With just four days remaining until the Breeders' Cup begins, final workouts were being turned in left and right across the country, with the majority coming at Santa Anita and Belmont Park. But it's possible that no horse was more impressive than Breeders' Cup Classic favorite Game On Dude, who looked spectacular breezing seven furlongs in 1:25 flat.
At Belmont Park . . .
With Hurricane Sandy approaching, the morning's Breeders' Cup candidates were out early in the morning to try and wrap up their training the impending rain struck. The busy morning included . . .
Awesome Feather - The unbeaten Ladies' Classic contender worked a moderate half-mile in :48.50, which was really nothing more than a maintenance breeze following her sharp six-furlong work one week ago.
Balance the Books - Chad Brown-trainee breezed in company with stablemate and fellow Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf contender Noble Tune, with both colts stopping the timer in 1:13.99 for six furlongs on turf. Both seem to be training well, so determining which one will beat the other in the Breeders' Cup looms as a nearly impossible task.
Corporate Jungle - Breezing in company with Hyper, this Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint contender went five-eighths in 1:01.20 over the turf course, which was actually the fastest such breeze of the morning by close to four-fifths of a second.
Flat Out - Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I) winner kept all of his shoes on today -- he lost one during last week's breeze -- and clocked a half-mile in :48.01 seconds.
Jersey Town - Coming off of a spectacular :58.62 breeze on October 23rd, it came as no surprise that Jersey Town's final piece of pre-Breeders' Cup work was a much more moderate five furlongs in 1:04.08.
Point of Entry - Likely Breeders' Cup Turf favorite breezed in company with grade II stakes winner Boisterous and could not have been more impressive, going a half-mile in a bullet :47.64.
Ron the Greek - Two-time grade I winner blazed a half-mile over the training track in :47.83 seconds, the fastest of eighty-eight such morning works. It was a beautiful way to conclude his pre-Breeders' Cup training, and the five-year-old colt looms as one of the horses to beat in the Classic.
Royal Delta - Last year's Eclipse champion three-year-old filly went a half-mile in :48.96, which was all she really needed to do following her bullet five-eighths work last week. Pre-entered in both the Classic and the Ladies' Classic, no decision has been made yet regarding which race she will run in.
To Honor and Serve - Could not have gone much better, as his time of :47.72 for a half-mile was the second-fastest of fifty-two such morning works. Coming off of a dismal performance in the Kelso Handicap (gr. II), it's nice to see that he's training so well.
Watsdachances - Miss Grillo Stakes (gr. III) winner went a half-mile in company with grade I winner and fellow Breeders' Cup contender Zagora, getting the better of her older rival by a narrow margin at the finish -- her time of :49.76 seconds was one-hundredth of a second faster than Zagora's :49.77. Trained by Chad Brown, she is clearly coming up to the race in good form and looms as one of the fillies to beat.
Zagora - As outlined above, she went a half-mile in company with Watsdachances and was outworked by a narrow margin. Nevertheless, she seems to have maintained her form well since finishing second in the Flower Bowl Stakes (gr. I) and appears to be sitting on another good effort.
At Betfair Hollywood Park . . .
A trio of Breeders' Cup contenders were out for morning training, the most impressive being Breeders' Cup Mile contender Mr. Commons. Trained by John Shirreffs, the two-time grade II winner traversed six furlongs in a quick 1:12.60, his third consecutive bullet work since finishing third in the Arroyo Seco Mile Stakes (gr. II). Fifth in last year's Breeders Cup Mile, he appears ready to improve on that performance this time around.
Another Mile contender wrapping up his serious training was Jeranimo, winner of the Shoemaker Mile Stakes (gr. I) two starts back. Unraced since a third-place finish in the Del Mar Mile Handicap (gr. III) in late August, the Michael Pender-trainee breezed a half-mile in the sharp time of :47.20, the second-fastest of sixty-three such morning works.
Rounding out the trio was Marathon contender Balladry, most recently ninth and last in the Awesome Again Stakes (gr. I). His time of 1:03 flat for five furlongs was nothing more than a maintenance breeze following his strong one-mile work last week.
At Churchill Downs . . .
The only Breeders' Cup candidate on the work tab was Fort Larned, winner of the Whitney Handicap (gr. I) and a contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic. The Ian Wilkes-trainee breezed five furlongs in company with Indiana Derby (gr. II) winner Neck 'n Neck, getting the distance in a bullet 1:00.40. Overall, I would say that he is training better now than he was prior to his third-place finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I), meaning that he could be ready for a rebound in the Classic.
At Santa Anita Park . . .
It was another super-busy morning, with another nineteen contenders wrapping up their serious training. They were, in alphabetical order . . .
Almudena - Had the shortest work of the morning, blowing out three-eighths of a mile in a good :35.20 seconds. The South American-based mare is one of the more intriguing contenders in the Breeders' Cup Marathon, although it's quite difficult to say how she'll fare against the tough competition.
Bridgetown - Went a half-mile on the turf in company with stablemate Doubles Partner; both horses recording identical times of :46.80. For Bridgetown, it was a nice final prep for the Turf Sprint, where he will have to try and stretch his speed over 6-1/2 blazing furlongs.
