Breeders’ Cup World Championships
Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31
Turf Sprint and Dirt Mile Report
To Be Run Friday, October 30
$1 Million Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (Grade I) 3-Year-Olds & Up 1 Mile
To Be Run Saturday, October 31
$1 Million TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (Grade I) 3-Year-Olds & Up About 6 ½ Furlongs (Turf)
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Contact Notes Team (859) 250-0358
Wesley Ward (Undrafted, The Great War and Green Mask, Turf Sprint) – Wesley Ward’s
trio of $1 million TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint contenders all had light work on Wednesday
morning, each galloping a lap on the turf course.
Last year, Ward entered the duo of No Nay Never and Undrafted to finish second and third
behind Bobby’s Kitten in a photo finish that separated the top three by less than a half-length.
“They’re all looking really great,” said Blake Heap, assistant to Ward. “They all hit the turf
course today and I really like how Undrafted is looking – but I think all three are looking good.”
Last year, Santa Anita-based Heap oversaw all of Ward’s horses during Breeders’ Cup week
prior to a successful championship weekend that yielded two victories and four placings from six
starters for the barn.
Joe Franklin – The David Jacobson trainee, who runs in the colors of Final Turn Racing Stable,
went out onto the track on Wednesday morning and was just jogged due to the sloppy condition of the
track. Jacobson said that the remainder of his training schedule is contingent upon the track and weather
conditions.
Jimmy Bouncer – The Reddam Racing homebred, who is preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Turf
Sprint, galloped 1 1/4 miles over the Keeneland training track Wednesday as trainer Doug O’Neill chose
again to avoid the sloppy surface of the main track on another rainy morning.
“We’ll just gallop up to the race, and may stay right on the training track instead of going over to
the main track,” the trainer said.
Jimmy Bouncer is a son of Reddam stallion Square Eddie, who finished second in the 2009
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Liam’s Map – Teresa Viola Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds’ Liam’s Map had shown
exceptional talent during a four-race winning streak, but it was a second-place finish in the Whitney
Stakes at Saratoga that opened the eyes of the racing world to the extraordinary Todd Pletcher trainee.
Making his Grade 1 debut, the even-money favorite for Friday’s Dirt Mile set blistering fractions
of 22 3/5, 46 and 1:09 3/5 for 6f before continuing to lead his rivals on a merry chase in the stretch, only
to be caught by a late-surging Honor Code to lose by a neck in 1:47 4/5 for 1 1/8m.
“Those of us who have been around him weren’t surprised as others were, but it was the coming
out party for him for the rest of the racing community seeing how good he is. We felt like he was
capable of a performance like that,” Pletcher said. “It was a tough beat. I don’t know we’ve ever had a
horse not win a race and gain as much respect as he did for that effort.”
The 4yo son of Unbridled Song followed up his brilliant Whitney performance with a 4 ¾-length
romp in the Woodward.
“I think there are a lot of similarities between him, Graydar, Cross Traffic,” said Pletcher,
referring to recent late-developers in his stable. “They’re all talented sons of Unbridled Song and they
all have the ability to carry their speed over a route of ground.”
Liam’s Map is scheduled to stand at stud at Lanes End next year.
Lea – The $1 million Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile contender was included in the Bill
Mott-quartet that returned to the main track for a gallop Wednesday morning after walking the shedrow
Tuesday. Lea and his stablemates all worked Monday.
“They all came out of their breezes really well,” said Riley Mott, assistant to his father Bill.
“Obviously the track was not in great shape today so they just had a nice easy gallop one time around. It
was a pretty quiet morning. All the serious track work is done. It is just a matter of keeping the horses
happy and healthy and getting them to the race.”
Mott said Thursday’s training timetable is contingent on the weather.
“Everything is pending with the weather,” he said. “We’ll see what the radar is looking like.”
No Silent – The well-bred No Silent was around under the shedrow of Barn 60 Wednesday
morning as trainer Gary Mandella continued preparing him for Saturday’s Turf Sprint. Tessa Bisha was
in the saddle for the exercise.
Speaking about the arrival of the 6yo gelded son of Silent Name, twice a Breeders’ Cup Mile
contender, Mandella said, “We were on the circus bus,” a reference to riding with, among others, Triple
Crown winner American Pharoah. “We got the royal treatment.”
Adding to No Silent’s pedigree is grandsire Sunday Silence, winner of the 1989 Kentucky
Derby, Preakness and Breeders’ Cup Classic and named North America’s Horse of the Year and 3-yearold champion. He was a many-times champion stallion in Japan.
Pure Sensation – He may have only run twice so far this season, but he carried his connections
into the winner’s circle both times and rewarded them with his first stakes win last time out.
