Hootenanny catches Luck of the Kitten in the stretch
The first race of the 2014 Championships was the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), a 1 mile test around 2 turns of the 7 furlong infield oval at Santa Anita. Grand Criterium (G1) fifth place finisher War Envoy was sent off as the 7-2 favorite in the full field of 14. In to challenge him included 9-2 second choice Startup Nation, winner of the With Anticipation before 4th in the Pilgrim (G3), and 6-1 third choice Hootenanny, second in the Prix Morny (G1) after winning the Windsor Castle.
9-1 Luck of the Kitten was sent to an uncontested lead by jockey Mike Smith through fractions of 22.71, 46.91, and 1:11.36 over the firm going while stalked by 33-1 Lawn Ranger. Entering the lane, Luck of the Kitten continued to lead through 7/8 in 1:23.14, but Hootenanny, who was third early and 3 wide, rallied to outfinish the pacesetter in the final 1/16 to win by 3/4 length in 1:34.79. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to 18-1 Daddy D T third, while favorite War Envoy checked in 12th.
Hootenanny wins the Juvenile Turf
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
5 Hootenanny Dettori 14.00 7.80 5.60
3 Luck of the Kitten Smith 9.20 7.00
2 Daddy D T Nakatani 11.00
Winning Time: 1:34.79
$1 Exacta 5-3 50.00
$1 Trifecta 5-3-2 845.60
$1 Superfecta 5-3-2-6 7,442.50
Right: Hootenanny heads into the winner's circle. Blake Heap, assistant to trainer Wesley Ward said, "I was at Keeneland when the sale was there. I spent a week or two with him there then. The last couple weeks, Wesley had him strictly there, then he shipped him out two or three days ago, and I've had him since he's been here.
So Wesley did pretty much everything. I just kind of oversaw everything for him. But all the credit has to go to Wesley."
Left: Frankie Dettori makes his leap off Hootenanny in the winner's circle. Dettori said, "My main concern is never run beyond 6. I rode the other Wesley's horse, Luck of the Kitten, and I know he's got a lot of speed, so I didn't want to get in a speed duel. He blew the first turn a bit, but once I got him asleep, I knew then that I had the race in my mercy. Again, he didn't corner the last corner too good, but in the stretch, he just picked up and he never looked like getting beat. "
Left: Hootenanny returns after the race. Dettori said, "It was my first time on him but I had seen him run in England, so I knew his style. He wasn't pulling. I got him settled. When I turned him on, I knew I had the race."
Right: The trophy celebration with co-owner Michael Tabor holding the trophy above his head and assistant trainer Blake Heap on the far right. Tabor said, "It's a possibility (to aim for the 2000 Guineas), that's for sure. But we have many options as you know, and we'll have to think about it. But to bring him over to Europe, I guess would be ideal. Maybe we'd wait for Royal Ascot for him, but there are many good races, so we have many choices."
Left: Second place finisher Luck of the Kitten leads first time by. Jockey Mike Smith said, "I thought I was going to steal it. The other horse overpowered me, but my horse showed a lot of heart."
Right: Third place finisher Daddy D T in the post parade. Jockey Corey Nakatani said, "I had a very good trip. This colt showed a lot of class. He ran dynamite the whole race. I broke his maiden down at Del Mar (Sept. 3) and he's still learning. There doesn't seem to be any bottom to him."
Beaten favorite and 10th place finisher War Envoy returns after the race. Jockey Ryan Moore inexplicably said, "He ran a good race."
Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - There were 9 races Saturday highlighted by the $5 million Classic where American Pharoah was an impressive winner in his final start before retiring to stud. Also on the card, Found won the Turf, Nyquist won the Juvenile, and Tepin won the Mile. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here. Get more photos and comments for each race here.
Breeders' Cup Friday Results - There were 4 races Friday highlighted by the Distaff where Stopchargingmaria won by a neck over Stellar Wind and the Dirt Mile won by Liam's Map. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
Thursday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 38 horses out on Thursday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including American Pharoah. Beholder was also out, but was found to have bled when scoped and is scratched from the Classic.
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 46 horses out on a very rainy Wednesday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including Keen Ice, Frosted, and Golden Horn. No American Pharoah yet, hopefully he comes out tomorrow.
2015 Breeders' Cup Entries - Check out the entries, post postitions, and morning line odds for the 13 Breeders' Cup World Championship races to be held at Keeneland on October 30 and 31.
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 31 horses out on a rainy Tuesday morning at Keeneland including Stephanie's Kitten, Grand Arch, and Private Zone.
Monday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 28 horses out Monday morning at Keeneland including Rachel's Valentina and a timed work by Beholder.
Sunday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 10 horses out Sunday morning at Keeneland including Liam's Map and Lea
Breeders' Cup Weather - Check out the latest weather forecasts for the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland
Review: Crushing the Cup 2015 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland updated for 2015.
2014 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic won by Bayern. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2014 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic won by Untapable. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
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.
TV Schedule - for all the preps and other programming leading up to the big day
Breeders' Cup Postcards - Breeders' Cup theme virtual postcards to send your friends including many past winners
Breeders' Cup Supplemental Entries - The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track now.
Right: Hootenanny heads into the winner's circle. Blake Heap, assistant to trainer Wesley Ward said, "I was at Keeneland when the sale was there. I spent a week or two with him there then. The last couple weeks, Wesley had him strictly there, then he shipped him out two or three days ago, and I've had him since he's been here.
So Wesley did pretty much everything. I just kind of oversaw everything for him. But all the credit has to go to Wesley."
Left: Hootenanny returns after the race. Dettori said, "It was my first time on him but I had seen him run in England, so I knew his style. He wasn't pulling. I got him settled. When I turned him on, I knew I had the race."
Left: Second place finisher Luck of the Kitten leads first time by. Jockey Mike Smith said, "I thought I was going to steal it. The other horse overpowered me, but my horse showed a lot of heart."
