Breeders' Cup Flash Notes
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Breeders’ Cup World Championships Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1 2-Year-Old Races Report To be run Friday, October 31 $1 Million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (Grade I) 2-Year-Old Colts & Geldings 1 Mile (Turf) $1 Million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (Grade I) 2-Year-Old Fillies 1 Mile (Turf) To be run Saturday, November 1 $2 Million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I) 2-Year-Old Colts & Geldings 1 1/16 Miles $2 Million 14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (Grade I) 2-Year-Old Fillies 1 1/16 Miles Wednesday, October 29, 2014 Contact Notes Team (626) 254-1352 Aidan O'Brien (The Great War, Juvenile; War Envoy, Juvenile Turf; Qualify, Juvenile Fillies Turf) – see European report Bob Baffert (One Lucky Dane, Juvenile) – The withdrawal of favored American Pharoah on Tuesday due to a foot bruise, leaves One Lucky Dane as the lone hope for the Hall of Fame trainer. One Lucky Dane jogged 1m Wednesday morning. “American Pharoah was our (San Francisco Giants' ace Madison) Bumgarner,” Baffert said. “Now One Lucky Dane has to step up like one of their other pitchers has to. “One Lucky Dane is a really nice horse and he's training well. He's just not as quick as American Pharaoh. He needs more distance. It takes him a while to get running. He's a true Derby horse, a mile and an eighth, mile and a quarter horse. But if, like last year, there's a really fast pace, it would be good for him. “The lights went on for him at Del Mar and the way he won the other day was very impressive. He'll be coming late.” Baffert also said that American Pharoah was given a nuclear scan Wednesday morning to further evaluate his condition. Results are not expected until possibly Thursday afternoon. Brian Meehan (Faithful Creek, Juvenile Turf) – see European report on also eligible list Chad Brown (Offering Plan and Startup Nation, Juvenile Turf; Lady Eli, Partisan Politics, Sivoliere, and Tammy the Torpedo, Juvenile Fillies Turf) – Trainer Chad Brown’s gang of young turf runners all galloped 1 1/2m Wednesday morning. Sheep Pond Partners’ Lady Eli won the Ms. Grillo at Belmont Park on Sept. 28. Tammy the Torpedo, an impressive maiden winner at Saratoga was third and Partisan Politics, winner of the P.G. Johnson, checked in fourth. -MORE- 2-2-2-2 Sivoliere joined Brown’s barn about two months ago after winning three of five starts in France. “All four of them are training very well,” Brown said. “Lady Eli is the most accomplished of the group, having won a graded stake and being undefeated. She’s training terrific and shipped in great. All is well there. “Tammy the Torpedo, a horse that had that big debut at Saratoga, ran third with no pace in the Ms. Grillo. I feel that she’s training very well since that race. If she can find some more pace up front and get herself a little further back in the race, that’s her preferred way to run, I could see her running well in here. “Partisan Politics seems to be really training well. She broke her maiden in a stake race at Saratoga, which is a hard thing to do, then had a nightmare of a trip in the Ms. Grillo. I don’t know how much she might have challenged the other filly with a clean trip. She drew inside, which I guess is good and bad. If she breaks well, it’s fine. If she doesn’t break well she could get shuffled back again and have another challenging trip. A lot is going to depend on the break with her, but I couldn’t be happier with her workouts. “Sivoliere is a horse that we got the first weekend of September. She had some trouble adjusting her first two weeks over here, I thought, and has since turned the corner and has been coming on better. Her works are OK; she’s not known to be a real fast work horse. She’s one they tell me is looking for firm turf and she’s going to get it here. We’ll just have to see how she does.” Brown’s Juvenile Turf colts, Offering Plan and Startup Nation, are coming of out a third- and fourth- place finishes, respectively, in the Pilgrim at Belmont on Sept. 28. Charlie Hills (Commemorative, Juvenile Turf) – see European report Charlie Fellowes (Wet Sail, Juvenile Turf) – see European report D. Wayne Lukas (Mr. Z, Juvenile; Take Charge Brandi, Juvenile Fillies; Lady Zuzu, Juvenile Fillies Turf) – All three of D. Wayne Lukas’s juveniles - Lady Zuzu, Mr. Z and Take Charge Brandi - went to the track