Many Hopes Ride With BC Contender Hidden Connection

After Hidden Connection  successfully stretched out in her second start to win the Pocahontas Stakes (G3), it may have taken her many owners more time to enter the winner's circle than the 1:43.78 it took the precocious juvenile filly to complete the 1 1/16-mile test Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs.

Now those owners are dreaming of crowding the Del Mar winner's circle as Hidden Connection will start from post 2 in the Nov. 5 NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).

Hidden Connection is campaigned by Hidden Brook Farm and Black Type Thoroughbreds. The latter group is organized by Jake Ballis and has brought in a number of partners at small share levels. Black Type Thoroughbreds includes Ballis, some of his regular partners, and a number of other friends in for small shares. That group bought into the daughter of freshman sire Connect   after her impressive debut maiden win Aug. 17 on the dirt at Colonial Downs.

When Hidden Connection stretched out from that initial 7 1/2-length score to win the Pocahontas by 9 1/2 lengths, the many part owners joyously filed into the winner's circle.

"It's a large group. It's been nice because it's gotten a lot of new people involved in racing," said trainer Bret Calhoun. "When she won the Pocahontas at Churchill, there must have been 50 people there. It was great and I'm hearing the numbers planning to attend are quite large for the Breeders' Cup."

Calhoun noted that Hidden Brook's Dan Hall picked out Hidden Connection at this year's Ocala Breeders' Sales' June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, where Hidden Brook went to $85,000 to land the filly from the consignment of Coastal Equine.

Bred in Kentucky by St. Simon Place, Hidden Connection is out of C J's Gal, by Awesome Again . C J's Gal, out of a half sister to grade 1 winner Capo Bastone , boasts two winners from as many starters.

Hidden Connection's talent didn't take long to show itself, according to Calhoun, who won a pair of Breeders' Cup races in 2010 when he sent out Chamberlain Bridge  to victory in the Turf Sprint (G2T) and Dubai Majesty  in the Sentient Jet Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

"She did show up in the morning but I don't usually buy-in until they face a little pressure. Then obviously you still don't fully know until you put them in a race with 10 others and they're under the utmost pressure," Calhoun said. "But those mornings gave me a lot of confidence in her; I thought she was a good one from early on. And then the first time out she proved us right, and the second time as well when the competition level went up."

Calhoun especially liked what he saw when Hidden Connection stretched out to two turns in the Pocahontas, contested at the same distance as the Juvenile Fillies.

"That win gave us even more confidence," Calhoun said. "Sometimes you get some fast horses and, let's be honest, they can be cheap speed. But the best part of her works were the finish and the gallop out. She made you think she was going to go on and want to go on and might be at her best going a route of ground. 

"It's proved to be that way. She's got a very high cruising speed and can carry it a long the way."

Calhoun likes that Hidden Connection has had a bit of a break after going through a pair of 2-year-old sales (she also was offered at the OBS Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale) and two fast starts to begin her career. She will enter Friday's race off a nearly seven-week layoff.

Lane's End stallion Connect has enjoyed a quick start as he ranks second to Gun Runner   on the first-crop sires list, led by Hidden Connection and Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) winner Rattle N Roll  (also bred by St. Simon Place). Through Nov. 2 he was tied with Caravaggio   as leading freshman sire by winners at 23.

"He's a hot stallion. You look at him every day and he's throwing another winner and he's thrown two really good stakes winners," Calhoun said. "He's just shown a lot of quality all the way. Being a Curlin  , you don't necessarily expect him to be as precocious as he's been … He's had a heck of a year."