Breeders' Cup Saturday 2012

12:52 Central Time: Happy Breeders' Cup Saturday everyone! Another nine Breeders' Cup races are on the schedule for this afternoon, many of them containing deep fields with no obvious standouts. The day is beautiful, with temperatures expected to peak at just over eighty degrees.

I hoping that my selections Saturday fare better this year than they did last year. In 2011, I picked three of six winners on Friday, but then watched as my picks went 1-for-9 on Saturday. This time around, I have once again picked three winners on Friday, and I'm hopeful that I can keep my momentum going today.

The first two races on the card have already been run. The first was the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Sprint Preview Stakes, which went off with a five-horse field. The results of the race seemed to confirm that yesterday's speed bias still exists -- the positions remained almost completely unchanged from start to finish as Ramon Dominguez guided Unusual Way to an easy win over Switch to the Lead and Truly Marie, who tracked her throughout.

The second race was the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Preview Stakes, which was won in impressive fashion by Gabriel Charles. Making his debut on turf for trainer Jeff Mullins, the colt settled back just off the pace before bursting clear in the stretch to win by several lengths.

The next race on the card is the seven-furlong Damascus Stakes on the main track, where we should get a better feel for whether yesterday's bias still exists.

1:15 CT: Don't let the results of the Damascus fool you -- the track is still speed favoring.

True, Politicallycorrect did rally from off-the-pace to get the victory -- and rallied on the outside to boot -- but the fact that Private Zone held on to finish second after dueling with Mile High Magic through a half-mile in :43.88 seconds tells me that this track is still just as kind to speed as it was yesterday.

The only concern now is that the jockeys may be figuring out the nature of the track and actually overcompensating it -- Martin Pedroza aboard Private Zone and Rafael Bejarano aboard Mile High Magic both intent on getting to the front at all costs, and in the end, I think it cost them both. So it seems that the type of ride that will work today is an aggressive-but-patient type -- go to the lead if the pace is reasonable, but be patient and take back if it looks like an intense duel is developing.

Oh, and by the way, the track is also very fast in addition to being speed-favoring. The final time in the Damascus was an exceptional 1:20.86 seconds.

2:26 CT: George Vancouver got a great ride from Ryan Moore and I think that made the difference in the end, as the son of Henrythenavigator, as the colt saved ground throughout and then split horses gamely to win the Juvenile Turf with a brilliant turn-of-foot over Noble Tune, who took the overland route around the far turn and couldn't make up the necassary ground.

Somewhat disappointing was the well-regarded Dundonnell, who did not take the tight turns particularly well and couldn't quicken well enough in the stretch.

Next up is the Filly and Mare Sprint, where the nearly unstoppable Groupie Doll is favored at 3-5. Dust and Diamonds is also receiving a lot of play at 9-2, and could make things interesting since the bias will most likely be in her favor.

2:53 CT: Wow.

During the early stages of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, I figured Groupie Doll couldn't possibly win. Not only was jockey Rajiv Maragh having to urge her to stay in contention, but Groupie Doll was caught five-wide as well -- over track favoring inside speed. All told, it looked like a perfect recipe for an upset.

But then Groupie Doll began to accelerate around the turn, and by the time the field entered the homestretch, the race was over. With huge, powerful strides, Groupie Doll put away Dust and Diamonds -- who had tracked pace-setting Teddy's Promise through fractions of :22.23 and :44.19 before taking command of the lead -- and drew off from there, winning by daylight in the sharp time of 1:20.72. What a performance.

If Horse of the Year voting were to be held right now, I would have to side with Groupie Doll. Her record for the year stands at three grade I wins and a pair of grade IIs. Even if Horse of the Year doesn't go her way, she has sewn up champion female sprinter honors.

3:26 CT: In the days leading up to the Breeders' Cup, I questioned whether or not Dirt Mile favorites Shackleford, Emcee, and Jersey Town would be able to handle the two-turns after spending much or all of their careers racing around one-turn. Apparently, I had the right idea -- all three colts failed to hit the board while a quartet of two-turn horses filled out the superfecta.

Unfortunately, I wasn't quite able to land on the right two-turn horse. My selection, the veteran gelding Rail Trip, ran well from off-the-pace to secure second, but no one was catching Tapizar today. Coming off of a poor showing in the Kelso Handicap (gr. II), the four-year-old son of Tapit showed much more speed today, tracking Emcee through fractions of :22.77, :46.58, and 1:10.72 before kicking clear in the stretch and drawing off for an impressive victory. Delegation and John Scott rounded out the top four.

As for Shackleford, nothing really seemed to go his way. Somewhat antsy in the paddock, the Dale Romans-trainee stumbled coming out of the gate and had to work hard early to get back in contention, which surely sapped any late kick he might have had otherwise. It was a disappointing conclusion to an otherwise excellent career -- Shackleford is to be retired to stud next year and this is expected to be his final start.

The Turf Sprint is next. Mizdirection is currently the 4-1 favorite, down from 20-1 on the morning line.

4:15 CT: Well, it was unfortunate that good old California Flag couldn't go out a winner, but at least he ended his career safe and sound. Seeing that he's run in every single edition of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint thus far, the race is going to feel somewhat empty next year when he's not in the starting gate.

