BC 'Rookie' McCarthy No Newcomer to Big Stage

Trainer Mike McCarthy had already seen what he needed for the morning to assure him his horses were still on the right trajectory at this stage in the game.

His hopeful for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), multiple graded stakes winner Axelrod, was cooling out in good order after working a half-mile Oct. 27 with stablemate and Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) hopeful Vibrance—a move that looked handy enough given the soggy Churchill Downs oval they were traveling over. As McCarthy looked at the official splits the clockers gave his pair for their four-furlong move in :48 2/5, however, he had a good-natured moment of second guessing himself.

"Damn, I have to get a new watch!" McCarthy laughed as the fractions of :12 1/5, :24 1/5, and :36 1/5, with a gallop out in 1:01 2/5, were relayed to him. "Either I have to get a new one or theirs is a little fast. They have a little too much WD-40 in theirs."

In his fifth full year of training since going out on his own, the former assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher actually has more than enough evidence to back up his judgment when it comes to his charges—specifically the mini arsenal currently residing on the Churchill backstretch.

Axelrod and Vibrance are two of the five contenders McCarthy is set to have at this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 2-3, a contingent that includes grade 1 winner City of Light  (Dirt Mile, G1), Paved (Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf, G1T), and Liam the Charmer (Longines Turf, G1T). It's an impressive haul for any horseman, but it's a feat that stands out that much more considering the quintet comes from a barn of about 30 head from—on paper, anyway—a trainer who has never before saddled a Breeders' Cup starter.

While McCarthy will technically go into the Breeders' Cup books for the first time this weekend, his tenure with Pletcher's esteemed operation saw him help hone the likes of such champions as Rags to Riches, Uncle Mo , and Shanghai Bobby, with the latter two each winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). McCarthy's comfort level in big-race moments has been evident by his light demeanor beneath the Twin Spires, and his skill set has been flaunted by the seven graded stakes wins his barn has produced this year—more than he had earned the previous four seasons combined.

"I'm starting to wonder if it was a bad year for everyone else," McCarthy joked. "Everything we do sort of channels through what we did at Todd's. I'm in a wonderful position where I don't think there are too many people who have a whole lot more experience on this kind of weekend than I do.

"Obviously, this is the first time I've run a horse in the Breeders' Cup in my own name, but having attended multiple Breeders' Cups and seen multiple winners on the day … you kind of know what the process is, you know what is expected of you."

Having been purchased for $710,000 from Lane's End's consignment to the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, City of Light has absolutely lived up to that billing.

In his first try against stakes company, the son of Quality Road  threw down the gauntlet when he captured the Dec. 26 Malibu Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park. He followed that run with another top-level score in the Triple Bend Stakes (G1) in March before besting Accelerate —the expected Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) favorite—in the April 14 Oaklawn Handicap (G2). Though McCarthy pre-entered City of Light with second preference in the Classic, he confirmed Saturday the bay colt is all but certain to be Dirt Mile-bound off his runner-up finish in the Aug. 25 Forego Stakes (G1).

"Barring anything crazy this week, he will run in the Dirt Mile. That is our first preference," McCarthy said. "He couldn't be doing any better, really excited to lead him over. A horse like City of Light that, when we picked him out, a day like Saturday is definitely what you're thinking about."

Loading in the gate with $6 million on the line was not what McCarthy had in mind when he landed Axelrod as a short yearling for $25,000 from Bobby Jones Equine at the 2016 Ocala Breeders' Sales Winter Mixed Sale.

Then an awkward baby, Axelrod has grown into a decidedly stout individual who has quietly been on the improve in the sophomore division in the second half of the year. His breakout score came when he took the Indiana Derby (G3) in July, and he continued his upturn with a four-length win in the Smarty Jones Stakes (G3) in August. His second-place effort behind McKinzie in the Sept. 22 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) saw him put in a determined rally to be well clear of the rest of the field, and with the handicap ranks considered fairly wide open, McCarthy is going to see if he can't ride the colt's form cycle to a potential upset next weekend.

"When I bought him, I thought he'd be a useful racehorse. But he's that and a little bit more than that," McCarthy said of Axelrod, who is owned by Phoenix Thoroughbreds and Slam Dunk Racing. "He's a horse that has all the confidence in the world right now, and when they think they're good, there is nothing they can't do. So we're going to ride that a little bit into the race this week.

"He was super in the Smarty Jones, and certainly there was no disgrace running second to McKinzie, who is probably the best 3-year-old still around right now. You buy one for $25,00, you certainly don't think you're going to end up running in the Breeders' Cup Classic, but it's nice that it has worked out that way."

His horses have gotten good at the right time. And, not surprisingly, McCarthy's barn has never been better in its short history. His 29 wins through Oct. 26 have surpassed his career-best total of 27 from last season. A week out from what could be a career day for his young operation, McCarthy is both realistic in his hopes and confident that what he is seeing from his equine crew is their collective peak.

"I try and lead them over there in the best shape I can possibly get them in, and ... if we jump up and get a check or two, we'll be very pleased, really pleased," he said. "They seem to have thrived since they've gotten here."

With the Churchill main track in sloppy condition Saturday, only two other Breeders' Cup hopefuls turned up on the work tab. Reflect (Juvenile Fillies) went five furlongs in 1:00 flat, and Signalman (Sentient Jet Juvenile, G1) went four furlongs in a bullet :47 3/5 in company with Math Major. The expected field for the Classic became clearer Saturday when trainer Tom Amoss confirmed that graded stakes winner Lone Sailor will start in the 1 1/4-mile test. The son of Majestic Warrior was also pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, with second preference in that test.