Mo Forza Preps For Breeders' Cup in City of Hope Mile

Already a winner of five Breeders' Cup World Championships races, all at six furlongs or shorter, Peter Miller is eyeing a longer Breeders' Cup prize this year: the $2 million FanDuel Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T). The Nov. 7 race at Keeneland is the ultimate goal for Bardy Farm and OG Boss' Mo Forza, but first up is the $200,000 City of Hope Mile (G2T) at Santa Anita Park Oct. 3. 

Although the contest is not an automatic qualifier for the Breeders' Cup, it does not show in the race's quality. The seven-horse lineup includes the top four finishers from the Del Mar Mile Handicap (G2T) in Mo Forza, Restrainedvengence, Royal Ship, and Bob and Jackie, plus Sharp Samurai, the Aug. 22 TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) runner-up. 

Having won five of his past six, including four graded victories, Mo Forza is a deserving favorite on a course where he is 3-1-1 in five starts.

"We thought about the Shadwell (Turf Mile, G1T) for the money and the 'Win and You're In' and all that," Miller said of the $750,000 race at Keeneland on Saturday. "But our main goal is to win the Breeders' Cup. We felt like only traveling once gave us a better chance to win the Breeders' Cup. We're putting all of our eggs into the Breeders' Cup basket."

The California-based Miller is 5-4-2 with 25 Breeders' Cup starters. Roy H won back-to-back editions of the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) for the trainer in 2017-18, and Stormy Liberal also repeated in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) those years. Miller added another Turf Sprint when Belvoir Bay beat the boys in 2019.

Besides Mo Forza's potential Breeders' Cup participation this year, Miller also aims to run C Z Rocket in the Sprint at Keeneland for owners Madaket Stables, Gary Barber, and Tom Kagele.

Although Mo Forza, a son of Uncle Mo , was eye-catching in winning the Qatar Twilight Derby (G2T), Mathis Brothers Mile Stakes (G2T), and Hollywood Derby (G1T) last year at 3, his Del Mar Mile may have been his best performance. Racing with blinkers removed, he inhaled the opposition coming into the stretch after breaking tardily and won going away in his first race in more than seven months. 

"That was pretty special," Miller said of the return. "He's that kind of horse."

Flavien Prat, who took the 2017 City of Hope on the Phil D'Amato-trained Vyjack, returns aboard Mo Forza, who carries 126 pounds, spotting his rivals two-four pounds apiece.

Although Sharp Samurai has not won in seven starts since a nose score in the 2018 City of Hope, he appears the leading challenger. Last out he chased Maximum Security from start to finish in the Pacific Classic in a valiant try on a dirt surface on which he had little prior experience. The 1 1/4-mile trip also may have been a bit beyond his preferred distance.

A winner of seven races on turf and only one on dirt, he has five stakes wins, four graded.

Juan Hernandez rides from the inside post for trainer Mark Glatt. Glatt is also a part owner in the 6-year-old gelded son of First Samurai . Sharp Samurai has earned $981,270 for Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal.

The field is completed by Majestic Eagle and Blitzkrieg, the 2019 and 2020 winners of the American Stakes (G3T) at Golden Gate Fields, respectively.

Entries: City of Hope Mile S. (G2T)

Santa Anita Park, Saturday, October 03, 2020, Race 8

• Grade IIT
• 1m
• Turf
• $200,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:25 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Sharp Samurai (KY)	Juan J. Hernandez	122	Mark Glatt	5/2
2	2Restrainedvengence (KY)	Ruben Fuentes	122	Val Brinkerhoff	8/1
3	3Majestic Eagle (KY)	Ricardo Gonzalez	122	Neil D. Drysdale	20/1
4	4Royal Ship (BRZ)	Mike E. Smith	124	Richard E. Mandella	4/1
5	5Bob and Jackie (KY)	Heriberto Figueroa	122	Richard Baltas	12/1
6	6Blitzkrieg (KY)	Abel Cedillo	122	Doug F. O'Neill	4/1
7	7Mo Forza (KY)	Flavien Prat	126	Peter Miller	8/5