Art Collector – Bruce Lunsford’s Bill Mott-trained homebred 4yo colt Art Collector had an easy day two mornings after a Halloween half-mile work in 48 2/5 in preparation for Saturday’s $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“I jogged Art Collector,” Mott said. “When we are home, we always give him a jog day after he works, but today we walked him through the paddock and jogged him again and everything went fine.”
Since joining the Mott barn over the summer, the son of 2006 Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up Bernardini and 2011 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf fourth-place finisher Distorted Legacy is perfect from three starts, including the Alydar Stakes (Listed) at Saratoga, Charles Town Classic (G2) at its namesake course and Woodward (G1) at Belmont.
“He’s just improved on his own and we haven’t done anything, really, except let him lead one winning effort into another and build himself from race to race,” Mott said. “He’s got three races in him now and is just doing really good. He looks stronger and has continued to develop, which is what you hope a 4-year-old is going to do. That’s what you want him do and it is what it looks like he’s been doing that throughout the course of the year.”
Essential Quality/Knicks Go – Trainer Brad Cox’s powerhouse duo of Essential Quality and Knicks Go, both returning Breeders’ Cup winners, arrived at Del Mar around 10:30 p.m. Monday from Kentucky and wasted no time getting to work Tuesday. Essential Quality, the 2020 Juvenile winner and 2-year-old champion, jogged, while Knicks Go, the 2020 Dirt Mile winner, galloped once around the track. Both were ridden by regular exercise rider Edvin Vargas.
“Essential Quality was really, really good, he looked amazing training out there,” Cox said. “He was looking around, but that was to be expected. He just jogged. Knicks Go has good energy so he’ll probably do a little more. So far, so good. They all shipped in well. It was a long day yesterday, but they all look good.”
Express Train – Express Train, winner of the San Diego Handicap over the Del Mar main track this past summer, continued his preparations for a berth in the Classic Tues morning with a strong 1 1/2m gallop under regular exercise rider Amy Vasco.
Trainer John Shirreffs, who famously won the 2009 Classic renewal with Zenyatta, reported, “Right now, he’s training at a level above his most recent races. Although he’s yet to win at the (Classic’s 10-furlong) distance, I’m confident he can get it.” Shirreffs added, “In the recent Pacific Classic (for which he was the post time favorite), he just didn’t get his trip.”
Hot Rod Charlie – Roadrunner Racing, Bill Strauss, Boat Racing and Gainesway Stable’s popular 3-year-old colt Hot Rod Charlie continued his Breeders’ Cup Classic preparation when leaving Del Mar’s Barn Y at 7:45 a.m. and galloping an easy circuit of the dirt track. The 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up and half-brother to 2019 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Mitole drew post three of nine in the $6 million race and will be ridden by Flavien Prat, who has been aboard for five of his 11 races. Trained by Doug O’Neill, he will seek to be the conditioner’s sixth World Championships winner.
“I think there’s such a long run to the first turn, so any nine of the posts is probably not a big deal, but it’s good that Flavien knows him so well and ‘Charlie’ has good gate speed,” O’Neill said. “He will try to put himself in a good position. It’s nine solid horses and nine solid jockeys, so it’s really all a matter of positioning and I feel good that we can find ourselves a good spot.”
O’Neill seeks his first Classic victory after five losses: Lava Man (2006), Richard’s Kid (2012), Handsome Mike (2012) and Pavel (2017, 2018).
Max Player – George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbred Corp’s Max Player walked the shedrow Tuesday morning, one day after completing his final work in advance of the Classic, and assistant trainer Scott Blasi reported that the horse came out of the half-mile work well.
Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who is seeking his third Classic victory, was scheduled to arrive later Tuesday.
Medina Spirit – Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, conditioned by four-time Classic winner Bob Baffert, was on the track this morning shortly after the renovation break for his daily gallop. The sophomore colt is the co-third choice in the morning line for Saturday’s Classic.
Stilleto Boy – Steve Moger’s Stilleto Boy worked an easy 4f in 52 1/5 under jockey Kent Desormeaux over a fast track Tuesday morning at Del Mar.
Stilleto Boy galloped once around before setting about his work.
“The first time around at the seven-eighths pole he was looking at all the photographers but the second time, he was all business,” Desormeaux said. “It was either going to be 51 or 48 (seconds) and when I got to the quarter pole, I toned him down a bit. I liked what I felt this morning.”
Trainer Ed Moger Jr. was happy with the work.
“He didn’t need to go quick,” Moger said of Stilleto Boy, who had worked a best-of-15 5f at Santa Anita last Wednesday before shipping to Del Mar.
Runner-up to Medina Spirit in the Awesome Again in his most recent start, Stilleto Boy is 30-1 on the morning line for the Classic and will break from post seven.
Triopoli – Pacific Classic winner Tripoli galloped Tuesday morning with assistant trainer Juan Leyva aboard. Trainer John Sadler is expected to drive down from his Santa Anita Park base Thursday.
“We know he likes this track and he likes the distance,” Leyva said. “He’s settled in again here and is doing well. If the race falls apart, he could get a piece of it.”
As Time Goes By/Private Mission – The once-beaten 3YO filly Private Mission and her older stakes-winning stablemate As Time Goes By, the 1-2 finishers in the recent Zenyatta Stakes, were both out for morning gallops on Del Mar’s main track this morning preparing for starts in Saturday’s $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
Blue Stripe (ARG) – Pozo de Luna’s Blue Stripe (ARG) galloped before the morning renovation session with Alex Jimenez aboard for trainer Marcelo Polanco.
Polanco, who had Blue Stripe come to his barn in May from Argentina, had penciled in a work for Tuesday morning but opted for the gallop.
“She has done a lot of training before and she is ready to do anything,” said Polanco of Blue Stripe, whose last work was 1m in 1:42 3/5.
Blue Stripe, who will be making her first start in six months in Saturday’s Distaff, is a half-sister to 2019 Longines Distaff winner Blue Prize (ARG).
Listed at 30-1 on the morning line for the Distaff, Blue Stripe will be ridden by Frankie Dettori.
Clairiere – Stonestreet Farm’s Cotillion winner Clairiere, one of three 3-year-olds in the Distaff field, returned to the track for the first time since working Sunday and jogged once around.
Dunbar Road/Royal Flag – Chad Brown’s Longines Distaff duo of Dunbar Road and Royal Flag each galloped one circuit of the Del Mar dirt track Tuesday morning, leaving Barn DD with their trainer following on foot.
Owned by Peter Brant, Dunbar Road drew post 11 under Jose Ortiz in what will be her career swan song. The 2019 Alabama (G1) winner makes her 16th start and seeks her seventh victory overall. Second last out in the Spinster (G1) at Keeneland to Distaff favorite Letruska, she will look to improve upon a fifth-place finish in 2019 and third-place finish in 2020.
Royal Flag drew post two with Joel Rosario and enters off a career-best effort when winning Belmont’s Beldame Invitational (G2) by 4¼ lengths. Also a 5yo, the daughter of Candy Ride is a homebred of W.S. Farish and seeks her seventh career victory in her 13th start.
“They both are training very well, but both need pace to run at. They need Letruska softened up a bit, but there’s also some other very good horses in there Shedaresthedevil, who is top class,” Brown said. “The race will be interesting with Horologist (post seven) drawn outside of Letruska (post six).
“Dunbar Road has been great and had an outstanding career,” Brown continued. “Unfortunately, we had a couple derailments with some throat issues, but she’s back on track. She was unlucky in this race last year, getting stopped turning for home at the quarter-pole. She would have been right there. She really likes Del Mar’s surface, which is another key with her.”
Horologist – The most experienced horse in the Longines Distaff, Bill Mott-trained Horologist will try to time it out perfectly Saturday when she makes her second start in the 9f affair. Owned by There’s a Chance Stable, Medallion Racing, Abbondanza Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Paradise Farms and David Staudacher, the New Jersey-bred daughter of Gemologist makes her 27th start and fifth in Grade 1 company. She has yet to break through at the top level.
The 30-1 morning line price galloped one circuit of the Del Mar dirt track Tuesday morning. She drew post seven of 11 fillies and mares in the $2 million race. Last year, she was ninth of 10 at 14-1 odds.
“It’s a good race and we’re a big price in there — we know that,” Mott said. “We’re reaching out in a couple spots with horses like (Breeders’ Cup Mile runner) Casa Creed and her. If everything goes well and they have a big day, maybe we can get a piece of it.”
Letruska – St. George Stable’s 8-5 favorite for the Distaff, the 5yo Letruska, schooled at the gate Tuesday and galloped 1 ½ miles at Del Mar.
Trainer Fausto Gutierrez’s first Breeders’ Cup starter has won five consecutive graded stakes, four of the Grade 1 – and was made the 8-5 favorite in the Distaff. Under Irad Ortiz Jr. she will start from post six in the 11-horse field.
Letruska shipped from Keeneland to Del Mar on Oct. 24 and had her final timed work Saturday, 5f in 1:01.20. She walked Sunday, jogged with a pony Monday and resumed galloping Tuesday.
“I think she did it very easily,” Gutierrez said. “The exercise rider was very happy and told me she feels very, very good. That’s what any trainer wants to know about the horse. With the travel, the training, the situations, sometimes you have to be around some problems. Right now, we are in very good form.”
Gutierrez said he might change up her gallops a bit this week, but said she is ready for the Distaff.
“The only point now is that she arrives concentrated and happy,” he said. “We don’t have anything else to do.”
Gutierrez, 54, is a superstar trainer in Mexico, who won 10 consecutive training titles at Hipodromo de Las Americas Racetrack in Mexico City from 2010-19. He said he typically trained 200 horses a year in Mexico. Gutierrez has been training in the U.S. since March 2020 and is based in Florida.
Letruska won the first six starts of her career in Mexico. Since being imported to the U.S. in December 2019, she has a record of 11-1-1 from 16 starts. This year, she has six wins and one second from seven starts and earnings of $1,925,540.
Malathaat – Much was expected of yearling filly to be named Malathaat when Shadwell Stable purchased her for $1,050,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September sale. She has delivered.
With six wins in seven starts and more than $1.5 million in earnings, the 3yo daughter of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin enters the Distaff as a serious contender to Letruska, the 8-5 favorite in the field of 11.
Like her dam, Dreaming of Julia, who also was trained by Todd Pletcher, and her second dam, Dream Rush, Malathaat is a Grade 1 winner. She has the highest-level trifecta for 3yo fillies on her resume: the Ashland, the Kentucky Oaks and the Alabama.
By design, the Distaff will be Malathaat’s first start since her 1 ½-lengths victory in the Alabama, in which she stumbled at the start. Pletcher said that he and her connections have stuck to a careful schedule that began with a perfect record in three starts as a 2yo.
“She won the Ashland and then the Kentucky Oaks, and we gave some thought to running her in the Belmont (Stakes),” Pletcher said. “But we felt like she just lost a little bit of weight during the Ashland and the Oaks campaign. At that point we decided when we weren’t going to run in the Belmont to kind of come up with a plan for the rest of the season. We decided to go to the Coaching Club and Alabama and then not run between the Alabama and the Distaff.
“That's kind of been the plan since May and fortunately everything is going according to plan minus winning the Coaching Club. I think she's trained as well as ever and just seems like she's coming into the race in good shape.”
Malathaat was upset by Maracuja in the Coaching Club American Oaks on July 24 at Saratoga. She was pressed throughout in the four-horse field and was not able to hold off late-running Maracuja at the wire.
Pletcher resumed her timed works on Sept. 18 at Belmont Park and she had seven, including a bullet 5f in 1:01.23 on Friday, before shipping from New York to Del Mar over the weekend.
“We've had a really good schedule with her,” Pletcher said. “She's been breezing terrific, like she always does.”
Pletcher sent Malathaat out for a routine gallop Tuesday morning and said she has settled in well at Del Mar. He was satisfied with her post position.
“She’s (post) three, which hopefully gives her the opportunity to get to the first turn and save a little ground.”
Pletcher has a 2-1-4 record with 20 starters in the Distaff. His winners were Ashado (2004) and Stopchargingmaria (2015). Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has the mount.
Marche Lorraine (JPN) – U. Carrot Farm’s Marche Lorraine galloped on the main track before the morning track renovation session.
Shedaresthedevil – Shedaresthedevil, the winner of Del Mar’s Clement L. Hirsch Stakes in August, had an easy jog Tuesday morning under exercise rider Edvin Vargas, one day after arriving from Kentucky with her six stablemates.
Shedarethedevil and Letruska, the Distaff favorite, have each beaten the other once this year and Cox believes his filly would be worthy of championship honors should she top her rival once again. Shedaresthedevil easily bested Letruska in the Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn in March, but had to settle for third when the two met in the Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont in June.
“I don’t have a vote, but I’d think (Shedaresthedevil) would be the champion if she wins the Distaff,” Cox said. “It would be her third Grade 1 this year and she would have beaten Letruska twice.”
