THE pre-Breeders’ Cup action steps up a notch this weekend with a big card featuring two Grade 1s in Santa Anita and the Woodward at Belmont Park, while the current top older horse in the US, Knicks Go, is sent for an easier prep in a Grade 3 in Churchill Downs.
Most of the graded races are “Win and You’re In” Challenge Races for the Longines Breeders’ Cup November 5th and 6th.
Santa Anita’s highlight is the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes which features the Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit taking on his elders led by the Grade 1 TVG Pacific Classic winner Tripoli.
John Sadler and owners Hronis Racing won this with Accelerate re hoping to repeat with Tripoli in the Awesome Again Stakes.
The Richard Baltas-trained Idol is also a Grade 1 winner, but absent since he beat today’s rival Express Train in the Santa Anita Handicap in March.
The Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes is a 10-furlong fillies’ turf race with the Irish-bred Grade 1 Del Mar Oks winner Red Lark engaged, though she has been winless this season. Magic Attitude (Galileo- Margot Did) is also in the firing line and should step up on her form this season.
The Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship has the Richard Mandella-trained multiple graded winner United back again after his win in this last year and with two graded wins this season, looks sure to go close again.
The Sprint Championship looks a match between Dr. Schivel on a four-race winning streak and the Peter Miller-trained C Z Rocket.
The three-year-old Dr. Schivel is perfect in four starts over the past 14 months, recording three victories at Del Mar and the other at Santa Anita and he beat C Z Rocket into third in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby. Trainer Mark Glatt also runs the 2019 Bing Crosby Stakes winner Collusion Illusion as well as Dr. Schivel.
At Churchill Downs, Knicks Go should have little problems on his Breeders’ Cup prep, though Independence Hall brings a good level of east coast graded form. Tacitus comes back to the track after a long absence since the Saudi Cup and Juddmonte’s multiple Grade 1-placed four-year-old could put a decent effort fresh.
Belmont
At Belmont the feature tonight is the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes where Code Of Honor, a dual Grade 1 winner at three but an underachiever since, heads the six-horse field.
Absent since the Pegasus World Cup in January, he made a winning return in the Grade 3 Philip S Iselin at Monmouth in August over a mile and half a furlong. He won the Jockey Club Gold Cup over this track and though the son of Noble Misson drops back a furlong, this track suits his late closing style better than some of the shorter distances he has been asked to race over.
His main danger is Godolphin’s Maxfield, who returns after finishing second to Knicks Go in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga in August.
Trainer Brendan Walsh was happy with that defeat for the seven-time winner who took the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes prior to the Whitney.
“I think we saw an advance on him in the Whitney because he ran right through the wire,” he said.
Art Collector could be tough to catch as he bids for a third straight win since moving to Bill Mott’s barn this summer. Mott’s other runner Forza Di Oro was favourite for the Jockey Club Gold Cup but only made third behind Max Player.
Belmont also features two Grade 1s for two-year-olds over the weekend. Steve Asmussen produced some quality youngsters at Saratoga but Gunite was one of the more experienced when he beat Wit by over five lengths in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes. Wit stumbled at the start that time and could be closer but Asmussen thinks the extra distance will suit his son of Gun Runner.
Todd Pletcher trains three with My Prankster a wide-margin Saratoga maiden winner, while Chad Brown’s Jack Christopher was also hugely impressive on his Saratoga debut.