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Withers, Toboggan, Ruthless Pegasus World Cup works Eclipse Awards Year in Review Santa Anita opening day |
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![]() California Flag heads into the gap back to the barns after dumping his rider.
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Wednesday morning at Santa Anita was once again beautiful and clear with a lovely view of the San Gabriel Mountains. While the morning wasn't quite as chilly it didn't warm up as much as earlier in the week, making for a perfect for morning for the workouts. Trainer Todd Pletcher's horses arrive on Tuesday afternoon and most were out to test the Pro-Ride surface, although they were not wearing their name saddlecloths so I probably missed some of them. Several of the European horses were out of quarantine and one the track today, including trainer Aidan O'Brien's group and Goldikova. There were also three timed works, including Chocolate Candy. Here are photos of 45 horses, almost all different from Monday and Tuesday, with comments and a link to a profile for each.
Note: Zenyatta arrived at Santa Anita this afternoon so hopefully we will see her tomorrow.
Click the small picture to see a larger version.
Thursday workout photos (20 horses)
Tuesday workout photos (33 horses)
Monday workout photos (47 horses)
Breeders' Cup Entries and Post Positions - for all 14 races with morning line odds and free past performances
![]() ![]() ![]() California Flag, the morning line favorite in the Turf Sprint, lost exercise rider Colleen Hartford after a schooling session at the starting gate near the 3/4 pole and ran off the wrong way on the track. He left the track at the end of the 1/4 mile chute and was caught just inside the barn area at the gap by jockey Aaron Gryder. Trainer Brian Koriner said both horse and rider were unharmed. He also said, "Well, we’ve been breezing him too slow, anyway. He probably needed that little sprint with no weight on him. He was probably having some fun out there." |
![]() ![]() Chocolate Candy worked 5/8 in 1:00 2/5 in preparation for the Dirt Mile. "He started off a little slow, like he was supposed to, and then finished very strong," trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said following the move. Assistant Dan Ward was a bit more expansive, saying, "He sure looks like he's ready to run his best race ever. I don't know exactly where that puts him with the rest of the field, but it's the best we can do." Regular rider Joel Rosario was up for the work. |
![]() ![]() Rainbow View worked 3/8 in 36 4/5 on the main track. She will run in the Ladies' Classic in order to avoid stablemate Forever Together. "I think Mr. Strawbridge is right," trainer John Gosden said. "Rather than run them together, he'd rather run in two races. And she's training well. She likes this main track. She worked in 1:00 4/5. I'm happy with it. I'm pleased with the way she moved on the track. She's a tough little character. I think to that extent she's handled it very well. She's come down fine from Woodbine. I think she's a filly that the more you challenge her, the more she likes it." |
![]() ![]() Goldikova came out for some light work over the main track in preparation for her title defense in the Mile. Trainer Freddie Head said, "I'm very confident. "I thought (the Prix de la Foret) would be a good prep race, but things didn't turn out too well. We had a bad draw and I think the jockey was overconfident. He thought that it wasn't a race, it was just to let her run. But there are no invincible horses. You always have to take care She's very well. I think she's in the best form I've seen her." |
![]() ![]() ![]() Rip Van Winkle jogged over the main track with the rest of the Coolmore contingent. Trainer Aidan O'Brien said of his Classic entrant, "The way he was when he came over, he was a bit quiet and maybe a little bit lethargic after the long journey. So it worries you. But the moment he stepped out here it all came rushing back. That's what makes him different. Whatever kind of a mind he has everything else just goes away. He must get a massive rush of adrenaline and then he has the movement to go with it. It's very unusual. This morning going around the track I was very happy. You get that feeling."
Right: Rip Van Winkle was a bit overheated and lathered up as he headed back to the barn.
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Right: Trainer Aidan O'Brien leads his group of horses on their walk around the track.
