The first Championship race on Saturday was the $500,000 Breeders' Cup Marathon (G2), a 1 3/4 mile test around 3 turns of the Churchill Downs oval. A.U. Miner, who was placed third in last year's edition, is back qas the 3-1 favorite in the field of 11, off a win in the Greenwood Cup followed by a 5th place effort in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). In to challenge him included 9-2 second choice Cease, third in the Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2) last out, and 5-1 third choice Birdrun, winner of the Brooklyn (G2) but 6th in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).
Afleet Again draws off down the center of the track
12-1 Pleasant Prince, 5-1 Birdrun, and 34-1 Baryshnikov set the early tempt of 48.05, 1:12.65, 1:38.97, and 2:05.41 over the fast track. Entering the stretch for the final time, Cease moved up to take over the lead through 12f in 2:32.82. Cease led to the 1/8 pole before tiring as 42-1 longest shot Afleet Again, 8th early, came through to win going away by 2 1/4 lengths over Birdrun in 3:00.39. It was just a head back to 9-1 Giant Oak third. Favorite A.U. Miner was pulled up in distress by jockey Calvin Borel with 3/8 mile remaining and was vanned off.
Afleet Again wins the Marathon
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
8 Afleet Again Velasquez 85.20 35.80 13.80
1 Birdrun Velazquez 7.20 5.80
5 Giant Oak Bridgmohan 6.80
Winning Time: 3:00.39
$2 Exacta 8-1 668.40
$2 Trifecta 8-1-5 4,147.40
$2 Superfecta 8-1-5-4 39,533.20
Left: Afleet Again heads to the winner's circle. Owner Bob Krangel said, "He's been very happy. He's gone through some times where he was a little more sulky. That's kind of his personality. We tried him in Saratoga, and that grass up there. I think the grass may have been a mistake even though he is kind of grass bred. While those races didn't hurt him any, I think it got him a little confused and put him off his game. I can't remember who won the race at Belmont. We took the blinkers off of him, and he tried to run up the horse's heels and tried to bolt. He likes to be in his little rut. Now he's in a situation where he made three straight dirt races. He got his rhythm back, and he got his mojo back, I guess."
Right: Afleet Again heads back to the barn. Jockey Cornelio Velasquez said, “I rode this horse in the Travers (4th in 2010), and he has one pace all the way. I stayed behind the speed, and at the 1/4 pole, put him in the clear. And I had a lot of horse. I like this horse. He needs a strong ride. In the last 5/16 I had a lot of horse. (Joel Rosario on Pleasant Prince) sent his horse at the quarter pole. At the 3/8 I pulled the trigger."
Left: Second place finisher Birdrun returns after the race. Jockey John Velazquez said, “I knew we were going kind of fast early and I tried to get him back, but he wanted to go. I finally got a hold of him and was able to get him to settle. Then, when that horse (leader Pleasant Prince) took off once more, he wanted to go again. I didn’t think I’d have enough (horse), but he kept going, and at the five-sixteenths (pole) I thought I could win the whole thing. He just kept going. He ran a really good race.”
Right: Third place finisher Giant Oak in the post parade. Trainer Chris Block said, “I thought he got a good trip. (Jockey) Shaun (Bridgmohan) did a good job getting him settled in there. He was a little keener than you’d want going 1 3/4, but that’s going to happen with a horse coming off a 1 1/4 and 1 1/8 race. Shaun did a real good job getting him settled. We took our shot at the head of the stretch. The horse ran hard, he just ran out of gas the last sixteenth.”
Favorite A.U. Miner, who did not finish the race, passes by the stands the first time in last place. Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, on-call veterinarian for the AAEP said, "The clinical diagnosis was fractured sesamoid in the right front fetlock. The horse stayed in the ambulance and being transported to Lexington to the equine hospital. Tentatively surgery will be performed on Monday or Tuesday. You do the surgery to save their life. There can be a number of complications. It will be done by Dr. Larry Bramlage, who developed the technique fetlock arthrodesis for it. It's hard to give a diagnosis, but generally 60 percent to 70 percent of them do well."
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.
Left: Second place finisher Birdrun returns after the race. Jockey John Velazquez said, “I knew we were going kind of fast early and I tried to get him back, but he wanted to go. I finally got a hold of him and was able to get him to settle. Then, when that horse (leader Pleasant Prince) took off once more, he wanted to go again. I didn’t think I’d have enough (horse), but he kept going, and at the five-sixteenths (pole) I thought I could win the whole thing. He just kept going. He ran a really good race.”
