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Dullahan and Shackleford under the twin spires on Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs

World Championships
Breeders' Cup Workouts

Date: 11/01/2011

Tuesday morning was bright and sunny but cold at Churchill Downs as the horses continued their preparations for the Breeders' Cup World Championships. With the event stretched out to 15 races over two days, as expected there was heavy traffic out on the main track after the break.

Here are photos for 41 of the horses on the track. Click the small picture to see a larger version.

horse racing breeders cup
Goldikova, three-time winner of the Mile and going for her 4th in a row, went to the main track for the first time at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday and walked the wrong way on the outside in company with 6 other Europeans. "All the defeats were second places, so it's really not that bad," said assistant trainer Regis Barbedette. "When you are looking at them, there were some really good times, so she went faster. Maybe she won't win by 3 lengths, but if she wins by one it will be plenty enough."

Aruna galloped 1 3/4 miles on grass under Heather Craig Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for a start in the Filly & Mare Turf. Trainer Graham Motion said, "Ultimately I felt more confident about her getting the distance on the turf than I did about how she was going to handle the dirt. She had a perfectly good workout. I thought she worked fine, but I'm not sure it told me anything. If she handles the distance, she'll be very competitive."

Brigantin cleared quarantine Tuesday and jogged on the main track in preparation for the Marathon.

Byword cleared quarantine Tuesday and went to the track for the first time at 8:45 a.m. The son of Peintre Celebre was part of a group of seven European-based horses that were sent out for some light exercise on the main track. The 5yo horse drew post 8 in the Mile and will be ridden by Maxime Guyon.

Dayatthespa galloped 1 3/8 m Tuesday morning in preparation for the Juvenile Fillies Turf. In her debut at Saratoga Race Course, Dayatthespa won a 5 1/2f race by four lengths. On September 17 at Woodbine, she was second in the Natalma. "She really looks good physically," trainer Chad Brown said. "She's got an excellent post (2). Ramon Dominguez knows her real well and I think she's sitting on a good race."

Dear Lavinia cleared quarantine Tuesday and jogged on the main track in preparation for the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Dubawi Heights galloped 2 miles on the main track under Peter Barry for trainer Simon Callaghan in preparation for the Filly and Mare Turf. Barry said, "She's doing great. And she loves the track. She's a different horse (since breaking her maiden)."

Dullahan went out for a gallop Tuesday in preparation for the Juvenile, after working 5/8 in 1:10 4/5 on Saturday. Trainer Dale Romans said, "He looked good, and he was getting over the dirt good. We wanted him on the bit, and he got a good strong work in him. If the Juvenile Turf had been longer than a mile, we may have thought harder about it, but he's a horse that wants more ground (and the Juvenile is 1 1/16). Plus, he's training well on the dirt and a win here sets him up to be champion 2-year-old. There will be plenty of time to run him on the turf next year."

Elusive Kate, the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Juvenile Fillies Turf, cleared quarantine Tuesday morning and went out to the turf course at 9:30 a.m. for her first bit of exercise since shipping from Europe on Saturday.   Owned by Magnolia Racing and Rachel Hood, the Elusive Quality filly, trained by John Gosden, brings a four-race winning streak into the Breeders' Cup. In her last start, she won the Prix Marcel Boussac-Criterium de Pouliches on Oct. 2 at Longchamp.

Great Attack was out for a gallop Tuesday in preparation for the Turf Sprint. He had his final major workout Monday breezing 5f in 1:02 4/5 over the turf course with jockey Jeffrey Sanchez aboard. "It was beautiful," trainer Wesley Ward said of the workout. "I'm very happy with it."

Great Hot galloped 1 1/2 miles around the track in preparation for the Filly and Mare Sprint. Trainer A.C. Avila said, "She's doing everything right. She came out of (the Raven Run on Oct. 22) really well. When a horse has a hard race like she did that day, it is usually 10 days to two weeks before you get their enzymes and blood to test right. But she bounced back in just a few days. She's a good filly. I like (jockey Chantal Sutherland) a lot as a rider. She's aggressive; a lot more aggressive than a lot of those males she rides against."