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![]() ![]() Beethoven galloped on the main track in preparation for the Juvenile. Trainer Aidan O'Brien said putting blinkers on helped him win the Dewhurst Stakes on October 17. "For me, the Dewhurst was a very strong run, solid race, no matter what anyone says. For me, it was the strongest run Dewhurst in years." He has run 10 times this year, the most starts by any horse entered in the Juvenile. He will be ridden by Ryan Moore, who was aboard in the Dewhurst. |
![]() ![]() Lillie Langtry jogged with her Coolmore stablemates in preparation for the Juvenile Fillies. Consistency has made the Danehill Dancer filly the 3-1 morning line favorite off three wins, two seconds and a third in six career starts. "She's a very classy filly," trainer Aidan O'Brien said. She will be ridden by John Murtagh out of post 8. |
![]() ![]() Man of Iron went to the track Wednesday morning escorted by trainer Aidan O'Brien. The Giant's Causeway colt has made his last three starts on the synthetic surface at Dundalk in Ireland, winning twice. He will be ridden Friday by John Murtagh from post nine. O'Brien said he will run on Lasix Friday because he had a little bit of a cold earlier in the season. |
![]() ![]() Mastercraftsman was out with the rest of the Coolmore team on Wednesday. Trainer Aidan O'Brien said drawing the rail should not hurt his chances in the Dirt Mile, where he is the 6-5 morning line favorite. "I don't think it's a problem because the reality of Mastercraftsman is that his best run ever was over 6 furlongs when there was a really hard fast pace in front of him. I would imagine over a mile he's going to get that. We're going to hope that at halfway that he's not too far back." |
![]() ![]() Viscount Nelson went out with the Coolmore team on Wednesday. He broke his maiden at 1 mile over a yielding turf course in July and added a listed stakes victory in August before finishing second in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster on Sept. 12. Trainer Aidan O'Brien said the colt should relish the distance. He will be ridden by John Murtagh from post 2 and is 6-1 on the morning line. |
![]() ![]() ![]() Aikenite galloped on the main track in preparation for the Juvenile. Trainer Todd Pletcher said, "He had a good race at Keeneland (second in the Breeders' Futurity), and he's doing well." Alan Garcia has been aboard in Aikenite's last two starts and will get the mount from post 9 in a 13-horse field. |
![]() ![]() Awesome Gem galloped on the main track with majority owner Terry Finley in attendance. Finley said, "He's been great for the partners. Look at the places he's taken us. It's really been fun to be part of the ride." Asked about the outside post 13, he added, "You'd like to be a little more inside. But the post isn't going to get us beat. The competition is." |
![]() ![]() Blind Luck galloped over the main track Wednesday morning. With all of her serious work done, the 3-1 favorite in the Juvenile Fillies will gallop and school a bit in the paddock as she goes forward towards the race for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Hollendorfer, who has more than 6,000 career victories and has saddled three previous starters in the Breeders' Cup, is still seeking his first victory in a Breeders' Cup championship race. |
![]() ![]() Canadian Ballet was out for some light work Wednesday morning in preparation for his start in the Turf Sprint. The Linda Rice trainee will break from post 10 under Alan Garcia and is 20-1 on the morning line. |
![]() ![]() Cloudy's Knight jogged 3/4 mile on the training track then 1 1/4 miles on the main track, "extending a little bit through the stretch," trainer Jonathan Sheppard said of his Breeders' Cup Marathon entrant. He missed a year of training due to a soft tissue injury. He added, "We started from scratch. We have a nice rolling countryside at the farm and thought hill exercise would be good for him. We have some nice quiet dirt roads, one of which is downhill to the bridge. When you come up, it's about 3/8 mile of a good steady incline. When we let him jog up, he gets a lot of good conditioning without putting strain on the legs at all." |
![]() ![]() Codoy galloped on the main track Wednesday morning. The Bourbon Stakes winner will get new jockey Garrett Gomez in the Juvenile Turf out of post 3 as a 15-1 longshot. |
![]() ![]() Court Vision galloped on the main track Wednesday in preparation for the Mile. Trainer Richard Dutrow said, "We were worried about the soft grass at Keeneland because Mr. Sidney had won over it before. We had our work cut out for us. He (Court Vision) didn't come from way back like he had been doing. Albarado (jockey Robby) had horse the whole way around there and he had a perfect trip. If that happens again, he's going to be right there. Right now, he's ready to roll. It looks like things are definitely going the right way with this horse. We're thinking he's going to run a big, big race." |
![]() ![]() Cowboy Cal galloped 1 1/4 miles in preparation for the Mile. Trainer Todd Pletcher said, "This is probably his ideal distance. He had a big race in the Oak Tree Mile and hopefully he can come back and run another big one." Regular rid |
