Hofmans Has Melatonin Sitting on Go

Tarabilla Farms' Breeders' Cup Clasic (gr. I) contender Melatonin got out on the Santa Anita Park main track Nov. 2 around 7:45 a.m. and stretched his legs under jockey Joe Talamo, moving smoothly through a four-furlong work in :47 4/5 with a gallop out in 1:01 2/5.

Trainer David Hofmans thought the 5-year-old Kodiak Kowboy gelding rolled along a little quicker than he would have liked with three days remaining until the big race, but back at the barn Melatonin wasn't blowing, and cooled out quickly. He last raced in the June 25 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes (gr. I), where he picked up his second grade I victory. He is undefeated on the Santa Anita dirt. 

BALAN: Melatonin Game in Gold Cup Victory

"It was OK. He did it so easily and he's not blowing, so it wasn't too much for him," Hofmans reported. "Maybe I shouldn't have put the blinkers on him this morning for the work. Maybe that's what got him a little more agressive than usual. But it was all right. Since he's been off so long, I think it's OK. He looks good. He's peppy."

Talamo said Melatonin, whose past three works included an Oct. 22 mile move in 1:41 1/5, feels sharp.  

"He was squealing when I pulled him up. It was really good. He's good to go," Talamo said. "He's ready. He has some three-quarters, a couple seven-eighths, and a mile work in him, and every one of them he's galloped out well over a mile, so he's good."

Melatonin breaks from post 6 in the Classic, his first Breeders' Cup run.

"I think we have a good chance to hit the board, because he likes this track so much and he is fresh. He loves being fresh, he loves running fresh, and I think the distance is ideal for him," Hofmans said. "Even Joe says a mile and a sixteenth, a mile and an eighth is too short. (At) a mile and a quarter, he's just getting warmed up.

"(Winning the Classic) takes a horse that tries every time—a competitive horse, a smart horse. Especially when you're in over your head, there's some pretty good horses in here. In fact, there's one great horse in here, California Chrome  . He has to get a little unlucky, and we have to get real lucky. I'm not sure if we'll be on the lead, but we'll be laying close, and if they give him an inch, he'll take a mile."