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Finian's Rainbow scored a massive double to end the 2012 campaign when he bested champion Sizing Europe and then scored in the Melling Chase a month later over another talented assortment of specialists while achieving a notable 173 OR. Expect him to deploy his usual tracking trip before either kicking on late or quickening up the pace if he senses weakness in the frontrunners. His recent run of races stretches all the way back to November 10 and he's won 7 of 9 races with the two losses being second place finishes.
It's going to be a dramatically different race without the likes of Kauto Star as the 2012 King George will be the first without the legendary chaser for quite some time. A cadre of strong contenders are lining up to take on the testing Boxing Day circuit at Kempton and former Gold Cup champion Long Run reigns supreme as the ante post favourite heading into the start of the National Hunt season.
Long Run certainly had an up and down season with only a single actual victory though he was able to hit the board in every race he ran. The victory came in the Grade 2 Denman Chase at Newbury and that was against a relatively slim field of five runners. He won the...
Many expect her to be the pie in the sky bet for this race and it goes without saying that she will need to put in a career-best performance in order to walk away from this one with all of the plaudits.
She has been working well since she moved to Santa Anita and you’ll find that her most recent work, where she fired a bullet from a 65 horse sample, to be a very interesting development. Out of her 16 career races, she has won 10 (albeit in the Pacific Northwest) and finished second in the other 6 races. She will add value to exotics if she is there on the run-in and her stalking style might be what really helps her out.
Last year’s iteration of the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic was certainly one to remember as the penultimate race at on the day’s first evening unfolded spectacularly for Bill Mott and the Royal Delta team at Churchill Downs. Able to get the better of the nation’s top line-up of Distaffers, the daughter of Empire Maker continues to lead the line for the upcoming Ladies Classic.
There were plenty of rumours that she was going to focus on the Breeders’ Cup Classic, what looks to be (on paper, anyway) a much tougher race for her. She has stepped up to face males before,...
Power Broker looked every bit a champion in his high-quality score in the Grade 1 Frontrunner Stakes on opening weekend. He was three wide and drifted a bit in the stretch but was so clear by that point that it didn't even really matter.
Rafael Bejerano was up for the ride that day and has been aboard for all three of his runs. That was actually his maiden win – coming at Grade 1 level – and you have to respect both his pedigree (Pulpit means he's going to want more distance) and his connections (Baffert is expected to dominate this Breeders' Cup) for a race that could really be shaping up for him.
Godolphin's entry is Fortify, who hasn't won since his maiden victory back at Saratoga in August. Ramon Dominguez took a shot with him last...
We're going to be taking an extended look at several of the juvenile races for this year's upcoming Breeders Cup. This year's iteration of all the 2YO contests is distinctly different than past years as the races will not involve horses getting raceday Lasix. Medication changes are part of the overhaul the game is currently having and it has proven to be a controversial decision with a few higher profile horsemen opting not to bring their horses west for this year's two-day extravaganza.
Most of the entrants here only have two or three races under their belts and it's really a matter of who moves forward between now and their last race. Usually, it's all about the over-hyped colt coming into the race and whether they get it or not. Last year, Union Rags...
George Vancouver is a fascinating contender by Henrythenavigator (who knew a thing or two about Breeders' Cup runs himself). The Coolmore team expect a lot from this one and he looks like he's been crying out for more ground if you really look at his recent runs. This is his first stretch out to the mile distance and he'll be looking to move forward after the place finish in the Dewhurst Stakes. Still only a maiden winner, he has been getting attention from the bookmakers for a while now.
Gervinho is a local runner coming out for Carla Gaines. He's a colt by top California sire Unusual Heat and is undefeated in his two race career. He broke his maiden late in the Del Mar meet and then won the ungraded Zuma Beach Stakes during the second weekend of the Santa...
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf is going to be a very attractive race from a betting perspective and it will be very interesting to see how the Europeans-getting-first-time-Lasix angle affects the overall portrait of the race here. Previously, the addition of the blood-thinning therapeutic (which is unique to American racing) had usually proven to be a potent addition to the Europeans pre-race regiment.
This year we have a few really interesting American-based turf juveniles and not the least of them is Balance The Books, a colt owned by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. He's by Lemon Drop Kid out of a Seeking The Gold mare and is conditioned by red hot trainer Chad Brown. He's had Julien Leparoux for both of his last two rides and has looked really good in...
Dullahan had been co-entered for the Breeders' Cup Turf and may still opt for that race. He qualifies automatically for this race having beaten Game On Dude, Richard's Kid and the rest of the west coast's best older horses (aside from Acclamation) in the Pacific Classic. His late-running style was executed perfectly by Joel Rosario on the day, overcoming a front-end bias and setting a new track record. It's a fact made all the more impressive by him going 5w into the lane.
The switch from Desmormeaux to Rosario paid dividends and, though he was lacklustre on turf in the Jamaica, many expect him to get the genuine pace that he needs from this...
The provisional draw for the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, a 1m2f race that carries a hefty $5,000,000 purse, has been conducted at Santa Anita racetrack and we've got 14 of the finest colts and geldings you'll find anywhere looking to contest this world-beating race. We'll be taking a look through each of the entries and also having a gander at which sites are offering up the best prices on certain horses. There's a lot to like about this race and Santa Anita will be hosting the next iteration of the Breeders' Cup as well.
