Shared Belief in Easy Half Before BC Classic
Image:
Description:
Shared Belief, the undefeated morning-line favorite for the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park, put in his final pre-race preparations Oct. 28 at Golden Gate Fields.
Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer sent the 3-year-old Candy Ride gelding through an easy half-mile in :52 2/5 under veteran jockey Russell Baze at his home track in Northern California, and planned to ship Shared Belief to Santa Anita later in the day.
"He went by himself and he went good; my man Russell Baze told me it was awesome and he has a lot left in the tank," Hollendorfer said.
According to the trainer, the easy move was planned after Shared Belief went a bit quicker prior to his gutsy victory Sept. 27 in the Awesome Again Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita. In his prep for that race, the gelding went the same distance in :47 3/5 Sept. 23.
"I think he did (go a little too fast in that work)," Hollendorfer said. "He has breezed faster than this before some of his other races but I think we're in a good position with that kind of work before this race. He's running in four days and he has to ship; I blasted him pretty good in his last work."
HASKIN: Breeders' Cup Classic Preview
Shared Belief had a bullet six-furlong drill in 1:14 2/5 Oct. 21 over the all weather surface at Golden Gate. That move coupled with a bullet five furlongs Oct. 14 in 1:00 3/5 there and an easier four furlongs Oct. 7 in :50 4/5, his first work back after winning the Awesome Again.
The champion 2-year-old of 2013, Shared Belief heads into the Breeders' Cup as the 9-5 favorite from post 6. He is also the winner of the TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I), the Los Alamitos Derby (gr. II), the CashCall Futurity (gr. I), and the Hollywood Prevue Stakes (gr. III). He was bred in Kentucky by Pam and Martin Wygod out of the Storm Cat mare Common Hope, and races for a partnership group that includes Jason Litt, Alex Solis II, and sports media personality Jim Rome's Jungle Racing.