Practical Joke Faces Elders in Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

Practical Joke  has only been defeated when he was stretched beyond his wheelhouse.

Though his class has carried him to multiple placings in graded stakes tests beyond one mile, the Chad Brown-trained son of Into Mischief  is undefeated when asked to run eight furlongs or less. That flawless streak will be put through its toughest test yet Nov. 3, when the multiple grade 1 winner faces elders for the first time and break from the outside in the field of 10 in the Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar.

Owned by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence, Practical Joke has been one of the more reliable performers of this year's 3-year-old male division. The only time he finished worse than third in 10 starts came when he finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), but his efforts around one-turn were without fault.

After he snapped a four-race losing skid with a two-length win in the July 8 Dwyer Stakes (G3), Practical Joke came in just a half-length short in the Betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1), before he scored a 1 1/4-length victory in the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens Stakes (G1) Aug. 26 at Saratoga Race Course. He has yet to win around two turns, but the distance of the Dirt Mile compared to the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) was one his connections felt fit him best.

"I just feel like six furlongs is probably going to be too short for this horse," Brown said. "So, although he is undefeated around one turn and he's never won around two turns ... it's quite a dilemma for us with a two-turn mile race. I really believe a mile is his best distance. So, he's going to have to win for the first time around two turns—but I'd rather have more track to work with, I think."

Third in last year's Dirt Mile, Hronis Racing's Accelerate has three wins in four starts over the Del Mar surface, with his only defeat a third-place finish in the TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) going 10 furlongs. The son of Lookin At Lucky  was nothing short of brilliant when he stunned the racing world with his 8 1/2-length romp in the TVG San Diego Handicap (G2), dismantling a field that included champion Arrogate. He is versatile enough to either take command up front or rate.

Following his 6 1/4-length victory in the Mohegan Sun Metropolitan Handicap (G1) June 10, Mor Spirit looked to be the overwhelming favorite come Breeders' Cup weekend. If he runs back to that form, it will take a freak outing to touch him. However, the 4-year-old son of Eskendereya hasn't started since that Met Mile score, leaving the door open to be vulnerable off the layoff.

"If he runs that race back, you know, it's pretty incredible," said trainer Bob Baffert. "After he ran that big race, it sort of took a lot out of him. It's taken him a long time to come around. I would love to put a prep race into him, but I didn't get a chance to. He's never run at Del Mar. This summer, I worked him there a few times. He struggled with that track earlier, but now he's doing much better. He's doing well but ... he's got his work cut out for him."

Entries: Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1)

Del Mar, Friday, November 03, 2017, Race 7

• Grade I
• 1m
• Dirt
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 3:05 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Iron Fist (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	126	Steven M. Asmussen	12/1
2	2Giant Expectations (NY)	Gary L. Stevens	126	Peter Eurton	12/1
3	3Sharp Azteca (KY)	Paco Lopez	126	Jorge Navarro	9/2
4	4Gato Del Oro (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	123	Richard Baltas	30/1
5	5Awesome Slew (FL)	John R. Velazquez	126	Mark E. Casse	12/1
6	6Mor Spirit (PA)	Mike E. Smith	126	Bob Baffert	3/1
7	7Cupid (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	126	Bob Baffert	8/1
8	8Accelerate (KY)	Victor Espinoza	126	John W. Sadler	7/2
9	9Battle of Midway (KY)	Flavien Prat	123	Jerry Hollendorfer	10/1
10	10Practical Joke (KY)	Joel Rosario	123	Chad C. Brown	6/1