Wednesday morning for their regular morning exercise under Lukas’ regular exercise rider Allyson Walker. She took them all 1 1/2m over the main track. Lady Zuzu will be the first of the trio to race as she heads to the Juvenile Fillies Turf on Friday. Mr. Z and Take Charge Brandi will follow on Saturday in the Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies, respectively. Dale Romans (Cristina's Journey, Juvenile Fillies; Danny Boy Juvenile Turf; Flying Tipat [also eligible], Juvenile Fillies Turf) – Trainer Dale Romans bought Cristina's Journey for $37,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale and since that time the undefeated filly has done nothing but exceed all expectations. “She's always been an overachiever," said Romans. “She just gets better and better. She's just a runner. When I bought her, she wasn't flashy, just a plain brown wrapper, but she's turned into a runner.” Romans has Danny Boy running in the Juvenile Turf, but hopes he'll have an equally successful career next year on dirt as a 3yo. -MORE- 3-3-3-3 “He's a nice horse, probably my best chance of a win this year,” said Romans. "The turf just suits him right now, but he's definitely as good on dirt. I see Derbys in his future next year.” David Brown (War Alert, Juvenile Fillies Turf) – see European report on also eligible list Eddie Plesa Jr. (Souper Colossal, Juvenile) – Live Oak Plantation’s undefeated 2yo colt Souper Colossal shipped into Santa Anita a week ago Tuesday after a summer campaign of three races at Monmouth Park for trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. and has adapted nicely to his new surroundings. “He’s taken to the whole California life, Sushi and all,” quipped Plesa Wednesday morning. “He’s done really well here and I’m going into the race with a lot of confidence. His workout Monday didn’t go exactly the way I planned, but it worked out fine (officially bullet 5f in 57 2/5). “He actually worked only a half. I got him in 45 3/5 and galloping out five-eighths in 58. Regardless, it was faster than I planned. However, he did it all on his own. Paco (Lopez) never moved on him and said later he was fine with it. He ate everything that night.” Lopez rode the son of War Front in each of his three starts at Monmouth, including the Sapling Stakes, a one-mile race around two turns on Aug. 31 that he won by 5½ lengths. “I feel like he is going into this race 110 per cent,” continued Plesa, who has had a good season, highlighted by the victory of 4yo Itsmyluckyday in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga. “I feel bad for Bob (Baffert upon defection of American Pharoah).” Graham Motion (Rainha Da Bateria, Juvenile Fillies Turf) – Three Chimneys Farm’s Rainha Da Bateria galloped 1 1/2m Wednesday morning at Santa Anita Park. The 2yo daughter of Broken Vow rebounded from a wide fourth-place finish in the P.G. Johnson at Saratoga with a late-charging victory in the Jessamine at Keeneland last time out. “I thought she was really impressive. It was a big effort off of a break,” said Motion, whose trainee scored at first asking at Saratoga on July 21. “This is a big step for her. I feel great about her. She’s been great.” Hugo Palmer (Aktabantay, Juvenile Turf) – see European report Keith Desormeaux (Texas Red, Juvenile; Danette Juvenile Fillies) – Trainer Keith Desormeaux remains very high on his two Breeders’ Cup-bound 2yos, Texas Red and Danette. Texas Red, who is owned by Desormeaux, Erich Brehm, Wayne Detmar and Lee Michaels, had a routine gallop on Wednesday morning on Santa Anita’s main track. Danette, on the other hand, walked one day after a 5f work on Tuesday morning in 1:00 2/5. “I’m really excited about Texas Red,” Desormeaux said. “He’s a big, well-boned and growthy colt. He’ll be a late-maturing horse, so the fact that he’s done what he’s done thus far is an accomplishment in itself. He’s distance all the way being by Afleet Alex and I’m really excited to see where he goes." Texas Red exits a closing third in the FrontRunner Stakes – a course and distance prep for the Juvenile. It took the bay colt two more starts after a runner-up debut at Arlington to break his maiden – with such not occurring until his first attempt around two turns. -MORE- 4-4-4-4 Don’t Tell My Wife Stables’ Danette enters the Juvenile Fillies off a third, as well, but in the Chandelier Stakes, a course and distance prep. On Tuesday morning, the bay Curlin filly worked 5f in 1:00 2/5 on Santa Anita’s main track.