Greg Wood's day one report from Santa Anita
Europe’s challenge for the three juvenile turf races on the first day of this year’s Breeders’ Cup meeting came up well short here on Friday, as only Daahyeh, in Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, managed even to make the frame. Arizona and Albigna, well backed for the Juvenile Turf and Juvenile Fillies’ Turf respectively, both finished unplaced without ever threatening to land a serious blow.
The first race of the meeting, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, set the tone for the day as a six-strong raiding party – half of the field – could manage no better than a fifth-place finish for Tom Dascombe’s Dr Simpson, as Four Wheel Drive won it from the front.
Wesley Ward’s colt did what the trainer’s horses do best, breaking with lightning speed from stall nine and quickly getting to the lead under Irad Ortiz jnr. A’Ali, with Frankie Dettori in the saddle, was held up towards the rear from a wide draw and could not get into contention as the suitably-named Four Wheel Drive flew around the tight home turn at high speed as if he was attached to a rail. He kicked again from there to finish three-quarters of a length in front of Chimney Rock with Another Miracle in third.
It was a similar story in the Juvenile Turf, as Arizona, the runner-up in the Dewhurst Stakes, was slowly away from stall 12 and then settled at the tail of the field by Ryan Moore. He made a spirited attempt to make ground in the stretch and eventually finished fifth, but the damage had already been done. Structor, who had launched his challenge from a much better position, ran on well to beat two big outsiders, Billy Batts and Gear Jockey.
Sharing, whose trainer, Graham Motion, grew up on a stud farm in Newmarket, completed the sweep for US-trained horses in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, although Daahyeh, the winner of the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, was staying on strongly through the final furlong and got to within a length and a quarter of the winner.
There was a huge shock at the end of the card as big outsiders filled the first three places in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Dennis’ Moment, the hot favourite, lost all chance with a bad stumble just a stride into the race, and his main market rival Eight Rings could not take advantage as Storm The Court (45-1) made most of the running to beat Anneau D’Or (25-1) and Wrecking Crew (35-1).
Updated
Many thousands of stunned punters are heading away from Santa Anita after that shock result in the Juvenile, but many thousands more will be back here tomorrow for the main card, and nine Breeders’ Cup races in all.
I’ll be back in my blogging chair from around 18.00GMT tomorrow and I hope you’ll join me as Anthony Van Dyck, Old Persian, Circus Maximus and more go hunting for the glory of a Breeders’ Cup victory. This is Greg Wood at Santa Anita, signing off.
Storm The Court was 45-1, Anneau D’Or was 25-1 and Wrecking Crew was 35-1. It’s safe to say that absolutely no-one saw this one coming.
Or did they? Having predicted a record-breaking Trifecta, it actually seems to have paid at around 3930-1, which is chunky but still well below what many here would have expected in the circumstances. “Did someone miss off a zero?”, as somebody put it.
Outsiders filled the first three places! Dennis’ Moment was a hopeless cause from the moment he stumbled out of the stalls. Eight Rings was not far off the pace but faded rapidly in the stretch, while Scabbard ran on to finish fourth. The trifecta here is going to be mind-blowing.
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE RESULT:
1 STORM THE COURT, 2 Anneau D’Or, 3 Wrecking Crew. Wow.
Updated
Dennis Moment still last, here comes Anneau D’Or to challenge STorm The Court, it’s a real boilover in the Juvenile
the favourite stumbled badly early, now last as storm the court leads from Eight Rings
Nightmare start for Dennis Moment as he misses the break!
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile!
Even money now for Dennis’ Moment, and it’s almost post time for the Juvenile.
Dennis’ Moment is currently the first odds-on favourite of the day in the Breeders’ Cup events, showing at 4-5 on the tote. Eight Rings is 9-5 and Scabbard is 9-2. The shortest price about any of the rest is 22-1, so it will be one of the big three or a monster upset.
The only other runner in today’s race at a single-figure price is Scabbard, who was just under two lengths behind Dennis’ Moment in the Iroquois. As the video shows, though, the bare form does not give anything like enough credit to Dennis’ Moment, who was pretty much coasting through the final furlong.
Eight Rings, meanwhile, has been doing his racing on the west coast. He took the Grade 1 American Pharoah here at Santa Anita last time and did so with authority in the end, though he did drift away from the rail a couple of times in the straight.
The feature race on the card is the fifth and final Breeders’ Cup race today, the Juvenile. The field was reduced in quality when Maxfield was scratched earlier in the week, but the anticipated head-to-head between Dennis’ Moment and Eight Rings promises to be one to savour.
I’m not sure that his name would find favour with the apostrophe police, but that won’t matter if he delivers the goods. Here’s Dennis’ Moment winning the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Sharing may not be European-trained but she is at least trained by a European. Sort of. Graham Motion, who was born in Cambridge and grew up in Newmarket, has just trained the fourth Breeders’ Cup winner of his career.
Daahyeh, in second, and Albigna, who was fourth, both finished fast from off the pace. But it was too late to get to Sharing, who completes a 3-0 win for US-trained horses in today’s three turf events.
