There were 9 races on Day 2 of the 2012 Breeders' Cup World Championships. Of these, one of the more highly anticipated was the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) for older horses going 1 mile on the turf, despite the absence of European star miler Frankel. Wise Dan was sent off as the 9-5 favorite off a three race winning streak, including two Win and You're In races, the Woodbine Mile (G1) and the Shadwell Mile (G1). In to challenge him included 2-1 second choice Excelebration, winner of the QIPCO Queen Elizabeth II (G1) and the Prix Jacques le Marois (G1), and 11-2 third choice Moonlight Cloud, off his win in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1).
Wise Dan leads down the stretch while Animal Kingdom rallied between horses
Jockey Joe Talamo sent 6-1 Obviously to the front first time by and set fractions of 23.34, 46.16, and 1:08.81 over the firm going while pressed by 35-1 Suggestive Boy and favorite Wise Dan. Obviously continued to lead to the 1/8 pole through 7 furlongs in 1:20.31, but Wise Dan was quickly closing the gap, passing him at the 1/16 pole to win by 1 1/2 lengths over late-running 10-1 Animal Kingdom in a new course record time of 1:31.78. It was another 1/2 length back to Obviously third.
Left: Wise Dan in the winner's circle. Winning owner-breeder Morton Fink said, "You're in the business for forty years, and you know, you can do everything right and have the best of everything and then you get a bad trip and you lose.
With this horse, this is crazy to say, it's almost impossible to do that to him. As soon as he sees daylight he's gone and nobody will beat him, nobody! Charlie and I both believe he is entitled to a rest and we haven't gone any farther than that. In this business it's one race at a time, no long-range plans. I'm not going to think about how he would do against Frankel. He's the best horse in the world. He's retired. We're never going to get a chance to run so no point of thinking about that."
Right: The trophy presentation with jockey John Velazquez, trainer Charles Lopresti, and owners Mr. and Mrs. Morton Fink.
Left: Wise Dan heads out to the track before the race. Trainer Charles Lopresti said, "He is just a super horse, every time I work him, every time I do something with him, he amazes me and I've tried not to work him too often and too fast. At Saratoga, I realized how fast he was when we started to work him on the turf, some of you have seen him work there, so we don't put a lot of works into him in between races. Sometimes you will look at the workouts and maybe they look spotty and people will wonder what's wrong, but he's a phenomenal horse."
Right: Wise Dan returns to the barn in his winner's blanket
Left: Second place finisher Animal Kingdom in the post parade. Jockey Rafael Bejarano said, "They were going so fast early and I was stuck down inside. I had no choice. Then I had to go in and out of horses. When I finally got to ask him, he gave me a huge kick. I only wish I could have asked him earlier. (Wise Dan) got first jump on me. If it is the other way around, it might have been a different finish." Trainer Graham Motion added, "Seconds are very tough and I have some tough second-place beats in the Breeders' Cup. I'm thrilled with the way he ran. If he doesn't get steadied at the top of the stretch, I don't know. What a great run and what a great horse. He's a special horse."
Right: Third place finisher Obviously leads first time by. Jockey Joe Talamo said, "We figured to be on the lead and we had an easy lead. I just wish that (Suggestive Boy) hadn't been out there. He just put pressure on us. I don't know if that cost us the race, but we did feel it. He stayed on 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: Wise Dan in the winner's circle. Winning owner-breeder Morton Fink said, "You're in the business for forty years, and you know, you can do everything right and have the best of everything and then you get a bad trip and you lose.
With this horse, this is crazy to say, it's almost impossible to do that to him. As soon as he sees daylight he's gone and nobody will beat him, nobody! Charlie and I both believe he is entitled to a rest and we haven't gone any farther than that. In this business it's one race at a time, no long-range plans. I'm not going to think about how he would do against Frankel. He's the best horse in the world. He's retired. We're never going to get a chance to run so no point of thinking about that."
Left: Wise Dan heads out to the track before the race. Trainer Charles Lopresti said, "He is just a super horse, every time I work him, every time I do something with him, he amazes me and I've tried not to work him too often and too fast. At Saratoga, I realized how fast he was when we started to work him on the turf, some of you have seen him work there, so we don't put a lot of works into him in between races. Sometimes you will look at the workouts and maybe they look spotty and people will wonder what's wrong, but he's a phenomenal horse."
Left: Second place finisher Animal Kingdom in the post parade. Jockey Rafael Bejarano said, "They were going so fast early and I was stuck down inside. I had no choice. Then I had to go in and out of horses. When I finally got to ask him, he gave me a huge kick. I only wish I could have asked him earlier. (Wise Dan) got first jump on me. If it is the other way around, it might have been a different finish." Trainer Graham Motion added, "Seconds are very tough and I have some tough second-place beats in the Breeders' Cup. I'm thrilled with the way he ran. If he doesn't get steadied at the top of the stretch, I don't know. What a great run and what a great horse. He's a special horse."
