It was confirmed on Monday morning that Dullahan and Little Mike, a pair of grade I winners trained by Dale Romans, will run in the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I).
Both horses had been pre-entered in more than one Breeders' Cup race, with Dullahan in the Classic and Little Mike in the Mile, but after watching the duo train over the Santa Anita turf course, the decisions were made by the connections of both horses that running in the Turf made the most sense.
However, the decisions were surely not easy to make. Dullahan is a three-time grade I winner on Polytrack, but is 0-for-4 on turf and 0-for-6 on dirt -- meaning that neither the Classic nor the Turf were completely ideal. Little Mike is a two-time grade I winner on turf, but finished a poor fifth in his lone start at twelve furlongs, the distance of the Breeders' Cup Turf. However, shortening up to eight furlongs for the Mile doesn't really suit him either -- he does his best running when allowed to set a moderate pace, whereas the pace in the Mile is usually very quick.
The addition of Dullahan and Little Mike to the Breeders' Cup Turf adds additional depth to an already spectacular field, which also features last year's winner St Nicholas Abbey, three-time grade I winner Point of Entry, United Nations Stakes (gr. I) winner Turbo Compressor, and 2011 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) runner-up Shareta.
-Keelerman
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