2010 Breeders’ Cup Day One Betting Tips and Preview Part Two

With the post-positions revealed for the 2010 Breeders Cup the odds have been reshuffled in virtually every race, and it appears here are some stark differences between the morning line and the odds currently available from the European bookmakers.

Juvenile Fillies Turf

Winter Memories is considered to be the outright favourite for this one with the bookmakers pricing the grey or roan filly at around a 9/4 price for the score. This comes off a Grade 3 capture of the Miss Grillo at Belmont under Jose Lezcano. We’re going to try and beat this up-and-comer by backing the talented TOGETHER who ships in from the UK and will likely be jumping onto the Lasix program for the first time- always a dividend payer for the Euro shippers. She’s run continuously at Group 1 level at high-class meets in the UK and looks a step above the other turfists here. AP O’Brien’s charge looks well-priced around 4/1.

Ladies Classic

It’s no surprise that BLIND LUCK (Pollard’s Vision) is a short-priced favourite to win the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic with the bookmakers pricing her at a slim 2.5. The Jerry Hollendorfer-trained chestnut filly has been battling it out with Havre De Grace (Saint Liam) in the past few races along the east coast and these two are set to tangle once again. She’ll likely hold up early on and then try to make a late dash.

This will be an interesting litmus test as she will be attempting to win in a similar fashion to Zenyatta (Street Cry) the following day. A Blind Luck/Havre De Grace exacta is likely going to be a popular bet and dropping Life at Ten (Malibu Moon) on the bottom end for the triactor could be a solid selection. If you’re looking for an outsider, have a bash on Acting Happy (Empire Maker), who could improve here and has put in some very quality fractions in her workouts at Churchill.

Marathon

The Breeders Cup Marathon is usually the first big race on opening day and this one is generally the most wide-open. 1m6f is a bit long for most American runners and you’ll see a few here are having a bash outside their comfort zones.

This is a true test of the stayers and we’ll be siding with the talented AWESOME GEM (Awesome Again) who has opted for this much more winnable race over the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Craig Dollase-trained gelding is one of the stalwarts in the West Point Thoroughbreds lineup of stars and he’s literally raced in all four corners of the United States.

He’s a seasoned pro who looks a step above the rest. Giant Oak (Giant’s Causeway) is taking plenty of money and is considered the morning line favourite, but he hasn’t scored in over a dozen tries and has no proven ability to stay the distance. A number of these contenders are fresh off low-level stakes races of even allowance races so Awesome Gem clearly has a class edge here despite some hit-and-miss results. His ability to win in all kinds of weather also prompts a solid reference.