Breeders' Cup Classic Looks Like Tough Race

[TheGeneral+]

The $4 million Classic is the richest race on a lucrative Breeders' Cup card, and trainer Nick Zito sees this year's version shaping up as very tough.

Even without retired Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones, the 13-horse field has some familiar names bidding for a victory that could bolster their credentials for Horse of the Year honors.

Saturday's race got a surprise entrant in Azeri, the 2002 Horse of the Year who will try again to beat the boys for the first time. The mare would have been the favorite in the $2 million Distaff, but trainer D. Wayne Lukas gave up an expected easy victory for a chance to make history.

Reflecting Azeri's challenge, she was 15-1 on the morning line in the 1 1/4-mile race at Lone Star Park.

"A lot of times you got to keep your mouth shut because you never know what can happen," said Zito, who will saddle Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone. "Azeri will probably show a lot more speed than usual."

Pleasantly Perfect was made the 5-2 morning-line favorite when post positions were drawn Wednesday. He won the Dubai World Cup and the Pacific Classic this year.

A year ago, trainer Richard Mandella won four Breeders' Cup races, capping the day with Pleasantly Perfect's Classic victory.

"If he wins Saturday, I'd have the time to digest it, appreciate it and see it," Mandella said. "Last year it happened so fast, one right after another."

Ghostzapper, trained by Bobby Frankel, was the 3-1 second choice. Roses in May was the 5-1 third choice. Birdstone and Funny Cide, last year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, were at 6-1.

"I was grateful and flattered," Zito said about his horse's odds. "It's a very tough race."

Funny Cide, a national fan favorite last year, earned a comeback win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park earlier this month. But the gelding has had several stumbles since nearly winning the Triple Crown 16 months ago - including a next-to-last finish in the 2003 Classic at Santa Anita.

What would a Classic victory mean?

"Vindication," said Robin Smullen, assistant to trainer Barclay Tagg. "A lot of people, even after the Jockey Club Gold Cup, have written him off as not a Grade 1 horse. Funny is good right now. He's better than he was before the (2003) Preakness."

Roses in May has won all five of his starts this year. Ghostzapper has gone 3-for-3 after winning the Woodward Stakes.

Owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey are in position to have a big day Saturday. Besides Roses in May, they own morning-line favorites Kitten's Joy (Turf) and Nothing to Lose (Mile).

"All three are coming up to the races in super condition," Ken Ramsey said. "We're coming in with no excuses."

Kitten's Joy has won eight of 11 career starts, including three in a row. He defeated Magistretti, the third choice in the Turf, by 2 1/2 lengths on a yielding turf course at Belmont in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic this month.

Nothing to Lose is coming off two consecutive victories and has six wins in 13 career starts.

Bob Baffert trains 8-5 Juvenile favorite Roman Ruler, who has won three of four career starts. The $1.5 million race for 2-year-olds has just eight horses; no Juvenile winner has gone on to win the Kentucky Derby. Champagne Stakes winner Proud Accolade was the 5-2 second choice.

A total of 92 horses were entered, with Corey Nakatani, Edgar Prado and John Velazquez having mounts in all eight races.

The other morning-line favorites were Ashado, 7-2 in the $2 million Distaff; Sweet Catomine, 5-2 in the $1 million Juvenile Fillies; Speightstown, 3-1 in the $1 million Sprint; and Ouija Board, 8-5 in the $1 million Filly & Mare Turf.

http://www.mercurynews.com
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[_wheredatreezat]

Funny CIde will prevail...


Anyone have the current odds? I don't even know who is racing. Count Azeri out, she can't win.

 

[UWinSports]

Ghostzapper wins the race

 

[TheGeneral+]

Funny things happen when a horse knocks on the door to racing history and can't get through.

Smarty Jones, this year's near-Triple Crown winner, is retired to a career as a stallion.

His jockey, Toronto-born Stew Elliott, doesn't have a mount in any of tomorrow's eight Breeders' Cup races.

The story, as fetching as it was in the spring, is rapidly becoming yesterday's news.

However, there is another Kentucky Derby and Preakness champion here at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Tex. And the tale of Funny Cide is making a compelling rerun in the buildup for the $4- million Classic, the clear showpiece of Cup Day.

Some of the sheen from Funny Cide's coat had worn off in the past 16 months since he was denied the Crown with a loss in the Belmont Stakes.