But let's give some credit to the victorious Mizdirection, and to her trainer, Mike Puype. The filly had not raced since May, but demonstrated a spectacular turn-of-foot in the homestretch to get up and beat Unbridled's Note by a half-length. The latter colt made a winning move himself, grabbing the lead in deep stretch before being run down late. Reneesgotzip struck the front for a few brief moments after rating just off the lead, but was out-kicked by the top two.

It was interesting to see Starspangledbanner run as well as he did. The top sprinter in Europe and Australia two years ago, he was retired to stud in 2011 but failed as a stallion and was put back in training. His 2012 campaign hadn't been great coming into this race, but the veteran of twenty-one starts showed spectacular speed from the outside, setting fractions of :21.11 and :42.39 before tiring late. All in all, I thought it was a really good effort.

By the way, Mizdirection was ridden to victory by Mike Smith, who brought his total number of Breeders' Cup victories to 17. He will have opportunities to add to that total later this afternoon when he rides Amazombie in the Sprint, Suggestive Boy in the Mile, and Mucho Macho Man in the Classic.

4:57 CT: That was quite a horse race! Shanghai Bobby looked beaten at the top of the stretch, but re-broke when challenged by He's Had Enough and held on to win the Juvenile by a head, sewing up the juvenile championship in the process.

The race unfolded pretty much how I expected it to. Shanghai Bobby didn't get off to the best of starts, but recovered to track Title Contender around the first turn and down the backstretch through quick fractions of :45.55 and 1:10.28. Then, jockey Rosie Napravnik, aboard Shanghai Bobby, asked her mount for run and the colt responded by bursting clear of Title Contender and opening up a clear advantage. However, a side effect of this bold run was that Shanghai Bobby completely lost his focus, allowing He's Had Enough to get right up along side him and challenge for the lead. Fortunately, Shanghai Bobby dug back in to preserve the victory while stopping the clock in 1:44.58 seconds.

Disappointing was Power Broker, who got hung wide around the turn before failing to present a challenge. Capo Bastone made a nice middle move to reach contention, but failed to match strides with the top two in the stretch while finishing up third.

The Turf is up next, and interestingly, Point of Entry is a fairly heavy favorite at 2-1. St Nicholas Abbey, last year's winner, is 9-2, while Shareta and Trailblazer are both 5-1.

5:26 CT: When Little Mike was entered in the Breeders' Cup Turf, I think that most handicappers tossed him out on consideration because of his poor showing last time out in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes (gr. I) -- his lone start at a mile and a half. This fact, coupled with the fact that his two grade I wins came as the result of easy leads, resulted in five-year-old gelding being sent off at 17-1.

However, Little Mike ran more like a 1-5 shot in the Breeders' Cup Turf, tracking a quick pace in third before rocketing into the lead at the top of the stretch and holding off a late run from Point of Entry to win the race in 2:22.83, the fastest Breeders' Cup Turf in history. In fact, it was one of the fastest clockings for the distance in history -- the world record is 2:22.80, set by Hawkster here at Santa Anita many years ago.

St Nicholas Abbey rallied well for third, but was being out-kicked by Point of Entry at the finish and simply wasn't good enough. Trailblazer loomed a serious threat around the turn, but may have moved a bit prematurely and wound up finishing fourth. Shareta rallied late for fifth after being much too far behind turning for home.

Up next, the wide-open, fourteen-horse Sprint, where just about anyone has the credentials to win.

6:05 CT: Trinniberg picked the right time to turn in the performance of his life. With Rajiv Maragh aboard, the three-year-old colt tracked a quick pace set by fellow sophomore Sum of the Parts, took the lead turning for home, and held off a late from from still another three-year-old The Lumber Guy to win by a length in 1:07.98.

There were a number of disappointments in this race. Defending winner Amazombie failed to fire after being in a pretty good position down the backstretch. The Bob Baffert-trained trio Coil, Capital Account, and Fast Bullet also failed to get involved.

Somewhat surprising, however, was Smiling Tiger. Making his first starts since June, many believed that the multiple grade I-winning five-year-old had lost a step, as his last victory came in July 2011. But at odds of 20-1, he rallied well to get up for third. Good job, Smiling Tiger!

6:56 CT: There's no denying that Wise Dan was the best horse in the Mile. Against arguably the highest-quality field of the entire Breeders' Cup, the five-year-old gelding tracked a blazing pace of :46.16 and 1:08.81 before kicking clear in the homestretch and coasting to decisive triumph. His final time of 1:31.78 seconds broke the course record.

Animal Kingdom put in an exceptional rally to edge Obviously for second, while Excelebration failed to seriously quicken in the stretch and finished fourth. Moonlight Cloud failed to handle the tight turns and failed to contend.

With the victory, Wise Dan is now squarely in the picture for Horse of the Year, depending on what happens in the Classic. Should Game On Dude and Ron the Greek triumph, I would think that they would garner the honor. But if they both lose, I believe Wise Dan's terrific season will be recognized as the best of the year.

8:29 CT: Game On Dude didn't get the trip he needn't, breaking slowly and checking early before winding up seventh after a brief run on the far turn, but even with a perfect trip, he might not have been able to catch Fort Larned. That colt was downright game in the homestretch, holding off a challenge from Mucho Macho Man to win  the Classic by a neck.

Well back in third was Flat Out, while Ron the Greek edged Richard's Kid for fourth. Game On Dude finished seventh.

That wraps ups the 29th running of the Breeders' Cup. It was a fun two days of racing, with plenty of upsets, some dominating favorites, and many terrific performances.

Now, let the Kentucky Derby Trail begin!