Hamazing Destiny went out for a gallop in preparation for the Sprint, after finishing second last year. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas is confident of his chances, noting "I've got 18 of them!" (Breeders' Cup wins).

Harmonious galloped 1 1/2 miles on Tuesday in preparation for the Filly and Mare Turf. Trainer John Shirreffs said, "I learned something when I ran her here last year in this race (finished 10th). I didn't run her with toe grabs last year because I didn't think the turf course was going to be wet at all. But the night before the race they watered it and she had a hard time getting a hold of it. This time I had my ‘shoer' in California put the grabs on before we came. And with talk of rain here Thursday, she will no doubt need them."

Holdin Bullets galloped on the main track in preparation for the Juvenile Sprint.

Holiday for Kitten was sent out for a gallop on the Churchill turf by trainer Wesley Ward. He goes next in the Turf Sprint on Saturday.

Irish Gypsy galloped on the main track in preparation for the Filly and Mare Sprint. Trainer Bob Baffert said of post 1, "The post will probably hurt her the most. She likes to come from off of it a little bit, but from the one hole she's going to have to be used. Of all of them she probably drew the worst because I think she's better if she just stays off of it a little. But at least all these horses breaking from the one will be easy to watch; I don't have to bring my binoculars, I'll just watch the rail." 

Irrefutable galloped on the main track for trainer Bob Baffert. He goes next in the Dirt Mile on Saturday.

Medaglia d'Amour galloped 1 mile Tuesday morning. The 5yo mare, trained by Ben Cecil for his wife, Kristina, and Zillah Reddam, the wife of one of Cecil's prime clients, has a running style that usually puts her close to the pace. Cecil is expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon to take over the fine-tuning of the mare for the Ladies' Classic.

Musical Romance, entered in the Filly and Mare Sprint, was out for a gallop on Tuesday for trainer Bill Kaplan.

Northern Passion galloped 1 1/4 miles on Tuesday under Melanie Giddings and will school at the gate on Wednesday morning and then be schooled in the paddock during the first race that afternoon. Norman Casse, the top assistant to his father Mark, thinks the 2yo daughter of First Samurai is coming into the race in excellent form. "She's a very professional filly," Casse said. "She's easy to work with, easy to train and she has a nice disposition around the barn."

Optimizer galloped Tuesday morning over the Churchill Downs strip as he moved closer to Saturday's Juvenile.

Pachattack galloped about 1 1/4 miles on the Churchill Downs main track shortly after the renovation break at 8:30 a.m. under assistant trainer Andrew Morris. "She was a bit on the muscle this morning," trainer Gerard Butler said.  "That's to be expected her first time on this surface with her adrenaline flowing, but she handled it nicely." She drew post 2 in the Ladies' Classic field and will be ridden by Rajiv Maragh.

Prospective galloped for 1 1/2 miles and schooled at the gate on Tuesday morning. He is scheduled for another lesson at the gate Wednesday and then will be schooled in the paddock during the fourth race on Wednesday afternoon, in preparation for the Juvenile.

Pure Gossip, a supplemental entry to the Juvenile Fillies Turf, went out for a gallop Tuesday for trainer Phil Serpe.

Putthebabiesdown, Ken McPeek's entry in the Juvenile Fillies, went out for some light work on the main track.

Sarafina, the 5-2 morning line favorite for the Turf, jogged on the Churchill Downs track for the first time Tuesday morning. Trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre was saddling defending champion Americain in the Melbourne Cup and is expected to arrive from Australia on Thursday. Christophe Lemaire rode Dunaden to victory in the Melbourne Cup and will have the ride on Sarafina on Saturday.

Say a Novena was sent out for a gallop by trainer Edward Plesa. She goes next in the Juvenile Fillies.

Sea Moon jogged on the turf after clearing quarantine, in preparation for the Turf. He was second by a nose in his first maiden try then reeled off three consecutive victories before finishing third by 3 1/2 lengths as the 2-1 favorite in the St. Leger on Sept. 10. The Beat Hollow colt drew post 7 and will be ridden by Ryan Moore.