![]() ![]() D'Funnybone went out for some light work in preparation for the Juvenile. Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said, "He blew me away with that Saratoga Special race. After that, he trained well going into the Futurity, and won that too. In my opinion, he has been the most impressive 2-year-old so far this year. Even though Baffert's horse has won four, it didn't look like he was winning as impressive as our horse did. We like going into the big races with a fresh horse, and we've got that. If he likes the track, they're going to be in trouble." |
![]() ![]() Diamondrella went out on the track for the first time when assistant trainer Ruth Hargreaves galloped her in the morning. Trainer Angel Penna Jr. said that Diamondrella has acclimated well, was comfortable, and is doing well. The 5yo daughter of Rock of Gibraltar, bred in England by Will Farish, is a winner in three of her four starts this year and she will be ridden by Rajiv Maragh on Saturday. |
![]() ![]() Einstein galloped 1 mile and stood in the starting gate. Trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi, who rode him this morning, said of her Classic entrant, "It's going to be a tough race, but with a good trip, I think we can get a piece of it," said Pitts-Blasi. "I love our post (8) and I think we'll be fine. I don't know what the plans will be for him after the race, but I hope if he wins they retire him. He deserves it. He deserves to have a good race. He ran good in the Pacific Classic and needs to take a shot here." |
![]() ![]() Eskendereya went out for some light work Wednesday. Trainer Todd Pletcher said of the Juvenile entrant, "He's a steadily improving horse. Like most Giant Causeways, he seems to like different surfaces. He handled turf well in his first race. When he was working at Saratoga in the summer, he handled the dirt very well, so we hope he'll transfer that to the synthetic." Javier Castellano will get the mount from post 9. |
![]() ![]() Forever Together galloped 1 1/8 miles on the training track. Trainer Jonathan Sheppard said of his chances with the defending Filly and Mare Turf champion, "Handicapping is one of those things that isn't my strong point. My philosophy, I suppose, is to prepare my horses the best I can for the races they're going to run in and put it in the hands of the gods. When your expectations are too high, it gets depressing when you lose, so I just try to get them up to the race the best I can and not worry about the others." Julien Leparoux, who guided Forever Together to victory last year, will have the return mount. |
![]() ![]() Game Face galloped over the main track in preparation for the Filly and Mare Sprint. Trainer Todd Pletcher said, "She's been a very consistent, hard-trying filly. Certainly on her best day she should be competitive in this field. She's going to have to run the best race of her life to win it, but her best race puts her right there." Regular rider Edgar Prado will be aboard Friday. |
![]() ![]() Gayego schooled in the starting gate and then galloped on the main track. Rick Mettee, assistant to trainer Saeed bin Suroor said of the Sprint contender, "It's pretty simple there, you've got all the speed drawn down to your inside and the 5-hole is a good draw for him. These are much tougher horses than he ran down in the Ancient Title, but if nothing else he should pull the right trip. He's probably at his best being a closing sprinter, even though he was versatile enough to win the (2008) Arkansas Derby off the lead." |
![]() ![]() Gio Ponti galloped 7 furlongs under assistant trainer Christphe Lorieul over the Pro-Ride after arriving at Santa Anita on Tuesday in preparation for the Classic. Lorieul, assistant to trainer Christophe Clement said, "He shipped well and is in tip-top physical shape. His coat, his weight, and all else looks very good since he's arrived. The distance and the synthetic here at Santa Anita were why we chose the Classic instead of the Turf. He's won here before and the 1 1/4 is probably his best distance of all." |
![]() ![]() In The Slips is on the also-eligible list in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, at 12-1 on the morning line. She will need 2 scratches in order to draw into the body of the field. If she does the Jeff Mullins trainee will have Garrett Gomez aboard. |
![]() ![]() Join in the Dance went out for a gallop in preparation for the Sprint where he is a 30-1 outsider. Trainer Todd Pletcher said, "We're shooting for the moon there. He's a hard-trying and consistent horse, but this is a pretty ambitious spot to run him in." |
![]() ![]() Junia Tepzia galloped on the main track Wednesday morning. Peter Schiergen trains the Irish-bred daughter of Rock of Gibraltar, who has won both her starts in Italy. Kieren Fallon has the mount Friday in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. |
![]() ![]() Kera's Kitten galloped on the Pro-Ride in preparation for his start in the Juvenile Turf. Trainer Mike Maker said of the 9 post, "He's naturally fast, so hopefully we'll get away from there and sit just off of it. That's the plan." |
![]() ![]() Lisa's Kitten went out for a gallop on the main track in preparation for the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Trainer Mike Maker said, "There's not much you can do about (the outside post).You just have to try and make the best of a bad situation. It looks like there is plenty of pace in the race, and she will be running late." Julien Leparoux, who has ridden the filly in each of her last four starts, will once again pilot on Friday. "Securing Julien was big," Maker said. "He had other options, but chose to ride her." |