DIRT MILE
Ginobili – Ginobili will be the last horse to arrive for this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships when the 4yo son of Munnings makes the short commute from the San Luis Rey Training Center this morning. The impressive winner of the “Win and You’re In” Pat O’Brien Handicap has done all his training at the nearby facility for trainer Richard Baltas, who explained, “He’s run two huge races off his conditioning there, so I don’t want to change a thing. Don’t call it superstition, though, it’s intelligence—and experience.” He’s passed all the tests so far, winning at one mile, followed by the O’Brien at seven furlongs, and is coming into this race fresh. I’ve always thought a lot of this horse.”
Ginobili completed his final preparations last Saturday with a 5f drill timed in 1:00 4/5.
Life Is Good – With four wins and a narrow second in five lifetime starts, Life Is Good is one of the highest-profile horses in the 38th Breeders’ Cup. He will have an opportunity to add to his already substantial reputation Saturday as the 4-5 favorite in the Dirt Mile, which has a field of eight horses. Only Gamine, at 3-5 in the Filly and Mare Sprint, has lower odds on the morning line.
WinStar Farm and China Horse Club purchased the Into Mischief colt for $525,000 as a yearling in 2019 and sent him to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in California. He emerged as a top Triple Crown prospect with wins in the Sham and the San Felipe at Santa Anita Park, but went to the sidelines on March 20 with an ankle chip in his left hind leg. The chip was removed by surgery.
In June, Life Is Good was transferred to the care of trainer Todd Pletcher in New York. He returned to the races at Saratoga where his unbeaten record ended at three at the Graveyard of Favorites when he was beaten a neck in the 7f Allen Jerkens Memorial on Aug 28. Life is Good answered that loss with a dominating 5 ½-length victory at odds of 1-20 in the mile Kelso Handicap Sept. 25 at Belmont Park.
“He’s a super-talented horse,” Pletcher said. “He's shown that all of these races and he always breezes very impressively. He appears to be very talented and fast. Hopefully he has the ability to continue to carry that speed over route a ground.”
Even though Life Is Good easily dispatched the competition in the four-horse Kelso, Pletcher said he and the connections did not flirt with the possibility of sending him to the 1 ¼ miles $6 million Classic.
“We've pretty much been focused on the Dirt Mile,” Pletcher said. “We just felt like, considering that he missed a good portion of the middle part of the year, that we were giving up too much recency and seasoning to be ready to fire his best shot in the Classic. We have confidence that the horse will handle more distance in the future, but we just felt like for right now the Dirt Mile is the correct spot.”
Life Is Good shipped from New York on Sunday. Pletcher said Life Is Good and his other horses have settled in well at Del Mar. He galloped Tuesday morning and Pletcher said he got over the track well.
Monday afternoon, Life Is Good drew post five in the Dirt Mile, a spot that Pletcher said was fine for him.
“He’s pretty much in the middle,” Pletcher said. “We’ll just play it off the break.”
Pletcher has started five horses in the Dirt Mile and has a record of 1-1-1. His winner was Liam’s Map in 20 15.
Irad Ortiz Jr., who won the 2019 Dirt Mile on Spun to Run, will ride.
FILLY & MARE SPRINT
Bella Sofia – Proving again the adage that horses can come from anywhere, Bella Sofia, a $20,000 purchase as a 2yo, has won four of five career starts and is the 5-2 second choice behind champion Gamine in the $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint.
As the daughter of Awesome Patriot, who stands for $2,500, she doesn’t have the pedigree pizzazz of some of the competition she will face, but she has speed and has a resume that shows she knows how to win.
Rudy Rodriquez has developed Bella Sofia for the group of nine partners. She has given Rodriguez, a New York stalwart, his first graded stakes victories in four years. Her 4 ½-length victory in the Test at Saratoga in August brought Rodriquez to tears and his eyes were wet Tuesday morning at the mention of that important 7f race for 3yo fillies.
From the beginning, Bella Sofia has been a challenge for Rodriguez and his staff. Since all of her races have been at Belmont and Saratoga, he brought her to California two weeks before the race to give her time to acclimate to the new surroundings.
“She’s a kind of quirky filly, not nervous,” Rodriguez said. “I think she just hears everything. Every little thing that she hears she just reacts very, very fast. Most of the time you’ve just got to be careful with her. We were jogging around, there was the sound of hitting something with a hammer and right away she started jumping all over the place. Nobody was behind her. You’ve just got to be alert and that’s what we try to do.”
After she won the Gallant Bloom on Sept. 26, beating older horses in a graded stake, the owner opted to supplement her to the Breeders’ Cup for $100,000.
