 and Pick 4 plays.  

Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic

   The day's marquee race will go off under the lights at approximately 7:30 p.m. and should be a battle of the country's three top 3-year olds. 8-Plum Pretty (2-1) won here back in May in the prestigious Kentucky Oaks and should be super dangerous going 9-furlongs. Rafael Bejarano will ride her for the third time in her 10-race career. The Black-Eyed Susan and Alabama winner 6-Royal Delta (5-2) should be a stalking second or third throughout the race and could loom large in deep stretch. Every time I count out 3-It's Tricky (5-1) she runs a statement race. She defeated the other two horses in the 9-furlong Coaching Club American Oaks earlier in the summer and can't be discounted at this distance with Ramon Dominguez aboard. If you're looking for a potential value horse, 6-Ultra Blend (8-1) could surprise the 3-year olds. She comes off an impressive second to Zazu in the Lady's Secret last month at Santa Anita after bobbling at the start.

* * * *

   As a follow-up to Thursday's article on Royal Bonnie and Bona Venture Stables, I spoke with managing partner Dan Collins today in Louisville and he said that St. Bonaventure's athletic department is setting up the Hall of Fame Room on campus for students to watch the big race and cheer on Royal Bonnie in the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf. That race is scheduled to go off at 4:50 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

   Be sure to come back and visit the Sports, Ink blog on Saturday afternoon, as I will be live blogging the Saturday card, starting with the first Breeders' Cup race at 1:20 p.m. through the Breeders' Cup Classic which is scheduled to go off at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night.

   Good luck and let's go and cash some tickets!

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

Post Time: Breeders' Cup fun facts

By Gene Kershner

Since the pre-entries have been announced earlier this week for the 15 races to be held next weekend at Churchill Downs in Louisville, let's take a look at some fun facts surrounding this year's Breeders' Cup.

*A record 193 horses were pre-entered, 29 from overseas.

*$26 million in purse money is at stake.

*Uncle Mo is one of eight former Breeders' Cup champions that have pre-entered. The others are Big Drama, California Flag, Chamberlain Bridge, Eldaafer, Goldikova, Midday (GB) and Shared Account.

*Goldikova will be seeking a fourth straight BC Mile title.

*The Breeders' Cup will be televised live on ABC/ESPN and in more than 130 foreign countries.

*Havre de Grace, running in the Classic against the boys, is the daughter of 2005 Breeders' Cup Classic champion Saint Liam.

*Chantal Sutherland, the jockey for Game On Dude, will look become the first female rider to win the Classic.

*The last two winners of the Belmont Stakes, Drosselmeyer (2010) and Ruler On Ice (2011) are both pre-entered in the Classic.

*Horses looking to defend their 2010 Breeders' Cup titles, other than Goldikova, include Shared Account (BC Filly and Mare Turf), Chamberlain Bridge (BC Turf Sprint) and Big Drama (BC Sprint). 2009 BC Turf Sprint winner California Flag also is pre-entered in the Turf Sprint.

*The Breeders' Cup marketing folks have released 2011 iPad and iPhone apps.

*The BC Classic is scheduled to go off at 7 p.m. Saturday evening (Nov. 5) and the Ladies Classic at 7:30 p.m. on Friday evening (Nov. 4).

Following the closing of pre-entries earlier in the week, the Breeders' Cup Committee moved the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile to the 10th race on Saturday's program, switching it with the $3 million Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Turf, which will now be run as the eighth race.

The $2 million Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile will now be run as the ninth race on the Saturday program, and the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile will now be run as the seventh race.

"Due to the heightened international interest in Goldikova's quest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive TVG Breeders' Cup Mile, we believe that moving the Mile to later in Saturday's program will provide a fitting tribute to this extraordinary challenge," said Craig Fravel, President and CEO of Breeders' Cup Ltd. "Given the Triple Crown implications of the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile, we also believe that placing this race later in the program puts the spotlight on next year's potential stars going into their 3-year-old campaigns."

