Road to the Breeders’ Cup: Three Heating Up, Three Cooling Down

Honor Code looked sensational in winning The Grade 1 Whitney Invitational Stakes on Aug. 8 and cemented his credentials as a top contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
A capsule look at three horses who are heating up on the Road to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and three horses whose Breeders’ Cup chances are not quite as strong as they were a week or two ago.
Heating Up

1. Honor Code   

Eclipse Sportswire

Honor Code not only recorded a career-best 126 Equibase Speed Figure for his thrilling victory in the Grade 1, $1.25-million Whitney Invitational Stakes on Aug. 8, he positioned himself at the head of the class in the older male division and silenced his critics regarding his ability to excel in two-turn race. The 126 figure both Honor Code and runner-up Liam’s Map (who also took major step forward and was a strong consideration for this list) ranks first among all performances in stakes races this year for horses of all ages and both sexes. The Met Mile and Whitney double gives Honor Code the early, inside track on the Eclipse Award as champion older male and probably places him just behind Triple Crown winner American Pharoah on the list of contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. All in a day’s work.

2. Prospect Park  

BENOIT photo 

Making his turf debut, Prospect Park toyed with the opposition in a 4 ¼-length runaway win in the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 9 at Del Mar and posted a new career-top Equibase Speed Figure of 111. Prospect Park placed three times in graded stakes on dirt, including a heartbreaking nose defeat in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby in July, but showed tremendous acceleration on grass in the final stages of La Jolla. Before this race, I wouldn’t have considered him very highly for a race on the Breeders’ Cup card, but I think you have to think he’d be a threat in the Breeders’ Cup Mile if he can continue to improve in the second half of the season. It’s fair to question the quality of opposition in the La Jolla, which is restricted to 3-year-olds, but he won so easily it’s also possible he might be even better if pushed in the final eighth of a mile.

3. Nyquist   

Eclipse Sportswire

This was a very tough call. Liam’s Map was a strong consideration given a heroic effort in defeat in the Whitney Invitational Stakes and Cavorting was absolutely dominant in the Longines Test Stakes and looks like a serious threat for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Young Brian generated a ton of buzz for his maiden win on Saturday, but ultimately I went with Nyquist. A bay colt by Uncle Mo, Nyquist won for the second time in as many starts with a 5 ¼-length runaway in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes. For the second straight race, Nyquist earned a 103 Equibase Speed Figure, which is very impressive for a 2-year-old. He should be the favorite for the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and as an added bonus he’s named for a National Hockey League player: Detroit Red Wings right winger Gustav Nyquist. From the first crop of champion Uncle Mo, Nyquist is out of the winning Forestry mare Seeking Gabrielle, a close sibling to graded stakes winner Seeking the Sky, the dam (mother) of 2013 Met Mile victor Sahara Sky.

Cooling Down

1. Lea

Eclipse Sportswire

Following a third-place finish in the $10-million Dubai World Cup and a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap, I thought Lea was sitting on a big race in the Whitney Invitational Stakes on Aug. 8. He was only three lengths back with three-eighths of a mile to go but faded to finish sixth, beaten by 11 ¼ lengths. You could make a case that he probably was a bit too close to a blistering pace in the Whitney, but I expected him to show a little more fight in the stretch. The Breeders’ Cup Classic also figures to feature plenty of pace going an extra eighth of a mile, so seeing Lea fade late in the Whitney is a legitimate concern. The Dubai World Cup is his only previous start at the Breeders’ Cup Classic distance.

2. Take Charge Brandi  

Eclipse Sportswire 

The Longines Test Stakes was an extremely difficult spot for Take Charge Brandi’s first start in more than six months following surgery in March to repair a bone chip in her right knee. She led through a half-mile before fading approaching the stretch. Take Charge Brandi was eased late and finished last of 10. I’m very hopeful that she just ran out of gas after setting the pace in a tough spot for a return to the races. Her Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas accepted the blame for the disappointing effort in the Test. “She was short,” Lukas said. “Bad training job. I didn’t have her tight enough.” Take Charge Brandi is a very talented filly who has an Eclipse Award to her credit and has turned in some electric performances. Let’s hope she regains her best form and makes it into the top portion of this blog in the coming weeks/months.

3. Palace Malice

Eclipse Sportswire

Since he came out of retirement and then returned to racing in May after a nine-month layoff, Palace Malice has not been the same horse we saw reel off consecutive victories in four graded stakes in 2014, capped by a win in the Met Mile. During that stretch, Palace Malice was a consistent as they come, posting Equibase Speed Figures from 114 to 117 in all four wins. In two starts this year, he finished third in his comeback and fourth most recently on Aug. 9 in the Alydar Stakes as the 3-to-2 favorite. His Equibase Speed Figures this year were 102 for the Diablo Stakes in May and 105 for the Alydar, so the hope is that he is steadily returning to top form and simply needed the race. We know when he brings his “A” game, 2013 Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice can run with anyone. He just has yet to show that elite form this season. 

Racing Terms
Allowance race – A race for which the racing secretary drafts certain conditions to determine weights to be carried based on the horse’s age, sex and/or past performance.
Also-eligible – A horse officially entered for a race, but not permitted to start unless the field is reduced by scratches below a specified number.
Apprentice – A rider who has not ridden a certain number of winners within a specified period of time. Also known as a “bug,” from the asterisk used to denote the weight allowance such riders receive.
Blinkers – A cup-shaped device that limits a horse’s vision. Blinkers, often used to try to improve a horse’s focus, come in a variety of sizes and shapes to allow as little or as much vision as the trainer feels is necessary.
Bullet – The fastest workout of the day at a track at a particular distance.
Claiming race – A race in which each horse entered is eligible to be purchased at a set price.
Closer – A horse that runs best in the latter part of the race, coming from off the pace.
Connections – Persons identified with a horse, such as owner, trainer, jockey and stable employees.
Disqualification – Change in order of finish by stewards for an infraction of the rules.
Dam – The mother of a horse.
Entry – Two or more horses with common ownership that are paired as a single betting unit in one race.
Front-runner – A horse whose running style is to attempt to get on or near the lead at the start of the race and to continue there as long as possible.
Furlong – An eighth of a mile.
Graded race – A non-restricted race with added money or guaranteed purse value of $100,000 or more which has been run at least twice under similar conditions and on the same surface and has been assigned graded status for the year contested by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Handicap – This race type refers to a race where the weights are assigned by the track’s racing secretary or handicapper based upon past performances.
Length – A measurement approximating the length of a horse, used to denote distance between horses in a race.
Off track – A track that has a wet surface and isn’t labeled as “fast”.
Pacesetter – The horse that is running in front (on the lead).
Past performances – A horse’s racing record, earnings, bloodlines and other data, presented in composite form.
Prep – A workout (or race) used to prepare a horse for a future engagement.
Post Parade – Horses going from paddock to starting gate past the stands. The post parade provides spectators with a chance to get a final look at the horse before the race.
Post Position – Position of stall in starting gate from which a horse begins a race.
Rabbit – A speed horse running as an entry with another, usually a come-from-behind horse. The rabbit is expected to set a fast pace to help the chances of its stablemate.
Rank – A horse that refuses to settle under a jockey’s handling in a race, running in a headstrong manner without respect to pace.
Scratch – To be taken out of a race before it starts.
Silks – Jacket and cap worn by jockeys.
Sire – Father of a foal.
Stakes – A race for which the owner usually must pay a fee to run a horse. The fees can be for nominating, maintaining eligibility, entering and starting, to which the track adds more money to make up the total purse. Some stakes races are by invitation and require no payment or fee.