![]() ![]() Lookin at Lucky jogged on the main track after working 4f in 47 1/5 Monday. "The outside post is a bummer," trainer Bob Baffert said of the Juvenile entrant drawing 13. "I was pretty disappointed with that. One thing's for sure, Garrett Gomez is going to have to put on a Hall of Fame type of ride to get him there. He's going to have to have a lot of luck." |
![]() ![]() ![]() Midshipman schooled in the starting gate and must have needed it as he initially refused to load. Afterwards he galloped in preparation for the Dirt Mile. Jockey Garrett Gomez said, "Winning with that horse would probably mean the most to me. Either winning with him or Ventura. I haven't ridden him since then so it should be interesting." |
![]() ![]() Monzante Monzante galloped on the main track under exercise rider Jose Dominguez on Wednesday after being shipped from Hollywood Park on Tuesday. He drew the outside post 8 in the Turf as a 30-1 longshot. Trainer Mike Mitchell said of the post, "He just drops out of it anyway." |
![]() ![]() Ms Vanenezza went out for a jog Wednesday in preparation for the Juvenile Fillies. She is the first Breeders' Cup starter for trainer Juan Vazquez, a 24-year-old originally from Argentina. He said, "I started out as a jockey, but I got too fat. I'm very nervous and excited, but I keep telling myself I need to stay calm, keep working, and see what happens. I'm not going to think about it anymore. I'll think about it Friday when she goes in the gate. |
![]() ![]() Only Green went to the main track with Goldikova. In the summer she served as the "rabbit" for her more highly regarded stablemate. Trainer Freddie Head said, "She's a nice little filly. She's an improving sort, and with a good run, you never know, you can get a place. The owners were keen on having her come with Goldikova. They work at home together so she stays with her. I think she'll run well." She will break from post 4 in the Filly and Mare Sprint under Olivier Peslier. |
![]() ![]() Potosina went out for some light work Wednesday morning for trainer Mark Shuman. She will break from the rail under jockey John Velazquez in the Juvenile Fillies Turf as a 20-1 outsider. |
![]() ![]() Pure Clan galloped 1 1/2 miles on the turf with assistant trainer Steve Schmelzel aboard. Trainer Bob Holthus was expected to arrive later in the day to oversee her final preparations. She will break from post 5 in the Filly and Mare Turf under jockey Garrett Gomez. |
![]() ![]() Ready's Echo jogged 1 mile over the main track and was declared to be "in good shape" for the Dirt Mile by trainer Todd Pletcher, who will have at least 11 starters in the two days of Cup racing. He added, "He's liked synthetics in the past, and he's a horse that drops way out of it and makes one big run." Calvin Borel, who rarely rides for Pletcher, gets the mount on the 20-1 shot in a solid 10-horse field. |
![]() ![]() Red Rocks galloped once around the main track with stablemate Radiohead. He seems to have mellowed a bit and isn't as flighty as previous times we have seen him. Trainer Brian Meehan, who saddled Red Rocks to win the Turf in 2006 and run third in 2007, has named Julian Leparoux to ride the horse for the first time Saturday. Red Rocks, who was trained by Mark Hennig when he ran 10th in last year's Turf here, returned to Meehan's care this fall, and finished fourth in the Cumberland Lodge Stakes most recently on Sept. 27. |
![]() ![]() Regal Ransom galloped on the main track with stablemates Midshipman and Gayego in preparation for the Classic. Rick Mettee, assistant to trainer Saeed bin Suroor said, "He's a pretty handy horse around the gate and he usually breaks fairly sharp. He's in the 11 hole, but that's a pretty good run; you've got from the head of that chute to the turn so naturally he should be able to get a good spot in there. If not on the lead then he might just sit off it; I don't know what Quality Road will do and he's drawn outside of us." |
![]() ![]() Richard's Kid galloped on the main track in preparation for the Classic. Trainer Bob Baffert said, "If he's in the lead I'll head back to my car. He's a horse that falls back and lays off the pace. When he gets a run in he's got about a good 2 1/2 furlong move, so pace is going to be a factor. He's a small horse so hopefully they don't jostle him around too much. He's gotta really step it up in this company." |
![]() ![]() Ventura galloped 1 1/4 miles on the main track Wednesday after being shipped from Hollywood Park on Tuesday, and will attempt to repeat as Filly and Mare Sprint champion. Asked if the outside post would benefit, Ruben Loza, an assistant to trainer Bobby Frankel, said, "It doesn't matter. She deserves to be the favorite." |
![]() ![]() Visit galloped 1 1/4 miles under exercise rider Salvador Martinez after being shipped from Hollywood Park Tuesday. She is winless in nine United States starts after beginning her career in England, but was a close fourth in this race last year and has been a close second in two Grade 1 stakes this year. "I hope this will be her day," said Ruben Loza, an assistant to trainer Bobby Frankel. The filly drew the rail under John Velazquez. |
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