Kicking off Championship Saturday was the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G2) for 2-year-old colts and geldings going 1 mile around two turns of the Churchill Downs turf course. Master of Hounds, third in the Racing Post Trophy (G1) at Doncaster last out, was sent off as the 7-2 favorite in the full field of 12. In to challenge him included 4-1 second choice Soldat, winner of the With Anticipation (G3) and second in the Pilgrim (G2), and 5-1 third choice Banned, an allowance winner at Keeneland last out and making his stakes debut.
Pluck closes down the center in the stretch
10-1 Madman Diaries battled for the lead with 29-1 Humble and Hungry through fractions of 24.01, 47.97, and 1:13.05 over the firm going, while favorite Master of Hounds sat near the back of the field. Entering the stretch, Banned put in his challenge but Madman Diaries stubbornly held the lead through 7/8 in 1:24.92. 6-1 Pluck, last through the first 5 furlongs, came through between horses at the 3/16 pole to win by 1 length over Soldat in 1:36.98. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to 23-1 Willcox Inn third, while favorite Master of Hounds finished 6th beaten 3 lengths.
The race was marred by the fall of Rough Sailing entering the clubhouse turn, who slipped and landed hard on his left side then got up and ran loose. Jockey Anna Napravnik was thrown to the turf but walked away uninjured, and the colt was caught by the outriders and returned to the barn. X-rays found that he sustained a fracture of the humerus in the right forelimb, and was euthanized.
Right: Owner Barry Irwin of Team Valor leads Pluck into the winner's circle. Irwin said, "(His dam is) huge. She's about 16.2 1/2. She's a Grade 1 performer herself. Got a fabulous pedigree. And this was the first foal, and he just always looked good. So we decided to keep him. Anybody that bred this foal Pluck, we allowed them the chance to be bought out at $180,000, and we offered parts of him to some new people. In this horse, we have ten newcomers that bought 5 percent each for $9,000 and made four payments. So they had a lot of fun today.
I'll just say this, as a guy that used to be a turf rider, I don't remember ever seeing a race like that, let alone ever being involved in it. It was super."
Left: Pluck in the post parade. Trainer Todd Pletcher said, "This colt's shown a lot of natural ability from day one. He's been a little bit of a playful colt that needed to get a little more professional. Even though he was winning races, he was still waiting on horses a little bit. He would sometimes veer in a little bit or veer out. You could see by the way he finished today, this was the first time he really leveled off and set sail through the lane and put it all together."
Left: Second place finisher Soldat in the post parade. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said, "He ran great. He had a great trip but we were second best today. Congratulations to the winner." Jockey Alan Garcia added, "I had a good trip, the perfect trip actually. I was able to save ground the whole way. I just got beat by a luckier horse."
Right: Third place finisher Willcox Inn returns after the race. Hilary Pridham, assistant to trainer Mike Stidham said, "(Willcox Inn) had a good trip but as we were just saying with Johnny (Velazquez), we wished we had been on the outside because he was a little hesitant going through holes. He's still a little green but he's going to come back better from this."
Left: Sixth place finisher and beaten favorite Master of Hounds returns after the race. The son of Kingmambo out of Sadler's Wells mare Silk and Scarlet was never in it, racing in 9th early 8 lengths off under rider John Murtagh, then putting a mild bid 4 wide to finish 6th just 3 lengths back of the winner.
Right: The trophies in waiting for the winners before the first Breeders' Cup race of the day.
Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - There were 9 races Saturday highlighted by the $5 million Classic where Fort Larned won by a half length over Mucho Macho Man. Also on the card, favorites Wise Dan won the Mile and Shanghai Bobby won the Juvenile. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
Breeders' Cup Friday Results - There were 6 races Friday highlighted by the Ladies' Classic where favorite Royal Delta held off My Miss Aurelia to win for the second year in a row and the Filly and Mare Turf where Zagora was an upset winner. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 6 races here.
2012 Breeders' Cup Entries - Lots of info about the Breeders' Cup, each race, links to profiles for all the horses entered, and info about each race. Free Past Performances - for all the races
Thursday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 49 of the Breeders' Cup horses out on Thursday morning at Santa Anita. The Europeans were out of quarantine and the east coasters delayed by Hurricane Sandy finally arrived, so it was a very busy morning.
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 34 of the Breeders' Cup horses out in the fog on Wednesday morning at Santa Anita. The sun didn't make it out until 8:30am and visibility was quite poor at times.
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 69 of the Breeders' Cup horses out on the track Tuesday morning at Santa Anita, including Classic favorite Game On Dude and 7 more of the Classic horses.
Breeders' Cup Weather - What will the weather be like at Santa Anita Park on November 2 and 3? Here are lots of places to find out!
2011 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic where Drosselmeyer was an upset winner. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2011 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic (formerly the Distaff) won by Royal Delta. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 6 races here.
Review: Crushing the Cup 2012 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita updated for 2012.
Breeders' Cup History - Historical info, past results, and photos from previous runnings
The Breeders' Cup Championship Day - The official page for the Breeders' Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
Free Prep Replays - for major prep races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge. The ones with camera logos have video available.
Blazing Silks, Breeders' Cup Edition- an interactive social network game that allows horse racing fans and social gamers to train and care for Thoroughbred horses.
Right: Owner Barry Irwin of Team Valor leads Pluck into the winner's circle. Irwin said, "(His dam is) huge. She's about 16.2 1/2. She's a Grade 1 performer herself. Got a fabulous pedigree. And this was the first foal, and he just always looked good. So we decided to keep him. Anybody that bred this foal Pluck, we allowed them the chance to be bought out at $180,000, and we offered parts of him to some new people. In this horse, we have ten newcomers that bought 5 percent each for $9,000 and made four payments. So they had a lot of fun today.
I'll just say this, as a guy that used to be a turf rider, I don't remember ever seeing a race like that, let alone ever being involved in it. It was super."
Left: Second place finisher Soldat in the post parade. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said, "He ran great. He had a great trip but we were second best today. Congratulations to the winner." Jockey Alan Garcia added, "I had a good trip, the perfect trip actually. I was able to save ground the whole way. I just got beat by a luckier horse."
