Tourist, at 12-1 odds, held off one of the pre-race favorites Tepin, to win the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile, winning the race in 1:31.71.
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The Travers was no fluke, folks.
ARCADIA A horse who couldn’t win the big one finally broke through when 8-year-old Obviously led from start to finish to score a popular victory in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, one of the nine Breeders’ Cup races Saturday at Santa Anita.
Smith, who won two other races at the meeting and finished second in three others, won the 14th Bill Shoemaker Award, given to the most outstanding jockey. California Chrome came in second after leading for nearly the entire trip.
And the 5-year-old superstar appeared on track to claim the lucrative purse, setting the pace and pulling clear down the stretch at Santa Anita Park in California. A Kentucky-bred by Broken Vow, Champagne Room won an August 6 maiden race in her second career start, and then was third in the Del Mar Debutante and fourth in the Chandelier. Baffert won his record third consecutive Classic, this time in front of an announced crowd of 72,811, third-highest in the event’s 33-year history. When you look at the last five years, he’s come up with Graydar, Cross Traffic, Will Take Charge and Arrogate.
The second lifetime win for Champagne Room was accomplished in 1:45.12 for the 1-1/16 miles on a fast main track.
According to influential speed figures guru Andy Beyer, Arrogate earned a figure of 120, with California Chrome on 119, which is the best of his career.
Keen Ice finished third and another Baffert runner, Hoppertunity, was fourth. The Pick-6 pool totaled $4,564,686 and 11 winning tickets paid $292,423. It is expected though California Chrome, with his season which included a Dubai World Cup win, will be named USA horse of the year.
Arrogate caught California Chrome to win by a half-length, giving Smith his third Cup victory of the weekend and record 25th of his career. He also has a win in Keeneland’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Futurity.
Baffert thought Arrogate was destined for second as Chrome was galloping around the race course.
“Turning for home, it was like, ‘Well, I’m going to run second, ‘” Baffert said. “To run down a great horse like California Chrome, that’s what the Breeders’ Cup is all about”. “. Then all of a sudden, Mike’s riding and he’s catching up little by little with that big stride kicking in”.
Garcia says he feels lucky to be back with Baffert.
Horse races don’t come much better than Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff on the first day of the World Championships, when three-time champion Beholder and undefeated Songbird battled through the stretch to finish the smallest of noses apart. His previous Classic wins were aboard Skip Away (1997), Zenyatta (2009) and Drosselmeyer (2011).
“This means a lot to me”, said Eurton, who trains Champagne Room for the locally based partnership of Ciglia Racing, Exline-Border, Gulliver Racing, Sharon Alesia, R. Christensen, and Taylor Legan.
California Chrome lost to Bayern in 2014, trained by Bob Baffert, who also trained Arrogate. “He (Arrogate) has got incredible stamina and he doesn’t quit”. Arrogate, with fur-time Classic victor Mike Smith in the saddle, won his sixth straight race.
“All good horses get beat”. I’m so proud of California Chrome. But you know, it’s tough, but we look forward and go for the next one. That will probably be his last race before he heads to the breeding shed.
“This horse has such stamina for a 3-year-old”.
With the globe-trotting Lanfranco (Frankie) Dettorri in the saddle for trainer Sir Michael Stoute, Queen’s Trust came from 11th place in a field of 13 to get into the homestretch in sixth place.
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Highland Reel gave Irishman Aidan O’Brien his 11th career Cup victory – tops among worldwide trainers – and first of the two-day world championships.