BREEDERS CUP JUVENILE FILLIES' TURF RESULT:
1 SHARING, 2. Daahyeh, 3. Sweet Melania.
Sweet Melania in front, here comes Sharing, and Sharing wins it!
Etoile is fourth, Daahyeh well back, into the stretch
Abscond leads down the back
Frankie got out on Etoile but he’s four wide at the turn, Albigna has only one behind.
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf!
The locals prefer Daahyeh to Albigna, perhaps on account of her lower draw in five, and she is 7-2 favourite. Jessica Harrington, though, said earlier in the week that she was really pleased to draw nine as it will keep Albigna out of trouble. Not long now to find out who is right ...
To stand any chance at all, Frankie will need to be away from the stalls with a lot more alacrity than Ryan Moore on Arizona earlier on. And even if he is, there’s still every chance he will be four or five wide at the first turn. He’s a jockey, not a miracle-worker, though a win here might suggest that he really does have supernatural powers.
British Idiom, by the way, is the third consecutive unbeaten winner on today’s Breeders’ Cup card.
They are now out on the track for the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf. Etoile will be a rare Aidan O’Brien-trained ride for Frankie Dettori here, but he was distinctly unimpressed by her draw in stall 14 of 14 and even the Frankie Factor can’t get her any shorter than 24-1 on the local tote.
A quick Google search on whether Sweet Melania is named after America’s First Lady has proved inconclusive.
The home team, meanwhile, is led by Todd Pletcher’s Sweet Melania, who took the Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland:
And if Albigna doesn’t win, then maybe Roger Varian’s Daahyeh will. She took the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot back in June:
Here’s Albigna winning the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp last time out:
Last chance saloon for the Europeans coming up after a wipeout in the two turf races so far. The impressive Albigna heads the betting for the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, attempting to give Jessica Harrington a winner with her first Breeders’ Cup runner. She pulled off the same trick with Sizing John in the Cheltenham Gold Cup a couple of years ago and it would be a life for the visitors after a difficult time of it so far.
Here’s the connections of British Idiom celebrating the win:
A gritty, determined performance by British Idiom, who started at 5-2. She was slightly outpaced on the turn for home as Donna Veloce made her move and grabbed the lead, but there was an impressive relentlessness about the way she ground out the win, getting up in the final strides.
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE FILLIES RESULT:
1 BRITISH IDIOM, 2 Donna Veloce, 3 Bast.
Updated
Driving for the wire, it’s British Idiom just in front, edging out Donna Veloce
British Idiom laying down a challenge
Wicked Whisper and Bast go on, turning for home
Two Sixty leads, from Bast and Wicked Whisper
Off and running in the Juvenile Fillies!
Approaching the gates, it’s post time for the Juvenile Fillies’.
As for Donna Veloce, the fourth member of the quarter, I’m struggling for a YouTube at the moment but I’ll keep looking. She’s just joined British Idiom at the top of the betting, they are both showing at 5-2 with Wicked Whisper on 3-1 and Bast at 4-1.
And Wicked Whisper has to have a big chance on the back of her win in the Grade 1 Frizette:
Bast has plenty of supporters too, this is a Grade 1 at Del Mar:
We are on to the dirt for the next Breeders’ Cup event, the Juvenile Fillies’. Four runners dominate the betting, which is headed by British Idiom at 3-1. Here she is in action, winning the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes:
Certainly no reason to be writing off Arizona after this. The last two Derby winners have been beaten in the Juvenile Turf.
Here’s the replay of the Juvenile Turf Sprint on the Breeders’ Cup Twitter feed:
REPLAY: FOUR WHEEL DRIVE kicks off #FutureStarsFriday with victory in the Juvenile Turf Sprint at @SantaAnitaPark! 🌟@coolmorestud @iradortiz pic.twitter.com/cc6bU0TU6w
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 1, 2019
As for Arizona, he finished well from a hopeless position after his slow start. He had every opponent in front of him going into the back stretch and did quite well under the circumstances to finish fifth. Not that that will be much consolation to his back.
A huge sigh of relief from the punters as Structor keeps the race. The runner-up and third were both big outsiders at 50-1 and 60-1, while Structor had far more support at around 5-1.
RESULT STANDS!
There was all sorts of drama and scrimmaging on the turn into the stretch and Structor was hard against the rail turning in. He tightened up Peace Achieved on his outside as Jose Ortiz tried to find running room.
INQUIRY KLAXON!
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE TURF RESULT:
1 STRUCTOR, 2 Billy Batts, 3 Gear Jockey. But ...
Structor finishing well, he’s going to get there as the front-runners fade ...
Updated
Graceful Kitten leads, Arizona still towards the rear.
Arizona dawdled in the stalls, one off the rail going into the first turn.
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf!
Arizona is showing as 2-1 here, with Decorated Invader at 5-2. Over to you, Ryan Moore.
Getting close to the off in the Juvenile Turf, and Arizona is now favourite with the local punters.
