Prior to last year’s Breeders’ Cup, she also ran a fever, that time due to a lung infection; it resulted in her being scratched from the 2014 Distaff.
Advertisement
Owner Ron Winchell announced the scratch Tuesday on Twitter, calling it “very disappointing after preparing all year for a repeat”. Chad Brown’s six-year-old won the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf at Churchill Downs in 2011 and her only run at the big meeting since saw her end up a fast-finishing second behind stable companion Dayatthespa at Santa Anita 12 months ago. The loss was against colts in the Haskell Invitational. She captured the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly.
Rainy weather in Kentucky this week has had no effect in dampening the mounting excitement ahead of Triple Crown victor American Pharoah’s hugely anticipated racing farewell at the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday.
Having the championships at Keeneland, however, provides an opportunity rarely seen at other venues even during these busy hours-a chance to learn something about the community that is supporting the event.
“We hope she breaks well and is on the lead, but she doesn’t have to be on the lead”.
The only horse to win three Breeders’ Cup races is the French mare Goldikova. She is unbeaten from five starts this year and will be formidable. Granted a torrid early pace (not guaranteed), this horse is a phenom as shown in his devastating wins in the Met Mile and Whitney.
These three high class horses are joined by a Belmont winner in Tonalist, a Travers winner in Keen Ice, a Gold Cup winner in Hard Aces, and the Awesome Again winner Smooth Roller.
The most successful jockey is Mike Smith, with 21 winners.
There is no doubt that American Pharoah is a special horse, with an extraordinary will to win and the ability to do just that, time and again. In the belief that a Breeders Cup Classic has to be run at a pace created to test each horse, Honor Code is taken to run down his two main competitors in the closing stages of the event. “People are probably most familiar with the NCAA Final Four in basketball and they’re certainly familiar with the college bowl games”, said Fravel. His fellow European challenger, Found, should follow him home. He had Shogun back in the field there, as well as subsequent Racing Post Trophy runner-up Johannes Vermeer, and on the bare form Gosden has a major improver on his hands. The victor should come from Esoterique (no Miesque), Time Test (not quick enough), Make Believe (very dangerous) and Karakontie (last year’s winner).
You can attend this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup while also helping to shelter the homeless in Lexington.
Advertisement
Her third in the Moyglare, with subsequent Group 1 winners Minding and Ballydoyle ahead of her, looks the best piece of two-year-old form for fillies all season. Songbird is the one most likely to cement her reputation. How we long for a few slightly similar exciting days of horseracing in T&T.
