Line of Duty gets Europe up and running in Juvenile Turf
Europe broke its duck at this year’s Breeders’ Cup meeting in a dramatic race for the Juvenile Turf, as Line Of Duty and William Buick finished fast and late to overhaul Uncle Benny three strides from the line but then had to survive a stewards’ inquiry after contact between the pair in the closing stages.
The first two races on the grass had been won by front-runners before the field went to post for the Juvenile Turf, and for much of the race it seemed that it would follow the same theme. Somelikeithotbrown was quickly away from the stalls and led until the straight, where he briefly quickened into a clear lead.
The effort soon started to tell, however, and Uncle Benny led the chasing pack as it started to close. Line Of Duty, who had raced four or five lengths off the lead, still had ground to make up at this stage and he drifted to his right when Buick asked him for a finishing kick.
Line Of Duty looked a little unbalanced on the loose, rain-softened ground and drifted left after Buick switched his whip to his right-hand. Once he hit his stride, however, he made relentless progress towards the lead, and while there was brief contact with Uncle Benny in the closing stages, the stewards decided that it was not sufficient to alter the result.
This was Charlie Appleby’s third Breeders’ Cup winner from just five starters, and one of his two beaten runners was Masar, this year’s Derby winner at Epsom, in last year’s Juvenile Turf.. Line Of Duty is a 16-1 chance with Coral to follow Masar’s lead at Epsom next summer, and the same price for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket in May.
“The ground is playing a big part today and it still might tomorrow,” Buick said. “As a rule, our horses jump slower than the American horses but this horse jumped well and gathered his stride very quickly. I was in a position where I didn’t have cover so I had to rein him back and start again and get him into a position where we were going forwards more gradually.
“To be honest, that meant he had to work harder and it wasn’t straightforward for him at all. That’s another plus point to his performance really, so credit to the horse.
“When he pulled out in the stretch, he went to his right and he just lost his concentration for a stride. But when he quickened he really put the race to bed and he was very strong at the line. It was a very mature performance from a young horse. I thought it was a 50-50 situation [when he made contact with the runner-up] and it was right on the wire so it didn’t make any difference to the result.” Appleby paid tribute to Buick’s accomplished performance in the saddle, and explained that his remarkable strike-rate at the meeting is all about picking the right horses.
“It’s bringing the right horses,” he said. “I was very fortunate in my first year with Outstrip winning, and we purposely didn’t turn up for two years as we didn’t have the right horse. “I was confident in this horse on his last start when he won at Chantilly, and we thought he had the right profile to be very competitive. He’s a neat horse, and he seems to enjoy getting squeezed up and being in a battle and I think all those attributes have come to the fore today. “William’s given him a great ride round there. At one stage you could have said that he was far enough off the pace with the fractions, but knowing the horse, we knew he was going to see it strong to the line and that’s what he did.” Earlier on the card, Newspaperofrecord saw off a strong European challenge with a dominant performance in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, while Bulletin was the front-running winner of the first Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, beating a field that included several big hopes from British and Irish stables.
The action is drawing to a close here at Churchill Downs but there are still nine Breeders’ Cup races to come on the main Saturday card tomorrow, including Enable’s attempt to become the first Arc winner to follow up in the States and Mendelssohn’s challenge for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
I’ll be back to report on all the action direct from the track tomorrow afternoon, when the first of the Breeders’ Cup races is due off at 16.00GMT. For now, though, this is Greg Wood signing off from Louisville.
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That’s it for Breeders’ Cup races today but I should just mention that Jamie Osborne’s Toast Of New York, who went so close to winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2014, lines up for the last race on the card here, the Marathon Stakes over one-and-three-quarter miles. This is the race that was briefly part of the main Breeders’ Cup programme a few year ago.
Game Winner gets a quote of 8-1 from Coral for next year’s Kentucky Derby.
William Buick was also in the interview room after Line Of Duty’s win, and talking about the bump between winner and runner-up in the closing stages.
It was a very mature performance from a young horse. I thought it was a 50-50 situation and it was right on the wire so it didn’t make any difference to the result.
Game Winner had to work hard to get past Knicks Go, a big outsider, in the stretch but he eventually made his class tell in the closing stages. There was contact between the two horses inside the final furlong, but it was Knicks Go shifting right which caused the interference and the winner looks safe.
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE RESULT:
1 GAME WINNER, 2. Knicks Go, 3. Signalman
It’s also worth remembering that in addition to his three-out-of-five record at the Breeders’ Cup, Charlie Appleby also saddled Masar, this year’s Derby winner, in this race last year, when he finished sixth after getting no luck at all in running.
The runners are now on the track for the day’s final Breeders’ Cup race, the Juvenile.
Bob Baffert’s Game Winner is a very warm favourite at even money. Here he is in the Grade One American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita.