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace

Post Time: Odds and ends

By Gene Kershner

Is it really only two weeks until the 28th edition of the Breeders' Cup (BC) World Championships?

More than $25 million in purse money will be at stake over the two-day event at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4 and 5. We'll have plenty of coverage for News readers over the next two weeks delving into the major races in print and the Friday races right here in the Sports, Ink blog. In addition, on BC Saturday we'll be live blogging under the Twin Spires during the day's nine championship races, culminating in the $5M Breeders' Cup Classic.

Thursday, Breeders' Cup Limited released the possible starters, including those who won automatic qualifier Challenge races, for each of the championship races.

While the racing world anticipates the Cup, there's been enough going on to keep things interesting over the last two weeks ... 

* The ESPN documentary "Charismatic" finally aired this week. Originally scheduled to be part of the original 30 for 30 series, unknown issues caused delays in the release and eventually airing as part of ESPN Films. The one hour short film focused mainly on troubled jockey Chris Antley and didn't spend as much time on the film's namesake, a horse who stunned the world capturing the Derby at 31-1 and Preakness at 8-1, before faltering in the Belmont. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas refused to be part of the documentary, although some of his assistants didn't shy away from the big screen. It was worth the time watching it, more from the historical perspective for me, but not having Lukas' involvement really hampered the impact of the film.

* With Rick Dutrow being slapped with a ten year suspension by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board for repeated drug violations, it clearly appears that he is being made an example based on the length of his sentence and is being skewered in the court of public opinion. He is appealing the sanction, so this one's going to take some time before it's all sorted out.

* Keeneland's boutique fall meeting is coming to a conclusion this weekend. Last weekend's Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes, where heavy favorite Winter Memories could finish no better than fourth, was won by the 3-year-old filly Together (IRE) off one week's rest, something you don't see everyday in the modern training era. Trainer Aidan O'Brien is still undecided if he will run her back in the Breeders' Cup.

* The horse that finished second in the QE II, Marketing Mix, is one to keep an eye on, should she run in the Breeders' Cup. She tracked the leader, Summer Soiree, in the early stages and gave up no ground under rider Garret Gomez before being passed in deep stretch by Together. A horse who doesn't favor the soft ground as much, if the turf is firmer at Churchill, don't count this filly out.

* Uncle Mo turned in an absolutely blazing 5 furlong workout in 58.64 at Belmont Park this week. He's sure to be the favorite in the Classic and with his solid name recognition will take a lot of dough at the windows. Coming off a 7-furlong and mile race, trainer Todd Pletcher has his work cut out for him, in preparation to go a mile and a quarter on November 5. I'm still on the fence on Mo, but leaning on the side of "play against" based on the short odds and potential stamina issues.

* The BC Dirt Mile could be one of the quality races on the Saturday card. Expected starters are the Preakness champion Shackleford, King's Bishop winner Caleb's Posse, Cigar Mile champ Jersey Town, Trappe Shot and Jackson Bend. That's a tremendous group that should make a great betting race.

* A new International group of racing bloggers, of which I am a member, was unveiled recently called Turf. The site is essentially a hub, or portal to the individual websites of an international group of horse racing bloggers who write on all aspects of the sport-breeding/bloodstock analysts, racehorse owners and trainers, performance and medical experts, photographers, handicappers, fans and historians. If you are a racing fan, you'll surely find a potpourri of excellent writing here.

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

Post Time: Full international field attracts Euro invasion

By Gene Kershner

TORONTO -- This weekend a critical “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup (BC) Challenge race will be run north of the border at Woodbine Racetrack, where the 74th running of the $1.5 million Grade 1 Pattison Canadian International will guarantee a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. A record 16-horse field will go to post on Sunday afternoon (post time 5:42 p.m.) in Canada’s richest race.

NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman (left) served as the guest draw master at Thursday’s post position draw held in the trackside pavilion at Woodbine Racetrack. An annual attendee of the Kentucky Derby, Rodman was excited to be part of the racing crowd that drew a full house to see the former NBA champion.