Then there was the debacle of last year's Classic where he finished ninth, beaten by fifteen lengths. And a three-race losing streak in mid-summer.

Along the way Funny Cide lost some fans and some of his reputation until he burst through with a victory in the $1-million Jockey Club Gold Cup in his previous start.

A year older and carrying more muscle, the chestnut gelding is bigger and maybe even better. He certainly looked the part yesterday when he was paraded in the Lone Star paddock not long after arriving from New York.

"The expectations just get so high when you have a horse that wins the Derby and in this case a horse that had a shot to win the Triple Crown," said Jack Knowlton, the managing partner of the Sacketoga Stable, which owns Funny Cide. "Every time you go out on the racetrack you are supposed to win.

"You just don't see that many horses that run that well in the Triple Crown come back. A lot of that is for breeding, but a lot of that is for soundness reasons. This guy shows up every time and runs hard every time."

Funny Cide has a chance to recapture the magic because he is a gelding. No lucrative stud deals and life of love and leisure await. He may still have plenty of earning power, but it has to come on the track.

Prior to Smarty Jones being denied the Crown by Birdstone in the Belmont Stakes this spring, Funny Cide was racing's hot little-guy-makes-it-big story.

From tiny Sacket's Harbor, N.Y., on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario, the horse's owners were a bunch of high school chums who ponied up some cash and hit it big.

They were a curious oddity at the Derby, travelling to historic Churchill Downs in a yellow school bus rather than limos and drinking beer rather than champagne in celebration.

He became the first New York-bred winner in the history of the Run for the Roses, a bit of business that didn't sit well in all corners of the Bluegrass State.

After winning the first two jewels of the Triple Crown, those fun-loving owners were feted with a parade in their hometown and a local brew pub created and began selling Funny Cide Ale.

After some time away from the spotlight, however, interest began to fade. And along came Smarty Jones to replace him for the 2004 Crown.

Listed at 6-1 in the morning line, tomorrow Funny Cide will attempt to become the first Derby winner to capture the Classic since Unbridled in 1990.

"Funny Cide is doing better than he ever has in his life," trainer Barclay Tagg said. "What I'm saying is the truth. All I tell is the truth."

Whether Funny Cide has enough to prevail may well be another story. This year's Classic is one of the most contentious in years.

There is defending champion Pleasantly Perfect from California. Canadian Frank Stronach has Ghostzapper, a horse that has been iron-tough in New York and is unbeaten this year. Then there is fab filly Azeri and this year's Belmont winner, Birdstone.

"He needs to improve to win it," Ghostzapper's trainer Bobby Frankel said of Funny Cide. "I mean he has a shot, but he still needs to improve off of that last race."

Tagg certainly believes he's capable, saying his horse is in his best shape since a monster 9 3/4-length win in the Preakness.

All involved want to toss the result of last year's Classic in the manure pile behind the barn. Funny Cide was shipped to California and made his first start in 83 days. The scorching 37C heat and poor air quality also factored heavily in the poor effort.

"That whole trip was a nightmare for him," Tagg's assistant, Robin Smullen, said. "The heat, the air, Funny just wasn't himself.

"He is now, though, and this is a chance for vindication. A lot of people thought he shouldn't have raced last year. This is his chance to prove he belongs with these horses."

Tomorrow, when regular jockey Jose Santos hops on his back, odds are the racing world will get a look at the real Funny Cide, the one they fell in love with not so long ago.

"As an owner, particularly owners like us," Knowlton said, "having a chance to be in the biggest race in America other than the Derby ... it's an experience of a lifetime."

http://slam.canoe.ca

 

[VaultedTreehouse]

I'm telling you General that Birdstone will run big in here.

 

[TheGeneral+]

I don't doubt Birdstone. I played the colt in the travers and will look at hard later today as a selection tomorrow.

 

[VaultedTreehouse]

Gen.


Also take a big look at Champali in the Sprint. He is drawn perfectly to sit off the pace and pounce. Plus Bejarano is riding better than almost anyone right now with the exception of John V.

 

[Labeeb]

Gen.


Plus Bejarano is riding better than almost anyone right now with the exception of John V.

Right now I'd take Prado over either of them. Bejarano is a star in the making. His patience is unbelievable. As for Johnny V., he's a hell of a rider but get a TON of live mounts a la Bailey from 1995-2000. Prado has won with all sorts this year. Sprint, route, dirt, turf, on the lead, stalking, closing. He's done it all. If I had a horse in the Classic and could choose one jockey it would be Prado. Oddly enough Velasquez and Bejarano could be 2 and 3.