That was memorable race in more ways than one, and Line Of Duty’s connections will have been relieved to get the all-clear.
Hugh Anderson, Godolphin’s managing director, is in the interview room and has pointed out that Line Of Duty is a son of Jacqueline Quest, who famously lost the 1,000 Guineas in the stewards’ room in 2010.
He was a 7-2 chance on the tote over here. Anthony Van Dyck, meanwhile, ran a lifeless race and was dropping towards the rear before they reached the final turn.
Line Of Duty is Charlie Appleby’s third Breeders’ Cup winner - from just five runners.
For a long way, it looked as though this would be another winner from the front, as Somelikeithotbrown took them along just ahead of Forty Under. Somelikeithotbrown carved out a useful lead with a furlong to run as William Buick tried to get Line Of Duty balanced on the loose ground. Uncle Benny emerged from the pack to chase down the leader but when Buick finally delivered his challenge on Line Of Duty, it was enough to swamp the pair of them.
RESULT CONFIRMED!
Line Of Duty survives the objection and is confirmed as the winner of the Juvenile Turf.
Line of Duty went to his right in the straight, at which point William Buick switched his whip to his right hand. His mount then shifted left and appeared to make a slight contact with Uncle Benny a few strides from the line.
OBJECTION
Line Of Duty’s win is subject to an objection by the rider of Uncle Benny after Line Of Duty came across the track in the closing stages.
A fascinating race which changed complexion several times in the straight, and a fine winning ride by William Buick to get Charlie Appleby’s runner up in the closing strides.
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE TURF RESULT:
1 LINE OF DUTY, 2. Uncle Benny 3. Somelikeithotbrown
The runners are on the track for the Juvenile Turf and without wishing to appear unduly partisan, it would be great to get a winner on the board for Europe before the main card here tomorrow. Five minutes to post time, and Anthony Van Dyck and Line Of Duty are now inseparable on the local tote at 3-1.
Mark Johnston (or Mark Steven Johnston as the track programme has it) also has a runner in Marie’s Diamond, while Thomas Dascombe - Tom to his mates - fields Arthur Kitt from stall one. Richard Kingscote is over to partner Arthur Kitt, while Florent Geroux is aboard Marie’s Diamond.
Todd Pletcher’s Current is also prominent in the betting, having won the Grade Three Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland last time.
The Juvenile Turf now offers the only hope of a success for Europe on what has been a disappointing day for the visitors so far both on and off the track with Polydream controversially scratched from tomorrow’s Mile.
Charlie Appleby’s Line Of Duty, who has a handy draw in stall three, is the early favourite here at 5-2 ahead of Anthony Van Dyck, who has a trickier path to victory from stall 14.
Forty Under looks like the best of the home team. Here he is winning the Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont.
An update from the aftermath of the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf: Chad Brown was asked whether a race or two in Europe might be on the agenda for Newspaperofrecord and he did not exactly dismiss the idea out of hand. It’s possible that he was just being polite, as it was our very own Nick Luck who was doing the asking, but Royal Ascot in particular are now likely to be bending over backwards to get her over to Berkshire.
Another clear-cut success, and another winner who basically led all the way. Jaywalk and Joel Rosario took it up going into the first turn, settled into a good rhythm in a uncontested lead and then sped away from their pursuers in the stretch. Jaywalk was only a length or so in front at the furlong pole but she really piled it on in the closing stages and finished well clear.
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE FILLIES:
1 JAYWALK 2. Restless Rider 3. Vibrance.
And Jaywalk in the Grade One Frizette at Belmont.
Restless Rider and Jaywalk represent Ken McPeek and John Servis respectively. Bellafina, incidentally, is trained by Simon Callaghan, the son of the former Newmarket trainer, Neville.
Here’s Restless Rider in the Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland:
Onto the dirt now at Churchill, and the Juvenile Fillies’. Bellafina, who is drawn wide in 10, is the likely favourite at around 2-1. Here she is winning the Grade One Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita.
It’s unlikely that there will be a more impressive winner than this all weekend.
REPLAY: Watch NEWSPAPEROFRECORD (IRE) win the Juvenile Fillies Turf on #FutureStarsFriday at @ChurchillDowns! #BC18 #Champion 💫
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 2, 2018
Watch live on @NBCSN: https://t.co/PAKMytW8L4 pic.twitter.com/1uQ152eqQN
We’ve had two races on the turf track now and whatever the officials might say about the going, it does not look anything like to what a British punter would describe as “good”. It looks quite loose on top and certainly on the soft side.
Another all-the-way winner as Newspaperofrecord takes her field apart. Irad Ortiz was quickly away from stall six, in front within a few strides and accelerated away in the straight to register a wide-margin victory.