In addition to the International, Woodbine’s Sunday card includes two other Grade 1 races.  The $1 million E.P. Taylor, a one mile and a quarter race for 3-year old fillies and mares and the $500,0000 Nearctic, for 3-year olds and upward over six furlongs round out the graded stakes on the card.

The International field is super amped with the top three finishers from last year (Joshua Tree, Mores Wells and Redwood) and three highly-regarded Europeans in Treasure Beach, Quest For Peace and Arctic Cosmos. Treasure Beach, the winner of the G1 Secretariat on Arlington Million Day, finished a well-beaten 14th in the Arc two weeks ago at Longchamp.

In addition to the previously mentioned Euros, horses shipped in from overseas include Bronze Cannon, Mikhail Glinka, and the lone filly in the field, Sarah Lynx. The last filly to win the International was Infamy in 1988.  All horses in the field will carry 126 pounds, except the 3-year olds (Celtic Conviction, Quest For Peace and Treasure Beach) who will carry 119 and the filly who will carry 123.

I spoke with the connections of two interesting long shots before Thursday’s draw. Mike dePaulo will saddle Laureate Conductor (30-1) for Bear Stables. The trainer of the winner of two of the three Canadian Triple Crown races with Pender Harbour, will try and pull the big upset on Sunday with a horse who his connections claimed for $62K back in June.

“He’s a half mile horse, he can carry the distance,” said dePaulo. “There’s not a lot opportunities to run on grass and the boss wanted to give it a try, so here we are. He had a real good last race and the soft ground shouldn’t really bother him.” He landed Luis Contreras, the winner of all three Canadian Triple Crown horses to ride for him in the International. “Contreras has rode him once and won on him. Luis knows both the horse and the course.” He enters third off the layoff, crazier things have happened and with the big field it’s unwise to discount a horse on the improve.

A horse whose running line in the Grade 2 Sky Classic jumps right out at you is Kara’s Orientation. At the second call he was 17 lengths in front of his nearest competitor and still won the mile and a quarter effort on the home track by 2-1/4 lengths. I cornered young trainer Steven Chircop to discuss his speed horse’s chances going an additional quarter mile and his jockey decision.

“He’s never run a mile and a half, but it’s in his pedigree. Nine out of 10 times if you can get a mile and a quarter you can get a mile and a half,” exclaimed Chircop. “There are two key things we have going for us, high cruising speed and lots of stamina.” Chircop was very confident in his horse’s chances and was not deterred at all when he drew an outside 14 post.

I mentioned to him that watching replays of his horse that he reminded me of former United Nations champion and the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up Presious Passion, a horse that had no aversion to grabbing an early lead. “Kara’s been compared to him a lot. When you have a speed horse you have the option to control the race. It depends on the turf course, but if he gets far enough ahead, they may not catch him!”

Chircop was surprised when he discovered his usual jockey; Emile Ramsammy took off Kara’s Orientation to ride Celtic Conviction, another 30-1 horse, so he went to his black book. “My first thought was to find out who rode Presious Passion, and when I contacted Elvis Trujillo, he already was booked to Todd Pletcher on Sunday. Word quickly spread that I was looking for a top jockey and Garret Gomez and Joel Rosario’s agents both contacted me. I decided on Rosario, he has soft hands and won three Grade 1’s last weekend at Santa Anita.”

When looking to handicap the race, you can never go wrong boxing the top Euros and throwing in a local horse or two.  I like Quest For Peace (8-1) who won at Ascot last out and is unbeaten in two tries at the distance and gets a few pound weight break as a 3-year old to win the International. You can never go wrong with a Roger Attfield horse in your mix at Woodbine, and Simmard (15-1), a neck loser in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer last month, looks the part.

Underneath in the exotics, we’ll look to use Arctic Cosmos (6-1), Redwood (4-1) and our longshot plays are Kara’s Orientation and Laureate Conductor, featured above.