Self Preservation jogged 4f and galloped 1 m Tuesday morning as she trained toward the Juvenile Fillies. Since coming to the United States to be trained by Ben Cecil, she is winless in two starts, having bowed to Weemissfrankie each time. She finished second to that filly in the Del Mar Debutante, but faded badly after going to the lead in Oak Leaf at Santa Anita and finished fifth of eight.

Shackleford galloped 1 mile on the main track on Tuesday in preparation for the Dirt Mile. Trainer Dale Romans said, "He's never trained any better. He reminds me of where he was going into the (Kentucky Derby). He's a fresh and happy horse."

Shared Account, defending champion in the Filly and Mare Turf, galloped 1 mile under exercise rider Muffy Trimmer. Trainer Graham Motion said, "I feel very good about her coming into this race. It's been our goal for the whole year. The fact that Shared Account hasn't won is really only a matter of circumstances. She had a tough go of it early in the year and it took her a long time to get over it. The last race (the Canadian), I thought she handled it well, but 1 1/8 going around one turn really isn't her game."

Shotgun Gulch was out Tuesday for some maintenance work in preparation for the Filly and Mare Sprint on Friday.

Somali Lemonade made her first appearance over the Churchill Downs turf course Tuesday, having an easy gallop in preparation for the Juvenile Fillies Turf. "She came out of her race at Keeneland (the Jessamine Stakes) well," trainer Michael Matz said. "I don't think the 14 post will hurt her. It's her style to drop back and come from out it. As long as she doesn't have to go too wide, she should be OK."

Stacelita, the Filly and Mare Turf morning line favorite, galloped 1 3/8 miles. Trainer Chad Brown said, "I'm very happy the way she went. Her energy level is good. She's getting over the track good. She's her normal self."

State of Play galloped 1 mile in preparation for the Juvenile Turf. Trainer Graham Motion said, "State of Play is very professional, very nice work horse in the morning. He's a really good horse. He's had sort of a mixed-up month getting here. It's been disappointing but having said that, he's had two very good works. I feel very good about running him."

Stephanie's Kitten was out for a gallop in preparation for the Juvenile FIllies Turf. Trainer Wayne Catalano said of post 5, "It's a good post, I like it. We hope we can sit mid-pack with a clean trip and an honest pace in front of her."

Strong Suit cleared quarantine and went to the turf course Tuesday morning for some light exercise. Trained in England by Richard Hannon, the 3yo colt has won 3 of 5 starts this season. In his most recent outing, he captured the 7f Challenge Stakes by 4 1/2 lengths.

Take Charge Indy galloped 1 1/2 miles on Tuesday. "He's had two good works over the track since his last race," said trainer Patrick Byrne. "He seems to be moving very well over the track. We've had this race as our main goal all  along and hopefully can get back here in the spring (for the Derby). He has the pedigree, he has the physical ability and his mind is good."

Turbulent Descent jogged 1 mile and then galloped 1 mile as she moved forward toward the Filly and Mare Sprint in which she has been made the 6-5 morning-line choice. "I always let her take a lot of time on the track," trainer Mike Puype said. "She likes to look around and see everything she can see while she's out there."

Union Rags, 2-1 morning line favorite for the Juvenile, got acquainted with the Churchill Downs paddock and track for the first time with assistant trainer Peter Brette on board and trainer Michael Matz close by on a pony, Union Rags visited the paddock and then galloped 1 1/2 miles. "He didn't do any training yesterday since he was traveling, so he was a little fresh this morning. He looks good. He's just been a dream to train. He's got everything you'd want in a racehorse. He's fast, he finds a way to get out of trouble and he's got a great mind. He came out of his last race (a win in the Champagne Stakes) great. We took him back to Fair Hill that night and he ate right up. The next morning he was looking for me."

Vexor went out for a gallop Tuesday for trainer John Kimmel. He goes next in the Juvenile Sprint on Saturday.

Full info on all the Breeders' Cup races:

Friday: Juvenile Sprint   Juvenile Fillies Turf   F&M Sprint   Juvenile Fillies   F&M Turf   Ladies Classic  
Saturday: Marathon   Juvenile Turf   Turf Sprint   Dirt Mile   Juvenile   Mile   Sprint   Turf   Classic

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