East, from Kevin Ryan’s yard in Yorkshire, ran on from well off the pace to finish a distant second, while The Mackem Bullet’s stamina took her well into the final furlong within sight of a place in the frame before she faded abruptly to finish well down the field.
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE FILLIES' TURF
1 Newspaperofrecord 2. East 3. Stellar Agent.
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One minute to post time for the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf. The Mackem Bullet is on her toes as they prepare to head for the starting gate.
This is why Newspaperofrecord is such a short price: her win in the Grade Two Miss Grillo at Belmont Park.
It should be pointed out that The Mackem Bullet could also be one for the form students, as she is one of the highest-rated runners in the field and finished a close second in the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes last time out. It’s the trip that could be the issue - she’s never gone beyond six furlongs, and this is a mile.
Next up here at Churchill is the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, with and Chad Brown’s Newspaperofrecord, is a red-hot favourite on the tote at 1-2. Supporters of The Mackem Bullet could get 28-1 on the machine here at the moment, while Just Wonderful, an 8-1 chance with British bookies, is currently a 16-1 chance here. La Pelosa and East also go for British stables, but The Mackem Bullet, a £9,000 buy at the backend of the Doncaster sales, is definitely the one for the romantics among us.
That disappointment for the visitors from Europe follows close on the heels of another significant setback, with Cup officials confirming that Polydream, the ante-post favourite for tomorrow’s Breeders’ Cup Mile, has been scratched from the race on veterinary advice.
Freddy Head, who twice won the Mile as a jockey on Miesque and then saddled the brilliant Goldikova to win it three times, is incandescent about the decision and it is easy to sympathise with him. He insists that she simply trots in an unusually awkward way because she has offset knees, and offered to let the track vets watch her gallop in the track to allay their fears. But they were having none of it and their word is final.
“She hasn’t got the best knees so she’s always trotting a bit on the side like that, but she was born that way and has been winning Group races,” Head said. “It’s a disgrace, I’m furious. If I bring a horse to the States, it’s because I think she can run and run well.”
There is apparently no way to appeal, but we may well not have heard the last of this.
That race was a perfect demonstration of how difficult it is to beat the Americans on their own turf, not least if you let them get away from you at the start. Soldier’s Call was always on the back foot from the off.
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It did get away... Bulletin burst from the stalls under Javier Castellano and was never headed. Soldier’s Call, on the other hand, fell out of the stalls and though Oisin Murphy managed to get up the inside and sit third into the turn, his challenge faded inside the final furlong. Chelsea Cloisters, a big outsider, was the only runner to offer a challenge to the winner, but while Wesley Ward’s filly look to be going well as she drew alongside in the straight, Bulletin found more and pulled a couple of lengths clear at the line.
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE TURF SPRINT
1. BULLETIN, 2. Chelsea Cloisters, 3. So Perfect.
Two minutes to post-time for the Juvenile Turf Sprint, Soldier’s Call is out to 5-2 but looks sure to start favourite.
The other European runners in this race are So Perfect (Aidan O’Brien), Queen Of Bermuda (William Haggas, Watson’s former mentor), Well Done Fox (Richard Hannon) and Pocket Dynamo (Robert Cowell). There will be much despondency in the European camp if this one gets away.
Bulletin is the second-favourite on the Churchill Downs tote, at current odds of 9-2 behind Soldier’s Call, the 2-1 favourite. Sergei Prokofiev is 5-1, and they are heading out onto the track.
Not far behind him in the betting is Aidan O’Brien’s Sergei Prokofiev, who is lightning-fast but very much a specialist at the minimum trip according to his trainer. Today’s trip of five-and-a-half furlongs, O’Brien said yesterday, is very much at the edge of his range.
The main opposition from the US looks likely to be provided by Todd Pletcher’s Bulletin, the winner of a conditions event at Gulfstream Park last time out.
The closing stages of Soldier’s Call’s win at the Royal meeting can be seen here:
Half an hour to post time for the first race of Breeders’ Cup 2018, and Soldier’s Call, whose rider Oisin Murphy has forced his way into jockeying’s global elite this year, looks likely to set off as favourite for Lambourn trainer Archie Watson.
Watson, a former assistant to William Haggas, is in just his second full season with a licence but thanks to Soldier’s Call, he has already notched up a win at Royal Ascot in the Windsor Castle Stakes and a Group Two success in the Flying Childers at Doncaster. He sent Corinthia Knight to finish fourth in this race last year when it was on the Friday undercard, and now has an excellent chance to take its first running as a fully-fledged Breeders’ Cup event.
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Horse racing has got itself in another muddle over who should and should not be sitting on panels. After the British Horseracing Authority gave assurances last summer that Jodie Mogford would not sit in judgement over cases involving licensed trainers, its judicial panel appointed him to do just that last month.