Post Time Outlook: 1 – Quest For Peace; 2 – Simmard; 3 – Arctic Cosmos 4 – Redwood

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

Post Time: Champagne to flow Saturday

By Gene Kershner

Once again this weekend, Belmont Park will be the scene for a critical “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup (BC) Challenge race, this time featuring 2-year-old colts. The 141st running of the $300,000 Grade 1 Champagne Stakes will be run over a one turn mile in Elmont, New York. The winner qualifies for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to be run at Churchill Downs on November 5.

Last year, Uncle Mo pulled off the Champagne-Juvenile double on his way to 2-year-old Male honors. The list of past winners is impressive with names like Spectacular Bid, Seattle Slew, Alydar, Easy  Goer and Foolish Pleasure gracing the history books.

Current New York steward Braulio Baeza won the race five times as a jockey and Johnny Velazquez can equal that mark with a victory on Takes the Gold.  Belmont Stakes winning trainer Tim Ice attempts to win a big race at Belmont for the first time in three and one half years since winning the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup with Summer Bird. He will saddle No Spin, whose sire Johannesburg won the 2001 BC Juvenile on this very Belmont Park strip.

 Let’s take a look at the nine challengers hoping to hoist the Moet at the end of the day.

 1 – No Spin (20-1) – Sports an impressive bullet work (1/49) at Hawthorne where he breezed 5-furlongs for Ice. It will be his first try on dirt after racing three times on the Arlington polytrack. Has the right breeding, but I’m not sure that will carry him in here.

 2 – Speightscity (10-1) – This Speightstown colt won impressively at Saratoga breaking his maiden over 9 furlongs where he crushed the field by 11-1/2 lengths. Corey Nakatani will ride him as Castellano jumps off to ride the favorite, Union Rags. Well-bred, his damsire, Quiet American won the NYRA Mile and Woodward in his illustrious career. Interesting.

 3 – Takes the Gold (6-1) – Babe Dutrow lured Johnny V to ride this Corinthian colt after breaking his maiden on him three weeks ago at Belmont in a one mile race. Only one other horse in the field has a race over Big Sandy. Velazquez also rode Speightscity, so both he and Castellano pass on the #2 horse in favor of others. His sire, Corinthian was first BC Dirt Mile at Monmouth in 2007. Considering for a big piece.

4 – Power World (8-1) – You can throw out his last, a dull effort in the slop in the  Grade 1 Hopeful after finishing a well beaten second in the Grade 2 Sanford behind highly regarded Overdriven. Will probably look elsewhere.

 5 – Alpha (5-2) – Uber-impressive winning a $55K maiden special weight on the Woodward undercard at the Spa. He also has a solid breeze on the latest work tab. Looks fit and ready to explode. “Union Rags is the horse to beat but we like our horse,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin of Alpha, who will sport the blue Godolphin silks Saturday. “He’s doing great and the one mile should suit. We just broke his maiden, so it’s a big step to a Grade 1. The timing is good, with him having had his first race a month ago. As racing goes, you’d like to start them a little earlier, but we’re here now. We think he fits well.” The pick.

 6 – Union Rags (7-5) – Impressive win in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special propels him as the chalk. Trainer Michael Matz enters his unbeaten 2-year-old with hot jockey Javier Castellano who is winning at a 23 percent clip at Belmont. The Dixie Union colt won in the slop by 7-1/4 lengths in mid-August and shouldn’t have any problem stretching out to a mile. Should be in contention throughout.

 7 – Right to Vote (12-1) - Won at Belmont three weeks ago, breaking his maiden with Castellano aboard. Alex Solis takes over the mount for trainer Eoin Harty who has struggled with 2-year olds this year. Not sure he’s quite fast enough after shipping in from Kentucky.

 8 – Invocation (20-1) – A distant second to Alpha in the maiden race at the Spa. Trainer Kimmel has a $4.03 ROI in graded stakes, so has been known to win with a bomb every now and then. Young David Cohen has had a decent meeting so far and gets the mount. Leaning elsewhere.

 9 – Laurie’s Rocket (30-1) – Bluegrass Cat colt didn’t like the slop in the Hopeful, was caught five wide and finished a distant fourth. Will be the longest shot on the board, and rightly so.

