Kicking off the championship races for the 2011 World Championships was the inaugural running of the $500,000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint, a 6 furlong test over the main track restricted to 2-year-olds. Secret Circle was sent off as the 2-5 favorite in the field of 9 off his wins in his debut and then the Jack Goodman at Santa Anita, over 9-1 Seeker, third in the Nashua (G2) last out, and 10-1 Trinniberg, second in both the Nashua (G2) and Hopeful (G1).
Secret Circle leads down the stretch
Jockey Cornelio Velasquez sent 10-1 Trinniberg to the lead immediately and he got an opening 1/4 in 20.96 before Secret Circle took over, getting the half in 44.55. By mid-stretch Secret Circle opened up a 3 length advantage through 54/8 in 56.99, and was al-out to hold off late-running 15-1 Shumoos by a length in 1:10.52 over the good main track. It was another 4 1/2 lengths back to 18-1 Holdin Bullets third.
Right: Secret Circle heads to the winner's circle. Winning trainer Bob Baffert said, "After I saw those fractions, I thought, 'Oh boy,' but he was doing it easy. He's just a very gifted horse, he has unbelievable speed. I feel good about it because he came off the plane and won here. I was a little worried about him coming down the lane, he kind of lost focus, but he's just young."
Left: Secret Circle heads back to the barn. Winning jockey Rafael Bejarano added, "We were going fast, but he was relaxed to the outside. I waited until the stretch to let him go, and when I did, he showed me a big kick. He wasn't comfortable on the track. That's why he was lugging out a little (in the stretch) you know. I was a little concerned about how fast we were going (early), but I knew I had to be close today."
Left: Second place finisher Shumoos in the post parade. His jockey Garrett Gomez said, "She ran really good. She finished willingly. She sat in the gate bad and I wasn't sure if she would get away good. But she did get out in good shape and put herself in race. Coming down the lane, I thought I had a good chance to win."
Right: Third place finisher Holdin Bullets in the post parade. His jockey Jeffrey Sanchez said, "I had a good trip. No excuses. He hadn't run in a long time and this track is tiring today. He just got tired."
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: Secret Circle heads to the winner's circle. Winning trainer Bob Baffert said, "After I saw those fractions, I thought, 'Oh boy,' but he was doing it easy. He's just a very gifted horse, he has unbelievable speed. I feel good about it because he came off the plane and won here. I was a little worried about him coming down the lane, he kind of lost focus, but he's just young."
Left: Second place finisher Shumoos in the post parade. His jockey Garrett Gomez said, "She ran really good. She finished willingly. She sat in the gate bad and I wasn't sure if she would get away good. But she did get out in good shape and put herself in race. Coming down the lane, I thought I had a good chance to win."
