Mind Your Biscuits Gets 'Useful' Work for Breeders' Cup

Multiple grade 1 winner Mind Your Biscuits turned in his last major preparation in advance of the Nov. 4 TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) when he breezed four furlongs in :47.88 in company Oct. 21 at Belmont Park.

With jockey Joel Rosario in the irons, the 4-year-old son of Posse broke off behind his workmate and blew by down the lane before he galloped out to five furlongs in 1:01 and six furlongs in 1:13, according to New York Racing Association clockers.

The breeze was the second fastest of 54 at the distance and was the fifth at Belmont for Mind Your Biscuits since he finished sixth to champion Drefong in the Forego Stakes (G1) Aug. 26 at Saratoga Race Course, his first off-the-board finish since the 2016 Ketel One King's Bishop Stakes (G1). 

"I thought it was fine. It was a useful work. He got what he needed out of it," said trainer Chad Summers. "If we call the Forego a non-effort, which is what I think it was, I think he had to get a little work in company there—have a little target to get those competitive juices flowing heading into the Breeders' Cup.

"It's not about time with us. It's about how they look. He galloped out well today. He galloped out all the way to the gate. I got him in 1:41 for a mile and 1:13 for three-quarters. It's not a bad work. It's a useful work. It's your last major work before the Breeders' Cup. I thought it was fine. It just wasn't perfect. The last three going into today were perfect. We couldn't have scripted those better."

Mind Your Biscuits began his 2017 season with a second-place finish in the Gulfstream Park Sprint Stakes (G3) before going on to win the Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored By Gulf News (G1) at Meydan Racecourse in March and the July 8 Belmont Sprint Championship Stakes (G2).

"He's gotten a little older and a little wiser, and he doesn't need to put forth everything in the morning," Summers said. "Coming off a flat effort, you could say that you have to make up for it, but he's got a 16-race body of work that speaks for itself. As long as he got enough out of it, which I think he did, we'll take this one for what it is and move forward."

Mind Your Biscuits is scheduled to ship to California Oct. 24 and is expected to have a blowout at Del Mar in the days leading up to the race, "like we did in Dubai," Summers said.