Chad Brown’s Structor could also be a big player here. He took the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont in September.
And this is Decorated Invader guaranteeing a place in today’s field with a win-and-you’re-in success in the Summer Stakes at Woodbine.
Here’s Arizona finishing behind Pinatubo in the Dewhurst:
Next up here is the Juvenile Turf, which poses another draw-based dilemma for a fancied European runner. Arizona is miles clear of the field on ratings, having chased home the brilliant Pinatubo last time. But stall 12 is a horrible place to be and he is only joint-favourite here at the moment with Christophe Clement’s Decorated Invader.
It looked like a bit of a present for the Europeans when the Turf Sprint was added to the main Breeders’ Cup card, but the home team are now two-nil up and So Perfect last year is the only Euro to even make the frame.
The draw did the visitors no favours, but Four Wheel Drive showed so much early speed that he would still have won from nine regardless. Unless you can match the pace and running style of Ward’s juveniles, this is going to be a much tougher race to win than many had hoped.
Four Wheel Drive paid $5.00 to $2.00 on the tote, which is 6-4. The punters got it right.
That was a very chastening experience for the Europeans. A’Ali never threatened to figure from stall 10 and it all happened way too fast for most of them. Four Wheel Drive trapped like a greyhound and never looked likely to come back to his field. Tom Dascombe’s Dr Simpson, with Richard Kingscote aboard, was best of the visitors in fifth.
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE TURF SPRINT RESULT:
1 FOUR WHEEL DRIVE, 2 Chimney Rock, 3 Another Miracle
All over, Four Wheel Drive scarcely saw another rival.
Turning in, it’s Four Wheel Drive still in front
Four Wheel Drive is on the lead, Frankie was slow away on A’Ali and has one behind him
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint!
The market has moved slightly towards Four Wheel Drive. He is the 9-5 favourite, with Kimari on 5-2 and A’Ali 9-2.
The runners are out on the track for the Juvenile Turf Sprint and Breeders’ Cup 2019 will be underway in 10 minutes. Kimari is slightly on her toes but otherwise they all look undaunted by their Santa Anita experience so far.
As has been pointed out on Twitter, Wesley Ward does have a third runner in this race, though a draw in 12 of 12 is likely to give the splendidly-named Tyler Gaffalione even more problems on the filly Cambria than Frankie will have on A’Ali. But here she is in her last race at Kentucky Downs.
And this is Four Wheel Drive in the Futurity at Belmont Park.
The most obvious obstacle to the European contingent, which also include King Neptune (Aidan O’Brien), Band Practice (Archie Watson), Alligator Alley (Joseph O’Brien), Dr Simpson (Tom Dascombe) and Dream Shot (James Tate) is a familiar one.
Wesley Ward has become a familiar figure in the winners’ enclosure at Royal Ascot in recent years, unleashing juveniles in particular which seem capable of remarkable bursts of five-furlong speed. His two runners here, Kimari and Four Wheel Drive, are currently inseparable at the top of the on-track betting at 2-1. Here’s Kimari’s last race, the Indian Summer Stakes at Keeneland.
The first winner of Breeders’ Cup 2019 will be returning in triumph in just over half an hour. The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint was a race on the undercard until 12 months ago and one in which the British and Irish often did quite well but the visiting juveniles came up short in its first year as a Breeders’ Cup event and they are up against it again this time if the betting is any guide.
A wide draw has really dented the chance of A’Ali, who looked tailor-made for the race when he took the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot:
Preamble
Good evening, good afternoon or perhaps even an early good morning, if you’re in Japan and too excited to sleep. I’m here at Santa Anita racecourse in California, perched about five floors above the finishing line, ready to blog live throughout the next two days of racing at Breeders’ Cup 2019.
The meeting begins today with the five events for two-year-olds: two on dirt, and three on turf, including the Juvenile Turf Sprint which made its debut at last year’s meeting. The European team – which pretty much means Britain and Ireland at this year’s meeting – fields fancied runners in all three turf events, including two favourites: Arizona, in the Juvenile Turf, and Albigna, Jessica Harrington’s first Breeders’ Cup runner in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf.
On the dirt, Dennis’ Moment and Eight Rings are vying for favouritism in the Juvenile, a race could well determine the early favourite for next year’s Kentucky Derby, while the Juvenile Fillies’ is wide open, and any one of four fillies – Donna Veloce, British Idiom, Bast and Wicked Whisper – could conceivably set off as the punters’ pick.
Regardless of which horses come home in front, the most important thing this afternoon will be to get them all back safe, after the traumatic months in the first half of the year when 30 horses died either racing or training at Santa Anita. There’s more on that story here and here, while my personal picks for today’s five Breeders’ Cup races are: Kimari (Juvenile Turf Sprint), Decorated Invader (Juvenile Turf), Wicked Whisper (Juvenile Fillies’), Albigna (Juvenile Fillies Turf) and Dennis’ Moment (Juvenile).
It’s going to be a very busy weekend of racing Stateside and I look forward to sharing it with you as the 14 races find their winners.
