Connections of Chrome, Shared Belief Pleased with Classic Draw
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California Chrome is stabled in the same stall he won three races out of at Santa Anita in the spring. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing
ARCADIA, Calif. – The connections of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome desperately hoped to avoid being given an inside post when post positions were drawn Monday for the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
They got their wish. They are outside. Far outside.
California Chrome and jockey Victor Espinoza will break from post 13 in a field of 14 when the Classic is run on Saturday as the centerpiece of the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park. The event brings together the finest horses, domestic and international, for 13 races worth $26 million in purses and awards and attracted a record 201 starters.
“For once we’ll be outside,” Espinoza said. “It’s a long run and number 13 is a good number.”
Undefeated Shared Belief was established as the 9-5 favorite for the mile-and-a-quarter Classic after he and jockey Mike Smith drew post six. Smith, the winningest jockey in Breeders’ Cup history, welcomed the draw because it places them between two primary sources of speed. Whitney winner Moreno is likely to break sharply from post four while Bayern is expected to do the same after he enters the starting gate just to the outside of Shared Belief in post seven.
“He has speed all around him,” Smith said. “I’ll be able to follow them into the first turn and work out a trip from there.”
Untapable, who will break from post 10 for Rosie Napravnik, was established as the 5-2 favorite for the $2-million Distaff, the most significant of four Breeders’ Cup races being held on Friday. Close Hatches, the runner-up in the Distaff last year, is 3-1.
“I look for her to run a huge race,” trainer Steve Asmussen said of Untapable. An outside slot should not be an issue for the swift 3-year-old. She started from farthest outside in post 12 when she bested the field by 4 ½ lengths in the Kentucky Oaks on May 2. She will be pursuing her sixth victory in seven starts this year; the lone blemish occurred when she tested males in the Haskell Invitational and struggled home in fifth.
California Chrome is listed as the second choice in the Classic morning line at 4-1, with Belmont Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Tonalist at 5-1.
California Chrome, looking to rebound from consecutive defeats, had drawn inside for each of those races. He received post two when he dead-heated for fourth in the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes. “In the Belmont, definitely the inside post hurt me a little bit,” Espinoza said. “A lot of things went wrong in the beginning of the race.”
He broke from the rail and remained pinned inside when he finished a disappointing sixth in the Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing on Sept. 20 in his first start since the Belmont on June 7. “It was a long time off,” Espinoza said. “He needed the race.”
Alan Sherman, who assists his father, Art, in training the popular California-bred, believes the colt who far outran modest expectations is back to the form that allowed him to emerge as a Triple Crown threat that captivated sports fans outside of the racing world. Chrome appeared to relish his exercise as he jogged one mile on Monday.
“He trained like a monster, not just today but the last few weeks,” Alan said. “He’s getting stronger and stronger. His last work was the best I’ve ever seen.” Chrome zipped five furlongs in 59 3/5 seconds on Saturday at his home track of Los Alamitos before shipping to Santa Anita the next day.
In another significant development, defending Dirt Mile champion Goldencents gained the benefit of the rail when posts were drawn for his race. The inside start should help him capitalize on his abundant early speed while saving ground.
Goldencents turned in a rousing performance in the Pat O’Brien Stakes on Aug. 24 at Del Mar, setting a track record of 1:20.99 for seven furlongs on the synthetic surface. Although he missed by a nose to Rich Tapestry on Oct. 4 at Santa Anita in his most recent start, he worked an eye-opening five furlongs in 59.26 here last Friday, suggesting he will be in top form.
Friday Races
$1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile TurfFriday, Santa Anita Park, Race 6, 5:25 p.m. ETOne mile, turf, 2-year-olds
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Wet Sail
Jamie Spencer
Charlie Fellowes
2
Daddy D T
Corey Nakatani
John Sadler
3
Luck of the Kitten
Mike Smith
Wesley Ward
4
Commemorative
James Doyle
Charles Hills
5
Hootenanny
Frankie Dettori
Wesley Ward
6
Conquest Typhoon
Patrick Husbands
Mark Casse
7
War Envoy
Ryan Moore
Aidan O'Brien
8
Offering Plan
Irad Ortiz Jr.
