Art Collector, War of Will Top Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile
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Photo: Coady Photography
War of Will works Oct. 31 at Churchill Downs
A highly competitive slate of graded stakes winners will contest the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland led by top sophomore Art Collector and last year's Preakness Stakes (G1) winner War of Will .
Art Collector was considered one of the top contenders heading into the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) off a win the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G20 at Keeneland. His Derby dream faded, however, when he cut the bulb of his left front foot during a gallop and had to be scratched four days before the classic.
Trainer Tom Drury Jr. and owner/breeder Bruce Lunsford aimed for the Oct. 3 Preakness Stakes (G1), which came eight weeks after the colt last raced Aug. 9 in the Runhapppy Ellis Park Derby. The disrupted schedule likely contributed to Art Collector's flat performance at Pimlico Race Course, where he was fourth beaten 10 lengths.
"(The Preakness) was a weird effort," said jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., who has ridden Art Collector in all but three of his races. "We'll have to throw it out and move forward. We feel we are back on schedule and back where he needs to be."
Drury has gradually re-honed the son of Bernardini 's edge, which yielded a sharp four-furlong work in a bullet :47 at Churchill Downs Oct. 22.
"His gallop-out was huge. He galloped out all the way to the three-quarter pole and was well within himself," said Hernandez, who was aboard for the work. "My brother Colby was on another one. He said, 'I've never seen a horse throw dirt up that high.' That shows you how well he worked."
Gary Barber's War of Will is coming into the Breeders' Cup World Championships off a good third in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T). Prior to the Woodbine Mile, he won the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland back in July. This month the versatile son of War Front , who has won grade 1s on dirt and turf, produced two brilliant five-furlong works Oct. 17 and Oct. 23 at Churchill Downs, both in :59 4/5, that convinced trainer Mark Casse that the Dirt Mile was a better spot than the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T). In his final tune-up at Churchill Oct. 31, the colt worked four furlongs in :48 1/5 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:00 2/5.
"He's been working so well on the dirt, we want to give it another try and the turf Mile is coming up extremely tough," Casse said. "Actually, there are no easy spots this year. It's a heckuva Breeders' Cup."
Another factor in choosing the Dirt Mile is the anticipated condition of Keeneland's turf course, which Casse said is always softer in the fall than in springtime—or in this year's case, the track's summer meet.
"It is also the reason I don't have Got Stormy going a mile," Casse said of the 5-year-old daughter of Get Stormy , who has won two grade 1s on the grass and was second in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita Park. "I dropped her back to sprinting with the Breeders' Cup in mind."
Got Stormy has been entered in the 5 1/2-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T).
The 2-1 favorite in the Dirt Mile is Klaravich Stables' Complexity , a 4-year-old son of Maclean's Music , who has won all of his three starts at a mile and comes into the Dirt Mile off a 2 1/4-length win in the one-mile Kelso Handicap (G2) at Belmont Park. Complexity was a grade 1 winner at 2 and was second in this year's Forego Stakes Presented by America's Best Racing (G1).
Keeneland, Saturday, November 07, 2020, Race 6Entries: Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Art Collector (KY)
Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.
123
Thomas Drury, Jr.
6/1
2
2Sharp Samurai (KY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
126
Mark Glatt
15/1
3
3Silver Dust (KY)
Adam Beschizza
126
W. Bret Calhoun
30/1
4
4War of Will (KY)
Tyler Gaffalione
126
Mark E. Casse
10/1
5
5Knicks Go (MD)
Joel Rosario
126
Brad H. Cox
7/2
6
6Mr. Money (KY)
Gabriel Saez
126
W. Bret Calhoun
20/1
7
7Rushie (FL)
Javier Castellano
123
Michael W. McCarthy
20/1
8
8Pirate's Punch (KY)
Jorge A. Vargas, Jr.
126
Grant T. Forster
20/1
9
9Mr Freeze (KY)
Manuel Franco
126
Dale L. Romans
6/1
10
10Complexity (KY)
Jose L. Ortiz
126
Chad C. Brown
2/1
11
11Jesus' Team (KY)
Luis Saez
123
Jose Francisco D'Angelo
30/1
12
12Owendale (KY)
Florent Geroux
126
Brad H. Cox
8/1
13
13Pingxiang (KY)
Flavien Prat
123
Hideyuki Mori
30/1