The case in question was an appeal by Alan Jones, who felt his On The Meter had suffered interference and should have been awarded the race when narrowly beaten in a Worcester bumper. The appeal was dismissed by three panellists, including Mogford, who served despite a specific assurance on the judicial panel’s website: “Jodie is currently assistant trainer to Graeme McPherson QC and will therefore not sit on any cases which involve a licensed trainer”.
It’s a mistake which echoes the Matthew Lohn-related traumas of 2016, when two guilty verdicts against trainers were quashed after the BHA accepted that Lohn should not have been asked to serve on the relevant panels.
Technically, fingers should not be pointed at the BHA over the Jones case. Since last year, the judicial panel has been structurally independent of the BHA. The error, I’m told, was made by a member of the panel’s support staff who arranged for Mogford to be on the Jones panel when they should have known not to do so. Of course it could be said the BHA has a broad responsibility for ensuring the panel system works properly.
To me, this is the latest evidence of poor organisation in our sport. We all know perfectly well that individuals make mistakes. A well-run sport would have systems in place to prevent those mistakes becoming costly, but racing has yet to achieve this. And so in recent weeks we’ve had the wrong horse being withdrawn at the start of a race and a jockey being assured the rules allowed him to ride on a particular high-profile raceday when in fact they did not. As an aside, the media received no advance notification of the Alan Jones hearing, through what I’m told was another clerical error.
If Jones had had a lawyer, perhaps the issue of Mogford being on the panel would have been raised in advance, but the National Trainers Federation doesn’t pay for lawyers in appeals where one trainer seeks to win a race off another trainer. So Jones represented himself and ended up with a frustrated feeling that he hadn’t got his points across, though I’m assured by Brian Barker, who chairs the panel system, that a review of the tape shows Jones was given every chance to say his piece.
Jones could now insist on a rehearing of the appeal and perhaps get a lawyer along this time, but it’s a lot of expense in the context of a race worth £2,274 to the winner. I should think the matter will rest where it is and everyone will breathe a sigh of relief that this didn’t happen in a much more high-profile case. But let’s hope the necessary lessons are learned, for once.
The first update of the evening though arrives via my colleague Chris Cook, who has uncovered another glitch in the British Horseracing Authority’s disciplinary procedures.
Good afternoon from Churchill Downs in Louisville, the home of the Kentucky Derby and this weekend, for the first time since 2011, the Breeders’ Cup meeting too. Five of the contests on what is now a 14-race programme will be run later today, on what has been restyled as “Future Stars Friday”, the new home for the meeting’s juvenile events, and since three are on the turf, there are plenty of runners from Europe to look out for as they take on the best turf two-year-olds in the States.
Aidan O’Brien gave a big plug to the SubAir drainage system here when he was talking through his challenge yesterday morning, and the early news today is that, officially at least, it seems to have done its job. I say “officially” because the going on the turf is described as “good”, which seems astonishing in view of the drenching it received from early on Wednesday afternoon until late on Thursday.
The first four races on the schedule here today are on the dirt and the fifth is the Juvenile Turf Sprint, so the first indication of the actual state of the going will arrive when the Breeders’ Cup itself is underway. Who knows, perhaps the drainage really is that good, but there are plenty of people here who remain somewhat sceptical.
At least the rain has stopped, though, and with nothing of any significance expected here for the remainder of the meeting, it will be drying all the time ahead of tomorrow’s main card.
The addition of the Juvenile Turf Sprint to this year’s programme – or, to be precise, its promotion from the undercard – means that exactly half of the Cup’s races are on the grass, a far cry from the early days when Europeans had just the Mile and the Turf to aim at on a seven-race schedule. The new race is akin to a great big “Welcome to Louisville” banner as far as the visitors are concerned and Europe supplies six of the 13 runners including the first three in the betting – Sergei Prokofiev, Soldier’s Call and So Perfect.
Europe fields four of the 14 runners in the Juvenile Turf as well, including the first and second favourites in Anthony Van Dyck and Line Of Duty, and four of 14 in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, where Newspaperofrecord, whose trainer Chad Brown has four wins in this race already, is expected to be a stern opponent.
Brown also sends a fancied runner in the Juvenile on the dirt, the last of the day’s Breeders’ Cup events, when his Complexity, unbeaten in two starts, is expected to provide the main opposition to Bob Baffert’s Game Winner, who is unbeaten in three.
Tips for the first day of the meeting are tucked away at the end of this piece on The Mackem Bullet, which may (or may not) be the best place for them. The first race of this year’s Breeders’ Cup is just under an hour away at 19.21GMT and this is the place to be for new, results, video form and more. Thanks for joining me, it should, as ever, be a fascinating and memorable weekend at the track.
Preamble
Here you go.
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