Chad Brown
9
Aktabantay
Olivier Peslier
Hugo Palmer
10
Startup Nation
Joel Rosario
Chad Brown
11
Imperia
Javier Castellano
Kiaran McLaughlin
12
International Star
John Velazquez
Mike Maker
13
Lawn Ranger
Chris Landeros
Ken McPeek
14
Danny Boy
Julien Leparoux
Dale Romans
15AE
Faithful Creek
Kieren Fallon
Brian Meehan
16AE
Papacoolpapacool
Joe Talamo
Jeff Mullins
$1-million Breeders' Cup Dirt MileFriday, Santa Anita Park, Race 7, 6:05 p.m. ETOne mile, dirt, 3-year-olds and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Goldencents
Rafael Bejarano
Leandro Mora
2
Carve
Mike Smith
Brad Cox
3
Vicar's in Trouble
John Velazquez
Mike Maker
4
Pants On Fire
Paco Lopez
Kelly Breen
5
Handsome Mike
Mario Gutierrez
Leandro Mora
6
Golden Ticket
Joel Rosario
Ken McPeek
7
Bronzo
Luis Torres
Jorge Andres Inda
8
Fed Biz
Martin Garcia
Bob Baffert
9
Tapiture
Rosie Napravnik
Steve Asmussen
10
Big Bane Theory
Joe Talamo
Carla Gaines
$1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies TurfFriday, Santa Anita Park, Race 8, 6:50 p.m. ETOne mile, turf, 2-year-old fillies
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Partisan Politics
Javier Castellano
Chad Brown
2
Osaila
Frankie Dettori
Richard Hannon
3
Sunset Glow
Victor Espinoza
Wesley Ward
4
Lady Eli
Irad Ortiz Jr.
Chad Brown
5
Isabella Sings
John Velazquez
Todd Pletcher
6
Sivoliere
Gary Stevens
Chad Brown
7
Rainha Da Bateria
Joel Rosario
Graham Motion
8
Nicky's Brown Miss
Francisco Torres
Savino Capilupi
9
Lady Zuzu
Julien Leparoux
D. Wayne Lukas
10
Quality Rocks
Jose Lezcano
Bill Mott
11
Conquest Harlanate
Patrick Husbands
Mark Casse
12
Tammy the Torpedo
Rafael Bejarano
Chad Brown
13
Prize Exhibit
Jamie Spencer
Jamie Osborne
14
Qualify
Ryan Moore
Aidan O'Brien
15AE
Flying Tipat
Jose Ortiz
Dale Romans
16AE
War Alert
Jamie Spencer
David Brown
$2-million Breeders' Cup DistaffFriday, Santa Anita Park, Race 9, 7:35 p.m. ET1 1/8 miles, dirt, fillies and mares, 3 years old and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
Odds
1
L'Amour de Ma Vie
Maxime Guyon
Pia Brandt
15-1
2
Tiz Midnight
Victor Espinoza
Bob Baffert
10-1
3
Iotapa
Joe Talamo
John Sadler
6-1
4
Belle Gallantey
Jose Ortiz
Rudy Rodriguez
6-1
5
Unbridled Forever
John Velazquez
Dallas Stewart
20-1
6
Stanwyck
Corey Nakatani
John Shirreffs
20-1
7
Don't Tell Sophia
Joe Rocco Jr
Phil Sims
5-1
8
Valiant Emilia
Rafael Bejarano
Gary Mandella
20-1
9
Ria Antonia
Paco Lopez
Tom Amoss
15-1
10
Untapable
Rosie Napravnik
Steve Asmussen
5-2
11
Close Hatches
Joel Rosario
William Mott
3-1
Saturday Races
$2-million 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile FilliesSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 4, 3:05 p.m. ET 1 1/16 miles, dirt, 2-year-olds fillies
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Feathered
Javier Castellano
Todd Pletcher
2
Angela Renee
John Velazquez
Todd Pletcher
3
Danette
Kent Desormeaux
Keith Desormeaux
4
Conquest Eclipse
Corey Nakatani
Mark Casse
5
Cristina's Journey
Miguel Mena
Dale Romans
6
Take Charge Brandi
Victor Espinoza
D. Wayne Lukas
7
Majestic Presence
Elvis Trujillo
Jerry Hollendorfer
8
Puca
Joel Rosario
Bill Mott
9
Hennythelovepenny
Fernando Perez
Peter Miller
10
Wonder Gal
Mike Smith
Leah Gyarmati
11
Top Decile
Rosie Napravnik
Al Stall Jr.