California Flag - 2009 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner is now eight years old, but you wouldn't know it based on his recent training. The Brian Koriner-trained gelding breezed a half-mile on the turf course in a spectacular :46.20, this following five furlongs in :59.60 last week. He's facing a tough task, trying to win the Turf Sprint off of no starts since April, but he has run well off layoffs in the past, and he truly relishes the downhill turf course over which the Turf Sprint will be run.
Capital Account - The first of Bob Baffert's three Sprint contenders worked a half-mile in company with stablemate and fellow Sprint contender Coil, getting the distance in an easy :48.60. Coming off of a :46.80 work one week ago, today's breezed was nothing more than a maintenance work for the Pat O'Brien Stakes (gr. II) winner.
Class Included - Went a half-mile in :47 seconds flat and really couldn't have gone any better. The eight-time stakes-winning filly had been pre-entered in both the Ladies' Classic and the Filly and Mare Sprint, but following this impressive work, her connections announced that the Ladies' Classic would be her goal.
Coil - As describe above, he worked in company with Capital Account, recording the slightly faster time of 48.20 seconds. Coming off of an upset victory in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (gr. I), he stands to earn himself an Eclipse award as the nation's finest male sprinter if he can add the Breeders' Cup Sprint to his record.
Contested - Baffert's two-time grade I winning filly traversed six furlongs in an exceptional 1:11.40, the fastest work of the morning at that distance by three-fifths of a second. Being unraced since late August, it's nice to see how sharply she is training, as she will need to be 100% in order to defeat the spectacular Groupie Doll in the Filly and Mare Sprint.
Doubles Partner - As outlined above, he breezed in company with stablemate Bridgetown and clocked a half-mile on turf in :46.80. He is facing the unenviable task of trying to beat Wise Dan, Excelebration, and Obviously in the Breeders' Cup Mile, but has shown enough talent in the past to suggest that he can be in the mix with the right kind of trip.
Fast Bullet - Baffert's third and final Breeders' Cup Sprint candidate clocked a half-mile in :48.20, but according to DRF.com, was very impressive doing it. The four-year-old colt has only raced twice, and has not run since last November, but the way he has trained over the last couple of weeks suggest that he could be a serious sleeper in the Sprint.
Fed Biz - Dirt Mile candidate went a half-mile in an easy :48 flat, but the clockers described the work as "breezing" -- which, in California, means that he was under practically no urging at all.
Game On Dude - Breeders' Cup Classic favorite could not have turned in a better work. Breezing in company with grade II stakes winner Blueskiesnrainbows, Game On Dude easily got the better of his workmate, clocking seven-eighths in a spectacular 1:25 while going quite easily. And, according to DRF.com, he galloped out a mile in 1:39-and-change.
Gantry - Smile Sprint Handicap (gr. II) winner breezed a very easy half-mile in :51.40. His training pattern has been a bit unusual -- this was only his third breeze since finishing second in the Temperence Hill Stakes on September 8th -- but perhaps this unorthodox approach is simply Gantry's style.
Juniper Pass - Marathon contender worked five-eighths in the good time of 1:00.60, a rather strong final breeze indeed. Seeing that he is proven at the fourteen-furlong distance of the Marathon, I find him a very intriguing contender in a wide-open race.
Monument - California Cup Juvenile Stakes winner went six furlongs in the good time of 1:13.20, one of the faster works of the morning. John Sadler-trainee is pointing toward a start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, where his experience over the track may give him a bit of an edge over East coast-based contenders like Shanghai Bobby and Fortify.
My Miss Aurelia - Rolled through an easy half-mile in :48 flat, which was nothing more than a maintenance work following her impressive six-furlong breeze last week. Cotillion Stakes (gr. I) winner is facing a tough task in the Ladies' Classic, having to try and defeat the likes of Royal Delta, Awesome Feather, and Questing, but she seems to have taken her training to a whole new level during the last couple of weeks, and I think she's ready to turn in a really big performance.
Power Broker - Baffert's main contender for the Juvenile breezed in company with stablemate and fellow Juvenile entrant Title Contender, with both colts stopping the clock for five furlongs in the bullet time of :59 flat. This was a truly exceptional breeze, and seeing that it was his third straight spectacular work since winning the FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I), one has to think that this colt is sitting on another huge performance in the Breeders' Cup.
Slim Shadey - Breeders' Cup Turf contender breezed on the dirt, going five-eighths in 1:01.20. His connections have stated that they would like to send him to the lead in the Turf, but the presence of speedy front-runner Little Mike could make that more difficult.
Tale of a Champion - Kristin Mulhall-trainee galloped through a half-mile in :47 flat, and fine piece of work that should set him up well for the Turf Sprint.
Title Contender - As described above, he went in company with Power Broker and could not have been more impressive while clocking five-eighths in :59 flat. He's only got two starts under his belt, and he's never faced winners before, but he looms an intriguing contender in the Juvenile based off of his recent training.
-Keelerman
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