“They said we’re going,” Rodriguez said. “I’m just happy to be here. I know it’s a lot of money, but more people have gotten into the group on the filly. They like the game.”
Bella Sofia, who is out of Love Contract by Consolidator, was sold in July 2020 at the OBS Horses of Racing Age sale. She was part of a package of seven horses that Rodriguez said cost about $500,000. So far, she is the star of the group – and his barn, too, Rodriquez said – with $542,600 in earnings.
On May 6 at Belmont at odds of 8-1, Bella Sofia broke her maiden at 6f by 11 ¼ lengths.
“She showed that she was more than just a horse,” Rodriquez said.
SPRINT
Dr. Schivel – Dr. Schivel, the alias name of the villainous character Mr. Freeze from the iconic Batman series, was on the track in the early hours this morning, well before the break, galloping 1 1/4m under regular exercise rider Jorge Loza. The sophomore colt has reeled off five successive victories, the past three for trainer Mark Glatt. Glatt took over training of the horse as the result of an ownership change prior to his victory in the Del Mar Futurity.
“It’s difficult to get a Grade 1 winner, then inform the owners we should stop on him. But I felt it was in the horse’s best interest to give him plenty of time to develop and to get over some minor things,” Glatt said. “So far, that decision has seemed like the right one.”
Dr. Schivel, unbeaten in all three of his Del Mar starts, is the second choice in the morning line at 4-1 for the 6f dash.
JUVENILE FILLIES
Ain’t Easy – Unbeaten stakes winner Ain’t Easy, one of the early prerace favorites for Friday’s $2 million NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, will have surgery on her left ankle Wednesday after X-rays Monday showed a tiny chip. Trainer Phil D’Amato termed the procedure “a simple one, with an expected quick recovery.” Dr. Ryan Carpenter will perform the surgery.
The daughter of leading sire Into Mischief had some heat on her ankle following a gallop over the main track Monday. “She had worked on Saturday and came out of it fine, then walked on Sunday and was doing well,” D’Amato said. “It was a difficult call to make (to her owners), but we had to do the right thing for the horse.”
Foreign Horse Report
A busy morning on the Del Mar main track with all international horses training except Quick Suzy (IRE) who was not entered Monday for her intended run in the Juvenile Turf Sprint because of a spike in temperature.
Teona (IRE) (Turf) was the first European horse out on track who did some light exercise. She looked in very good form. The next group out were Audarya (FR) (Filly & Mare Turf) and Cachet (IRE) (Juvenile Fillies Turf) who both have taken the eye since landing in Del Mar.
The six Charlie Appleby-trained horses were on the track for the first time since clearing quarantine and exercised under the watchful eye of Appleby.
All horses looked in tremendous condition and reports from the Godolphin team have been very positive on all horses since touching down in California.
Kevin Ryan landed last night and was on track to watch both of his Turf Sprint contenders. Glass Slippers (GB) will be bidding to follow up her win in the race last year. She was ridden this morning by race day jockey Tom Eaves.
Eaves said, “It’s great to be at the Breeders' Cup again. I sat on Glass Slippers for a light canter and she felt great. I just tracked Emaraaty Ana (GB) for a circuit and it went well. She’s a superb filly and I’m really looking forward to the race on Saturday.”
Andrea Atzeni who takes the ride on Emaraaty Ana (GB) on Saturday was trackside to watch him exercise and said, “I’m going to ride Emaraaty Ana (GB) on the track tomorrow. It was great to see him exercise and he looked in great form. I’ve got a lovely draw on Saturday in gate two so hopefully we get a bit of luck in running and he runs a big race.”
Oisin Murphy, who was recently crowned champion jockey in the UK for the third consecutive year, rode exercise on Marche Lorraine (JPN) (Distaff) just before 7 a.m. They did a strong canter and exercise looked to go well.
Murphy said, “She’s a nice horse and felt good. I’m very much looking forward to taking the ride. It’s great to be in Del Mar and I’ve a few nice rides over the weekend. I will ride Hierarchy (IRE) (Juvenile Turf Sprint) tomorrow morning and I’m hoping to have a spin on Mise En Scene (GB) (Juvenile Fillies Turf) at some point before Friday as well.”
Today was the first sighting of the Ballydoyle horses on track having completed their quarantine requirements. Aidan O’Brien has a team of seven horses who went out on track together led by Broome (IRE) (Turf) ridden by Dean Gallagher. The string was accompanied by a pony ridden by Rachel Richardson. They had a trot for a circuit of the track followed by a light canter. Bolshoi Ballet (IRE) (Turf) who sat third in the string looked in particularly good form having some playful bucks during his canter down the backstretch.