 Post Time Outlook: 1 – Alpha; 2 – Takes the Gold; 3 – Union Rags

Long shot: Speightscity

The field for the Grade 1, $300,000 Champagne:

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	Odds
1	No Spin (KY)	R Maragh	122	T A Ice	20-1
2	Speightscity (KY)	C S Nakatani	122	G C Contessa	10-1
3	Takes the Gold (KY)	J R Velazquez	122	R E Dutrow, Jr.	6-1
4	Power World (KY)	E S Prado	122	N J Howard	8-1
5	Alpha (KY)	A Garcia	122	K P McLaughlin	5-2
6	Union Rags (KY)	J Castellano	122	M R Matz	7-5
7	Right to Vote (KY)	A O Solis	122	E G Harty	12-1
8	Invocation (KY)	D Cohen	122	J C Kimmel	20-1
9	Laurie's Rocket (KY)	C H Velasquez	122	D Stewart	30-1

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

Post Time: Divisional questions still up in the air

By Gene Kershner

With Super Saturday upon us at Belmont Park this weekend and some key races at Santa Anita, including the Norfolk and the Goodwood Stakes, many divisional championship scenarios are soon to be uncovered. Of course, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships ultimately will have a big determination on who will surface as the champions in each of the key categories to be awarded next January at the annual Eclipse Awards.

So what are some of the questions going into this weekend a month out from the Breeders’ Cup World Championships?

1. Will Stay Thirsty surface as the leader in the clubhouse of the 3-year old colt division with a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup?  The winner of back to back stakes during the Saratoga meeting after finishing a game second in the Belmont Stakes, Stay Thirsty is poised to seize the 3-year old division with a victory. With Derby champion Animal Kingdom shelved since the Belmont and no other colt winning more than one key race, a third consecutive victory could seal the deal for Mike Repole’s colt.

2. Can Royal Delta defeat Havre de Grace in the Beldame and corral the 3-year old filly division? After capturing the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan and the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes, Bill Mott’s filly has control over the 3-year old filly division, but faces a tough test in Horse of the Year contender Havre de Grace on Saturday. She will most likely go on to the Ladies’ Classic from here. Interesting Mott chose this spot over the $750,000 Cotillion Stakes at Parx where Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty and Acorn/CCAO winner It’s Tricky are headed this weekend.

3. Is Havre de Grace’s next step to go on to the Classic if she wins this weekend’s Beldame? After defeating males in the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga, she returns to face fillies and mares this weekend, but has bigger things on the horizon should she continue her winning ways. She became only the second female to win the Woodward in its storied history.

4. Will Drill dominate the Norfolk Stakes and move into the favorite role in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile? Drill tries the dirt for the first time in his rematch with Creative Cause. He looks to be the real deal and a horse to be dealt with in the Juvenile.

5. Is Acclamation a threat to capture the Breeders’ Cup Classic? A horse not well known on the East Coast, he has had great success over the current year. He goes in this weekend’s Goodwood and has already qualified for the Classic with his win in the Pacific Classic last month at Del Mar. He’s only run on dirt in two of his 27 career races, so his effort over the Santa Anita strip will be a key to watch. Coil and Game On Dude will try and unseat him as the west coast threat in the Classic.

6. Will Uncle Mo move forward in the Kelso off the King’s Bishop? Mike Repole has stated that he is taking Mo to the Classic and not the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He and trainer Todd Pletcher have chosen the one-turn Kelso mile at Belmont over the Jockey Club Gold Cup as his prep for the Classic. He is working lights out, but the classic distance could be his ultimate downfall. Repole will take the chance though, and I’m looking forward to Mo running big this weekend.

It should be an exciting weekend of racing on both coasts, so stay tuned as the divisional leaders emerge.

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

Post Time: Calm before the storm

By Gene Kershner

We’ve gone from summer racing to Breeders’ Cup prep season in a matter of two weeks. The big racing this weekend takes place mostly on our side of the continent, with major races at Belmont Park and to the north at Woodbine in Toronto. Two of the major races are Saturday’s Garden City at Belmont and the Woodbine Mile in nearby Toronto.