12
By the Moon
Jose Ortiz
Michelle Nevin
$2-million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare TurfSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 5, 3:43 p.m. ET1 1/4 miles, turf, fillies and mares, 3 years old and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Abaco
Jose Ortiz
Shug McGaughey
2
Just The Judge
Jamie Spencer
Charles Hills
3
Dank
Ryan Moore
Michael Stoute
4
Dayatthespa
Javier Castellano
Chad Brown
5
Secret Gesture
Patrick Smullen
Ralph Beckett
6
Fiesolana
William James Lee
Willie McCreary
7
Emollient
Rosie Napravnik
Bill Mott
8
Irish Mission
Joel Rosario
Christophe Clement
9
Parranda
Elvis Trujillo
Jerry Hollendorfer
10
Stephanie's Kitten
John Velazquez
Chad Brown
11
Rusty Slipper
Aaron Gryder
Graham Motion
$1-million Draftkings Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare SprintSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 6, 4:21 p.m. ET7 furlongs, dirt, fillies and mares, 3 years old and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Sweet Reason
Irad Ortiz Jr.
Leah Gyarmati
2
Little Alexis
Joel Rosario
Carlo Vaccarezza
3
Stonetastic
Paco Lopez
Kelly Breen
4
Thank You Marylou
John Velazquez
Mike Maker
5
Artemis Agrotera
Jose Ortiz
Mike Hushion
6
Leigh Court
Gary Boulanger
Josie Carroll
7
Judy the Beauty
Mike Smith
Wesley Ward
8
Better Lucky
Javier Castellano
Tom Albertrani
9
Living The Life
Rafael Bejarano
Gary Mandella
10
Southern Honey
Julien Leparoux
Rusty Arnold
$1-million Breeders' Cup Turf SprintSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 7, 5:05 p.m. ET6 1/2 furlongs, downhill turf course, 3-year-olds and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Reneesgotzip
Edwin Maldonado
Peter Miller
2
Silentio
Victor Espinoza
Gary Mandella
3
Sweet Swap
Corey Nakatani
John Sadler
4
Tightend Touchdown
Javier Castellano
Jason Servis
5
Ambitious Brew
Mike Smith
Martin Jones
6
Bobby's Kitten
Joel Rosario
Chad Brown
7
Marchman
Kent Desormeaux
Keith Desormeaux
8
Something Extra
Eurico Da Silva
Gail Cox
9
Free as a Bird
Tyler Baze
Ian Wilkes
10
Home Run Kitten
Joe Talamo
David Hofmans
11
Undrafted
John Velazquez
Wesley Ward
12
Dimension
Ryan Moore
Conor Murphy
13
Caspar Netscher
Pat Smullen
David Simcock
14
No Nay Never
Frankie Dettori
Wesley Ward
15AE
Ageless
Julien Leparoux
Arnaud Delacour
16AE
Za Approval
Rafael Bajarano
Christophe Clement
$2-million Sentiuent Jet Breeders' Cup JuvenileSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 8, 5:43 p.m. ET1 1/16 miles, colts and geldings, 2 years old
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Calculator
Elvis Trujillo
Peter Miller
2
Private Prospect
Jesse Campbell
Michael Campbell
3
Blue Dancer
Rico Walcott
Greg Tracy
4
The Great War
Ryan Moore
Aidan O'Brien
5
American Pharoah
Victor Espinoza
Bob Baffert
6
Lucky Player
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
Steve Asmussen
7
Texas Red
Kent Desormeaux
Keith Desormeaux
8
Souper Colossal
Paco Lopez
Eddie Plesa Jr.
9
Carpe Diem
John Velazquez
Todd Pletcher
10
Mr. Z
Mike Smith
D. Wayne Lukas
11
One Lucky Dane
Rafael Bejarano
Bob Baffert
12
Daredevil
Javier Castellano
Todd Pletcher
13
Upstart
Jose Ortiz
Rick Violette Jr.