“He is a good horse. We gave him a long break over the winter and he came back because we
wanted to bring him back (in July for Saratoga). When he’s right, he’s a very good horse and he’s very
fast,” said Christophe Lorieul, the top assistant for trainer Christophe Clement. “He breaks from the onehole, so it all will depend upon how the race sets up. But he is coming up to it very well.”
Due to the sloppy conditions of the main track, Pure Sensation went out for a gallop on the
Polytrack training track with stablemate Hard Not to Like, who will contest the Filly & Mare Turf.
Clement also saddles Tonalist in the Classic and Red Vine in the Dirt Mile (see below).
Pure Sensation will be ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who also gets a leg up on
Tonalist and Hard Not to Like.
Ready for Rye - The 3yo son of City Zip has won all three of his last starts quite impressively,
and has been victorious at the exact distance Turf Sprint distance of 5 1/2f.
“He’s very versatile. He can run on any type of surface. He’s won on dirt, he loves the mud, and
he’s been very impressive on the turf as well,” said Tom Albertrani, who trains the gelding for Chalk
Racing.
“He’s had two starts on the turf and won both. He’s got a lot of ability and he’s got a high
cruising speed. You just put him wherever he wants to be (in a race). He could be on the lead or he could
be rateable. He’s very versatile in that respect as well.”
But he’s still taking a mighty big step up in class. Nevertheless, his trainer wouldn’t be surprised
to see him spring the upset.
“I think he’s a horse that’s coming in under the radar. He could be a really good contender and
be very competitive in here,” said Albertrani.
Ready for Rye, along with stablemate and Turf contender Twilight Eclipse, on Wednesday
“jogged a couple of miles, just enough to get their legs moving,” said Albertrani, who added he intends
to get stronger gallops into both on Thursday.
Red Vine - Jon and Sarah Kelly’s Red Vine may not have found the winner’s circle since May,
but he’s been banging heads with top caliber horses in major Graded stakes ever since. He just might be
sitting on a big race.
“Red Vine has been very consistent. I know he hasn’t won too many races, but he shows up
every time and runs his race every time. He hasn’t been out of the money all year,” said Christophe
Lorieul, the top assistant to trainer Christophe Clement. “He is doing very well, and at the end of the
year, he is doing super.”
Red Vine fired a bullet in his final breeze at Belmont Park last Saturday, traveling 5f in 59 3/5
under Joel Rosario, who rides him on Friday.
"Joel seemed very happy with him afterwards. I'm very happy. The horse came back in good
shape and, as of now, everything's good,” Clement said afterward.
Red Vine galloped over the main track on Wednesday with stablemate and Classic contender
Tonalist.
Tapiture – Winchell Thoroughbreds’ five-time Graded stakes-winning Tapiture, who is slated to
start in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Friday, left his stall in Barn 60 and galloped a mile on the sloppy
main track at Keeneland early Wednesday morning. The son of Tapit will attempt to improve upon his
runner-up finish in last year’s Dirt Mile before being retired to Darby Dan Farm at the conclusion of this
season.
Winchell Thoroughbreds and trainer Steve Asmussen will attempt to become the first owner and
trainer to win a second Dirt Mile. They did so in 2012 at Santa Anita with another son of Tapit, Tapizar.
Something Extra – Woodbine-based Something Extra returns to familiar territory in what will
be the 7-year-old gelding’s second attempt at the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Owned by John Menary
and trainer Gail Cox, the son of Indian Charlie exits a 10th-place finish in a rained-off Woodford Stakes
at Keeneland on Oct. 3.
Earlier this year, Something Extra won the Shakertown over the Turf Sprint’s course and 5f,
defeating subsequent Group I winner and fellow Turf Sprint competitor Undrafted. After a 10 th-place
finish last year, the Cox trainee will attempt to improve on a course over which he has never been out of
the money. A top-four finish would make Something Extra racing’s newest millionaire.
“He loves it here,” Cox said. “Last year he didn’t cross the dirt very well (at Santa Anita) and
that didn’t work out with him. He loves Keeneland’s course and it’s easy for us to get to. We came here
to run on the turf last time, but I’m discounting that race. He was shut off on the first turn and then was
very lucky not to go over the horses who broke down.
“He came out of that race very well, so we decided to just come back and get back on the turf,”
Cox continued. “We want him to run his race. He can stalk or be on the lead. He goes fast pretty easily.
The eight-draw is okay, especially with a little speed inside of us. He’s never been worse than third here
on this grass and he’s feeling good and shipped really well.”
On Wednesday, the nine-time winner from 34 starts walked the shed row of Barn 68.
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