Michael Bell was another British trainer to be trackside to watch Great Max (IRE) (Juvenile Turf) have a canter in the hands of regular work rider Joe Bradnam. Great Max (IRE) had a good look around his surroundings during exercise but seemed in good order.
Bell said, “It's tremendous to be back over for the Breeders' Cup. It is an amazing race meeting and I’m delighted to be part of it with Great Max. Joe Bradnam seems happy with him so it's all systems go.”
Connections of Rougir (FR) (Filly & Mare Turf) were trackside having made the trip over from France. The same connections recently won the Champion’s Stakes at Ascot and will be hoping for more Grade 1 glory on Saturday. Trainer Cedric Rossi reported his filly to be “in great form.”
Irish trainer Paddy Twomey was overseeing the training of his filly Pearls Galore (FR) (Mile).
Twomey said, “Pearls Galore traveled over well, she’s settled into the routine here lovely and enjoying the training. She’s cantered on the track the last two days, everything has gone well, we’re looking forward to Saturday. Del Mar is a lovely track, the turf will be quick and it’ll suit her. She’s nibble, neat and tidy and I think she’ll deal with the demands of the track very well on the day.”
Matera Sky (Sprint) and Jasper Great (Juvenile) were two of the final international horses to go out for exercise. They had a canter and returned to the quarantine barn via the paddock. They took everything in their stride and looked very relaxed.
TURF
Gufo – Otter Bend Stables has made it to the Turf with its first and only runner, Gufo, a homebred son of Declaration of War colt who never has been worse than third in 13 career starts.
For owner and co-breeder Stephen Cainelli, it is something of a “how do you top this?” situation. Winning the $4 million Turf certainly would elevate the already engaging story to another level and give veteran trainer Christophe Clement his first Breeders’ Cup victory.
Gufo earned his berth in the Turf with a victory by a neck over Japan in the Sword Dancer a “Win and You’re In” race on Aug. 28 at Saratoga Race Course. In his most recent start, he was third in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on Oct. 9 at Belmont Park. He shipped from New York to Del Mar Sunday with his three Clement stablemates headed to Breeders’ Cup races.
“He had a very good day of training this morning,” said Christophe Lorieul, Clement’s assistant for 27 years. “He galloped an easy mile. He was very willing, very forward but within himself. I really liked the way he went this morning.”
Gufo and regular rider Joel Rosario drew post 11 in the 14-horse Turf and is 8-1 on the morning line.
“It’s not great, but it’s a mile and a half and he’s got time to try to tuck him and try to save some ground,” Lorieul said. “Obviously, on the turf going a mile and a half that’s what you want. It’s not ideal, but that’s why Joel Rosario gets paid the big bucks.”
MILE
Mo Forza — Bardy Farm and OG Boss’s seven-time graded stakes winner Mo Forza is on a mission to make up for lost opportunities in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile. Last year, on the back of two strong victories in the Del Mar Mile and City of Hope Mile, the son of Uncle Mo was one of the favorites for the Mile before injury derailed the Peter Miller trainee’s preparation. This season, the 5yo winner of the 2019 Hollywood Derby returns to the same Del Mar surface as that triumph for his redemption attempt.
“He’s training really great,” Miller said. “Today we gave him about a mile and a half jog and schooled him in the gate and then schooled him in the paddock.”
Mo Forza, who eclipsed $1 million in prize money by winning the same two preps this season, drew post six in the 14-horse field and could be making his final career start.
“I like the post,” Miller said. “I think there’s plenty of pace and it should string everyone out. We should be sitting midpack, but there’s no real strategy other than to hope for a good trip. Del Mar takes a certain kind of horse who can handle the turns, the short stretch and the firm going — and if you have that horse, you’re in good shape here.”
Flavien Prat, who has piloted Mo Forza through the four-race win streak he carries into the Mile, returns to the saddle Saturday.
TURF SPRINT
Gear Jockey – Calumet Farm’s homebred Gear Jockey, the 5-1 co-second choice for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, jogged once around under exercise rider Lyndsay Delello for trainer Rusty Arnold.
“He shipped well with no issues,” Arnold said of Gear Jockey, who arrived at Del Mar late Monday night from Kentucky.
Third as a maiden in the Juvenile Turf at the 2019 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, Gear Jockey will break from post 10 under Jose Lezcano in Saturday’s race.