$3-million Breeders' Cup TurfSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 9, 6:22 p.m. ET1 1/2 miles, turf, 3-year-olds and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Telescope
Ryan Moore
Michael Stoute
2
Twilight Eclipse
Javier Castellano
Tom Albertrani
3
Imagining
Joel Rosario
Shug McGaughey
4
Brown Panther
Richard Kingscote
Tom Dascombe
5
Hangover Kid
Jose Lezcano
Jason Servis
6
Finnegans Wake
Joe Talamo
Peter Miller
7
Flintshire
Maxime Guyon
Andre Fabre
8
Magician
Joseph O'Brien
Aidan O'Brien
9
Hardest Core
Eriluis Vaz
Edward Graham
10
Starspangled Heat
Corey Nakatani
Barry Abrams
11
Chicquita
Frankie Dettori
Aidan O'Brien
12
Main Sequence
John Velazquez
Graham Motion
13
Big John B
Mike Smith
Philip D'Amato
$1.5-million Xpressbet Breeders' Cup SprintSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 10, 7:01 p.m. ET6 furlongs, dirt, y-year-olds and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Seeking the Sherif
Edwin Maldonado
Ron Ellis
2
Indianapolis
Mike Smith
Bob Baffert
3
Wind Fire
Jamie Spencer
David Brown
4
Secret Circle
Martin Garcia
Bob Baffert
5
Private Zone
Martin Pedroza
Alfredo Velazquez
6
Rich Tapestry
Olivier Doleuze
Michael Chang
7
Mico Margarita
Rosie Napravnik
Steve Asmussen
8
Palace
Cornelio Velasquez
Linda Rice
9
Salutos Amigos
Javier Castellano
David Jacobson
10
Big Macher
Tyler Baze
Richard Baltas
11
Bakken
Gary Stevens
Chad Brown
12
Fast Anna
John Velazquez
Kathy Ritvo
13
Work All Week
Florent Geroux
Roger Brueggemann
14
Bourbon Courage
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
Kellyn Gorder
15AE
Bahamian Squall
Rafael Bejarano
David Fawkes
16AE
Indexical
Mario Gutierrez
Ben Cecil
$2-million Breeders' Cup MileSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 11, 7:40 p.m. ETOne mile, turf, 3-year-olds and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
1
Grand Arch
John Velazquez
Brian Lynch
2
Obviously
Joe Talamo
Philip D'Amato
3
Veda
Christophe Soumillon
Alain de Royer-Dupre
4
Mustajeeb
Pat Smuilen
Dermot Weld
5
Toronado
Richard Hughes
Richard Hannon
6
Tom's Tribute
Mike Smith
James Cassidy
7
Kaigun
Patrick Husbands
Mark Casse
8
Trade Storm
Jamie Spencer
David Simcock
9
Anodin
Olivier Peslier
Freddie Head
10
Summer Front
Javier Castellano
Christophe Clement
11
Sayaad
Julien Leparoux
Kiaran McLaughlin
12
Seek Again
Joel Rosario
Bill Mott
13
Tourist
Rosie Napravnik
Bill Mott
14
Karakontie
Stephane Pasquier
Jonathan Pease
15AE
Mr. Commons
Corey Nakatani
John Shirreffs
$5-million Breeders' Cup ClassicSaturday, Santa Anita Park, Race 12, 8:35 p.m. ET1 1/4 miles, dirt, 3-year-olds and older
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
Odds
1
Prayer for Relief
Irad Ortiz Jr.
Dale Romans
30-1
2
Cigar Street
John Velazquez
Bill Mott
12-1
3
Imperative
Frankie Dettori
George Papaprodromou
30-1
4
Moreno
Javier Castellano
Eric Guillot
20-1
5
V. E. Day
Joe Talamo
Jimmy Jerkens
20-1
6
Shared Belief
Mike Smith
Jerry Hollendorfer
9-5
7
Bayern
Martin Garcia
Bob Baffert
6-1
8
Zivo
Jose Lezcano
Chad Brown
15-1
9
Toast of New York
Jamie Spencer
Jamie Osborne
12-1
10
Footbridge
Rafael Bejarano
Eoin Harty
30-1
11
Tonalist
Joel Rosario
Christophe Clement
5-1
12
Candy Boy
Corey Nakatani
John Sadler
20-1
13
California Chrome
Victor Espinoza
Art Sherman
4-1
14
Majestic Harbor
Tyler Baze
Sean McCarthy
20-1
15AE
Big Cazanova
Elvis Trujillo
Peter Miller