 

[TheGeneral+]

Pleasantly Perfect tries to repeat as Breeders' Cup Classic winner

There's more at stake for Pleasantly Perfect in the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic than trying to repeat last year's victory. If he wins, he could be named Horse of the Year and the champion older horse.

Tiznow in 2000 and '01 is the only horse to successfully defend in the Classic since the Breeders' Cup began 20 years ago. Saturday's eight races worth more than $14 million represent the event's first visit to Lone Star Park.

Pleasantly Perfect was the 5-2 early favorite against 12 rivals, including Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone, last year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide, and Ghostzapper and Roses in May, both undefeated this year.

The 1\-mile Classic has been lauded as the best field in the event's 20-year history, and five horses besides Pleasantly Perfect could cinch Horse of the Year honors with a win.

"The Classic is a phenomenal race," said Bob Baffert, whose only entrant this year is Roman Ruler in the Juvenile. "Pleasantly Perfect is definitely the best horse in the race. (Richard) Mandella should have been bragging on his horse a lot more."

But that's not Mandella's style, even after winning a record four Cup races last year at Santa Anita.

"It still feels like it never happened," he said.

Pleasantly Perfect came into the Breeders' Cup off a 69-day layoff, not having run since winning the Pacific Classic in August at Del Mar. But he was off nearly 60 days after winning the Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race.

"To do what this horse has done requires a special horse," Mandella said.

Pleasantly Perfect could be a sentimental choice, too. He is owned by Dallas banker Gerald Ford and will be ridden by Dallas native Jerry Bailey.

"It's special," Ford said. "But it does create a lot of pressure. I won't be able to bask in the anonymity of Santa Anita."

Regardless of what happens Saturday, Mandella's plan is to run Pleasantly Perfect in the Japan Cup in November. The horse will be retired to stud next year.

The Classic took an interesting turn when D. Wayne Lukas entered Azeri, the 2002 Horse of the Year. The mare would have been the favorite to win the Distaff for a second time.

"I'm always pumped, but this is special," Lukas said. "It's the marquee event of the year, along with the Derby, and Azeri adds another dimension to go over there and try to do something unprecedented."

Azeri, with 17 wins in 23 career races, will attempt to become the first female to win the Classic. Two others have tried: Triptych was sixth in 1986; Jolypha was third in 1992.

"She has beaten all the top fillies and mares," said Azeri's owner, Michael Paulson, "and part of the challenge of sport is to scale that next mountain."

Bobby Frankel, who trains Ghostzapper, disagreed with Azeri's placement in the Classic.

The only way she would win, he said, was if "the gates don't open for the rest of the horses."

Coming off a 63-day layoff was Birdstone, who spoiled Smarty Jones' Triple Crown bid in the Belmont. He also won the Travers at Saratoga, making him a Horse of the Year candidate if he would win.

"This is a long shot. This isn't easy," trainer Nick Zito said. "When you do hard things, you have to get credit."

Fan favorite Funny Cide, who was next-to-last in the 2003 Classic, rejuvenated his chances with a comeback victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup this month.

"He's better than he was before," assistant trainer Robin Smullen said.

Besides Ghostzapper, Roses in May also is undefeated this year. He is one of three solid Breeders' Cup contenders owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

The rest of the Classic field is: Freefourinternet, Perfect Drift, Fantasticat, Personal Rush, Newfoundland, Bowman's Band and Dynever.

Baffert's sole hopes rested with Roman Ruler, who was to take on seven rivals in the $1.5 million Juvenile. The winner is tagged as the winter Kentucky Derby favorite.

The Ramseys also own Kitten's Joy, who was the early favorite to end a run of six straight victories by European horses in the $2 million Turf. The 3-year-old colt has won six of seven races this year.

In the $1.5 million Turf, defending champion Six Perfections faced 13 rivals.
Without Azeri, the $2 million Distaff featured Storm Flag Flying in the final race of her career. She won the 2002 Juvenile Fillies.

http://sfgate.com<!-- END STORY -->

 

[trytrytry]

FREEFOURINTERNET in a shocker

GhostZapper also to win

Two win tickets......

 

[TheGeneral+]

Thanks Try


Good luck today