A field of just 9 older horses went to post in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), a 1 mile trip around one turn of the main track at Santa Anita Park. Emcee was sent off as the 5-2 favorite off his win in the Forego (G1) ar Saratoga. In to challenge him included 3-1 second choice Shackleford, second in the Kelso (G2) last out, and 9-2 third choice Jersey Town, winner of the Kelso after finishing third in the Forego.
Tapizar leads with Rail Trip on the rail and Delegation on the far outside.
Jockey Alan Garcia sent Emcee to the lead first time by and he set fractions of 22.77 and 46.58 while pressed by 15-1 Tapizar. On the far turn, Tapizar pushed to the lead by 1/2 a length through 3/4 in 1:22.95. He quickly opened up a 2 1/2 length lead through 7/8 in 1:22.95. 8-1 Rail Trip attempted to close from 8th to no avail as Tapizar cruised past the post 2 1/4 lengths clear ina time of 1:35.34. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back to 19-1 Delegation third, while favorite Emcee checked in sixth.
Tapizar (outside) wins the Dirt Mile over Morning Line
Left: Tapizar in the winner's circle. Owner-breeder Ron Winchell said, "The key was we shipped him out here, he worked over the surface a couple of times and he worked way better than he was going at Belmont and we thought it was definitely worth a shot at this point. This race we knew we were going to run differently because when he ran in the Breeders' Cup Mile last year, the plan was to restrain him and not let him have too much speed and that proved to be ineffective with his style of running, so the plan today was to let him be a free-running horse, to go out there and let him be on the lead or off the lead and hopefully have something left coming home."
Right: Tapizar heads back to the barn after the race. Jockey Corey Nakatani said, "This never gets old. Winning a race on Breeders' Cup day is special; it's special just to get the chance to compete. It's extremely gratifying. We had a good trip. He got away in good order. Last time (6th in the Kelso), he just didn't handle the track. I told Steve (Asmussen) to go on to the Breeders' Cup, and I'm glad he did."
Left: Second place finisher Rail Trip in the post parade. Jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. said, "Considering the way this track has been playing for speed, I thought he ran a great race. When Shackleford missed the break, I think that changed the whole complexion of the race. When I got through at the head of the stretch, I had a lot of horse, but we were just second best today. It is a credit to Ron Ellis that he gets this horse back after two years and he still has his number."
Right: Third place finisher Delegation returns after the race. Trainer Mark Casse said, "I thought he ran great. Patrick said he was trying to get out, but he had a good trip." Jockey Patrick Husbands added, "I had so much horse and I was coming on the rail. I was begging for a little break. When I finally got it, it was too late. He showed up like a champion. He ran a big race."
Sixth place finisher and beaten favorite Emcee returns after the race. Jockey Alan Garcia said, "He broke good and I saw that Shackleford stumbled out of the gate, so I said 'let me take a chance.' We fell into the lead and he gave me all he could. Just no luck today."
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: Tapizar in the winner's circle. Owner-breeder Ron Winchell said, "The key was we shipped him out here, he worked over the surface a couple of times and he worked way better than he was going at Belmont and we thought it was definitely worth a shot at this point. This race we knew we were going to run differently because when he ran in the Breeders' Cup Mile last year, the plan was to restrain him and not let him have too much speed and that proved to be ineffective with his style of running, so the plan today was to let him be a free-running horse, to go out there and let him be on the lead or off the lead and hopefully have something left coming home."
Left: Second place finisher Rail Trip in the post parade. Jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. said, "Considering the way this track has been playing for speed, I thought he ran a great race. When Shackleford missed the break, I think that changed the whole complexion of the race. When I got through at the head of the stretch, I had a lot of horse, but we were just second best today. It is a credit to Ron Ellis that he gets this horse back after two years and he still has his number."