The Grade 1 $250,000 Garden City Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/8-mile on the turf at Belmont has enough stories to intrigue the faintest of racing fans. The prohibitive favorite, Winter Memories (8-5 morning line favorite), a four-time graded stakes winner, will be trying to make amends for a fourth place finish in the Lake Placid at Saratoga where she was the 1-5 favorite, won by Hungry Island.

Winter Memories’ rider in that race, Jose Lezcano, was severely criticized after being pinned inside by Ramon Dominguez, and with nowhere to make her late run, never was able to get into contention.  Trainer Jimmy Toner decided to change jockeys for the Garden City and enlisted top turf jockey Javier Castellano to take the mount.

Toner thinks Winter Memories will rebound from her troubled trip in the Lake Placid. “I would like for her to make amends for her last race.  I certainly don’t want to take anything away from Hungry Island, who ran a great race. I just hope she can run her race, is all,” said Toner.

To make things more interesting, Lezcano was awarded the mount on Lake Placid runner-up Kathmanblu (8-1), a terrific filly who will obviously have a motivated rider aboard. The 3-year-old Bluegrass Cat filly will be making her third Grade 1 appearance and should be a factor based on class alone.

To add even more spice to the drama, celebrity chef Bobby Flay has entered the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf champion, More Than Real (8-1), who defeated Winter Memories in the Cup last November at Churchill Downs. After a disappointing trip over the pond to Royal Ascot, where she finished 11th in the Group 1 Coronation, she returned to finish third in the Lake Placid and could be ready to roll with her second race after the journey to the UK.

The Lake Placid champion Hungry Island (3-1) has only one career loss (coming at Belmont) and carries a four-race winning streak into the Garden City and her assistant trainer thinks a bigger effort is in the wings. “I think that last race was obviously her best race. All summer long we’ve seen improvement and I think there’s more room for improvement too,” said Buzz Tenney, assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Claude “Shug” McGaughey.

Heading up the QEW, Woodbine’s Sunday card features some solid stakes racing with the Woodbine Mile and the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes on tap. By the time  the Bills will have taken care of the Raiders on Sunday afternoon, the major stakes races to the north will be ready to roll.

The $1 million Woodbine Mile, Sunday’s feature race at the Toronto race course, has 12 entries attempting to claim the $600,000 first place prize, including veteran stakes winner Court Vision and Charles LoPresti’s Turallure. The race has attracted top riders Julien Leparoux (Turallure), Garret Gomez (Right One), Pat Valenzuela (Courageous Cat) and Saratoga meet winning jock Johnny Velazquez (Forte Dei Marmi). The best jocks show up for the big dough and the Woodbine Mile is no exception.

Prior to the Woodbine Mile, the Northern Dancer Turf will feature nine horses, including stakes champions Ali Khali, Bourbon Bay and Seaside Retreat. Smokin’ Joe Talamo flies in from California to ride Bourbon Bay for trainer Neil Drysdale.

Local notables

•    We made a trek westward last Thursday to Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa., and for being only 90 minutes down the Thruway it’s a quality race track with all the amenities. I sat in the dining area to watch several of the races and enjoyed the view, and an awesome filly cheesesteak sandwich (nice play on words). My only complaint was the length of time it took to post results after a race, sometimes up to 10 minutes. Of course, when you have a winning ticket in your hand, you have much more patience.

•    Buffalo-based Bella Cavello Stables ran a Giacomo (2005 Kentucky Derby champion) filly at Presque Isle that evening named Giaelle, who finished  a disappointing fourth and will look to stretch out in her next start after five straight sprint races. The local owners rebounded this past Wednesday evening at the Erie oval when Little B Rosson scored at odds of 11-1 and paid $23.20 for the win in a six furlong allowance.

•    Fort Erie has moved post times back to 1:15 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays for the remainder of the season.

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.