The Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships

Every year the best horses from around the world line up in the starting gate for the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. This year is highlighted by three races in particular, the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic, the Breeders Cup Mile, and lastly the Breeders Cup Classic. All three races are filled with phenomenal talent. Below are selections for the fifteen Breeders Cup races starting with Friday, each race with have my three selections, followed by one longer priced horse who I believe will be a factor in each race. I have provided in-depth analysis on the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic, Turf, Mile, and Classic, along with picks. I hope you enjoy the Breeders Cup!!

Breeders Cup Saturday

Race 4 GI Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf $1,000,000
1. Fantastic Moon (12-1) *Longshot
2. Joha (6-1)
3. Artigiano (8-1)

Race 5 GI Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint $1,000,000
1. Groupie Doll (1-1) Best bet of the Breeders Cup
2. Switch (12-1) *Longshot
3. Turbulent Descent (5-1)

Race 6 GI Breeders Cup Dirt Mile $1,000,000
1. Jersey Town (4-1) *Love him!
2. Shackleford (2-1)
5. Fed Biz (6-1)
Longshot- Delegation (12-1)

Race 7 GI Breeders Cup Turf Sprint $1,000,000
1. Unbridled's Note (5-1)
2. Reneesgotzip (8-1)
3. California Flag (6-1)
Longshot- Tale of a Champion (30-1)

Race 8 GI Breeders Cup Juvenile $2,000,000
1. Shanghai Bobby (2-1)
2. Power Broker (5-2)
3. He's Had Enough (20-1) *Longshot

Race 9 GI Breeders Cup Turf $3,000,000
1. Point of Entry (3-1)
2. Trailblazer (6-1)
3. Shareta (7-2)
Longshot- Cogito (30-1)

Point of Entry is a beast. He loves the firm ground that Santa Anita will offer. Point of Entry is the best American chance to win a route on the grass on the Breeders Cup program. Point of Entry is tactical and will be right in behind the hot pace. He will get first jump on the deep closers and will hold off the classy Europeans, and the well prepared Japanese invader Trailblazer.

Race 10 G1 Breeders Cup Sprint $1,500,000
1. Poseidon's Warrior (15-1) *Longshot
2. The Lumber Guy (6-1)
3. Amazombie (4-1)

Race 11 GI Breeders Cup Mile $2,000,000
1. Wise Dan (9-5)
2. Excelebration (2-1)
3. Animal Kingdom (8-1)
Longshot- Suggestive Boy (15-1)

The Breeders Cup Mile is in my opinion the best race of the 2012 Breeders Cup. Wise Dan, who is the best horse in the United States, clashes with Excelebration the second best miler in Europe, only behind the mighty Frankel. The race also features the long awaited return of 2011 Kentucky Derby hero Animal Kingdom. I believe Wise Dan is in impeccable form right now, and will not lose. Excelebration is a star, but nobody is beating Wise Dan right now. I look for Animal Kingdom to run a huge race first off the layoff, but he just may need one more race before he is beating the likes of Wise Dan.

Race 12 GI Breeders Cup Classic $5,000,000
1. Game on Dude (9-5)
2. Fort Larned (5-1)
3. To Honor and Serve (8-1)
Longshot- Pool Play (30-1)

The Breeders Cup Classic begins and ends with Game on Dude. He is the obvious choice in the race, and I love him. He is five for five at Santa Anita, and has speed in a race that lacks speed. Game on Dude will be sitting right off of expected pace setter Fort Larned, and I believe will run him down on his way to a Breeders Cup Classic victory. Fort Larned is going to set the pace, and I believe he will get the 1 1/4 miles distance of the Classic in his second start off of a brief freshening. His victory in the Whitney Stakes was very impressive and I look for him to duplicate that, but Game on Dude is just too good. To Honor and Serve will likely not receive a lot of attention based on his lackluster performance in the Kelso Handicap, but contrary to popular belief, I think To Honor and Serve is a distance horse who lacked conditioning in last years Breeders Cup Classic. I believe he is a major threat here. The race has many horses who figure to be long prices, but one horse who will be a short price, Flat Out, is a major throwout for me. Flat Out has been nothing but a dud away from New York, I believe he will hate the Santa Anita surface and for this reason I hate him in the Classic. Alpha is not good enough to beat these horses. Pool Play is not getting very much respect, but in two career starts on conventional dirt, he is two for two with a GI win. I think Pool Play could hit the board if the pace is hotter than expected. Mucho Macho Man will get a lot of play, but I am not sure he will get the distance, and for that reason he is a throw out for me. Ron the Greek and Richard's Kid are both GI winners over the track, but on Saturday I believe they are just not good enough. I just do not see Brilliant Speed, Nonios, or Handsome Mike having an impact on the race. Game on Dude is too good, he has been too good this year, and at Santa Anita, and for that reason I LOVE the favorite to win this years Breeders Cup Classic.


Breeders Cup Friday

Race 4 Breeders Cup Juvenile Sprint $500,000
1. Merit Man (8-5)
2. Sweet Shirley Mae (4-1)
3. Super Ninety Nine (5-2)
Longshot- Ceiling Kitty (12-1)

Race 5 GII Breeders Cup Marathon $500,000
1.  Eldaafer (8-1)
2. Worth Repeating (5-1)
3. Atigun (9-2)
Longshot- Grassy (30-1)

Race 6 GI Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf $1,000,000
1. Sky Lantern (3-1)
2. Flashy Ways (10-1)
3. Watsdachances (4-1)
Longshot- Kitten's Point (12-1)

Race 7 GI Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies $2,000,000
1.Kauai Katie (3-1)
2. Executiveprivilege
3.  Beholder
Longshot- Spring in the Air

Race 8 GI Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf $2,000,000
1. Ridasiyana (4-1)
2. The Fugue (7-2)
3. Marketing Mix (9-2)
Longshot- In Lingerie (12-1)

Race 9 GI Breeders Cup Ladies Classic $2,000,000
1. Awesome Feather (3-1)
2. Royal Delta (9-5)
3. Questing (4-1)
The Ladies Classic is loaded with speed horses, the speed includes My Miss Aurelia, Questing, Awesome Feather, and Love and Pride. I expect Awesome Feather to let Questing, My Miss Aurelia, and Love and Pride to duel it out. Awesome Feather will sit right off of the hot pace and get separation on the superstar mare Royal Delta turning for home. Awesome Feather will go to 11-11 and Royal Delta will run a valiant second in this years Breeders Cup Ladies Classic.

Weekend Stakes Races 9/29-30/12

This weekend in horse racing has major implications for this years Breeders Cup. Belmont Park hosts "Super Saturday". Belmont's card could not be higher quality. The purses are high, the fields are big, and the feature The GI Jockey Club Gold Cup features six Grade I winners. On the other coast Santa Anita hosts its huge pre- