Smooth Roller Scratched from Breeders’ Cup Classic
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Smooth Roller, above winning the Awesome Again Stakes, was scratched Saturday morning from the Breeders' Cup Classic. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
By Tom Pedulla, America's Best Racing
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The prospect that Triple Crown winner American Pharoah will be able to shake loose on the lead in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic grew on Saturday when stewards scratched Smooth Roller on the morning of the race at Keeneland Race Course.
If any horse appeared capable of pushing American Pharoah in the early stages of the 1 1/4-mile Classic, it appeared to be Smooth Roller. He was forwardly placed when he dominated the 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again Stakes by 5 1/4 lengths on Sept. 26 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
Smooth Roller became the second horse to drop out of the Classic field in three days, leaving a field of eight to compete for one of racing's greatest prizes. Beholder, a mare with tactical speed who was the 3-1 second choice in the early odds, was withdrawn on Thursday after an examination revealed bleeding in her lungs.
Smooth Roller was scratched at the recommendation of Kentucky state veterinarian Will Farmer, who found a tendon issue in the left foreleg. The Classic was to be only his fifth start.
His absence and that of Beholder greatly increases the prospect that jockey Victor Espinoza will be able to dictate a comfortable early pace with American Pharoah. That scenario would make it all the more likely that he will close his magnificent career by adding the Classic to his standing as the 12th Triple Crown champion and the first in 37 years.