Frosted Pleases McLaughlin in NY Drill

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin's Breeders' Cup hopefuls, led by grade I winner Frosted, continued their preparations in New York Oct. 15-16 for the upcoming event in two weeks at Keeneland.

 

Frosted, who is targeting the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) Oct. 31, breezed five furlongs in :59 Oct. 16 at Greentree Training Center in Saratoga Springs. 

 

"He worked great," McLaughlin said of the son of Tapit  , who won the TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial (gr. I) earlier this year and the Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) in his most recent start. "He couldn't have gone better in :59 flat and up (six furlongs) in 1:12. We're excited.

 

"We wanted a good work this week," McLaughlin added. "He's put weight on since the Pennsylvania Derby. We were looking for something fast and next week he'll go (four furlongs) in :48 or :49."

 

Next Friday, Frosted will log his final breeze for the 1 1/4-mile Classic, in which he would meet Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, who has gotten the better of him in three meetings this year.

 

 

Multiple grade I winner Wedding Toast kept up with her Breeders' Cup training regimen Thursday at Greentree, going four furlongs in :49 3/5 in advance of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) Oct. 30.

 

"She came out in great shape and looked great this morning," McLaughlin said. "We didn't want too much from her because she's been going all year. We'll work her again on Thursday and just try to keep her happy and healthy."

 

Wedding Toast, a 5-year-old daughter of Street Sense  , has won three graded stakes this year, all at Belmont Park, including a pair of grade I races in her two most recent starts—the Beldame and the Ogden Phipps.

 

"I'm not concerned about shipping to Keeneland," McLaughlin said of his star mare, who would be tackling a grade I field away from Belmont for the first time. "She's doing great and she's a filly beat."

 

Cavorting, targeting the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I), also breezed Thursday, working four furlongs in :49.54 seconds on the Belmont training track. Though the move didn't go exactly as planned, McLaughlin was pleased with what the 3-year-old Bernardini   filly showed.

 

"The pony let her go a little bit early and she was pulled up a little quick, but we were happy with the way she trained," McLaughlin said of Cavorting, who has won three straight races, including the Test (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course.

 

McLaughlin added that two-time grade II winner Sentiero Italia is now considered likely to enter the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT), while Tamarkuz has been withdrawn from consideration for $1 million Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I).

 

"Sentiero Italia is back up at Greentree and looked happy and in good shape this morning," the trainer said. "We'll let her stretch her legs soon. She doesn't need much, she's fit and ready."

 

Belmont-based turf specialist in Recepta will bypass the Athenia (gr. III) Oct. 17 to point for the Filly & Mare Turf, according to trainer Jimmy Toner.

 

Recepta, who bested Athenia entrants Lady Lara and Coffee Clique in the grade III Noble Damsel Sept. 18, has posted three wins from five starts this year, including the De La Rose at Saratoga and a 1 1/16-mile allowance this spring at Keeneland.

 

"She's ran at Keeneland before and won," Toner said. "I originally thought about running her in the Athenia and I would have. But if I ran her in the Athenia, I wouldn't be able to run her in the Breeders' Cup, so it sort of puts you between a rock and a hard place. Hopefully we get in, and if we get in, we're looking forward to running her, because she's doing really good right now. If she doesn't, then we'll have to come up with plan B."

 

This year's edition of the Filly & Mare Turf will be contested at 1 3/16 miles, with a field limited to 12 starters. Half of the field will be comprised of "Win and You're In" qualifiers and leading graded stakes earners, leaving the admittance of the other six starters, including Recepta, to be determined by committee.

 

Recepta, whose 2014 campaign ended following a last-place finish in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (gr. IT) in July, is set to breeze at Belmont Sunday morning and, if all goes to plan, Toner plans to pre-enter the 4-year-old Speightstown   filly for the Filly & Mare Turf Monday.

 

Recepta posted back-to-back wins in her two most recents two starts, and Toner was especially encouraged by her Noble Damsel performance, tracking the pace and closing late to get a half-length ahead of the talented Lady Lara.

 

 

"I was excited about the way she ran, especially the time," Toner said of the Noble Damsel. "She beat a quality group of horses... and I think she's still on the improve. That's another reason why. If we get a shot at it, we'll take it."

 

Trainer Linda Rice's Breeders' Cup contingent is right on schedule for their respective year-end championship bids with multiple graded stakes winners Palace   pointed to the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) Oct. 31 and La Verdad taking aim at the Filly & Mare Sprint.

 

Lady Sheila Stable's La Verdad, unbeaten in five starts this year—including grade II victories in the Honorable Miss and Gallant Bloom—turned in a bullet work Oct. 10, covering five furlongs in 1:01.55 over Belmont's dirt training track. Rice said the New York-bred daughter of Yes It's True   is slated to breeze twice more before shipping to Kentucky.

 

"I would prefer the Breeders' Cup Sprint for fillies to be six furlongs," Rice said of La Verdad. "It's a little a little bit of a reach for her with seven furlongs, but as far as her race record this year, she couldn't be coming into it in better shape, so we plan to give it a whirl."

 

B. Wayne Hughes' Palace, who will enter stud in 2016 at Spendthrift Farm in Central Kentucky, is on point to make his fourth—and likely final—start  of the year. The 6-year-old son of City Zip  , who finished sixth in last year's Sprint, was sidelined for nearly two months this summer after grabbing a quarter leaving the gate in the John Morrissey Stakes in July at Saratoga. He made his return in the Vosburgh (gr. I) Sept. 26 at Belmont, finishing fourth.

 

"He's going to move on to his stallion career at the end of this seaon and I thought he ran well enough in the Vosburgh to take a chance at the Breeders' Cup," Rice said. "And he's trained very well since."

 

Rice expects to Palace to wrap up his final major preparations in the coming week with a single breeze currently scheduled for Oct. 21, with both horses scheduled to fly to to Lexington Oct. 26.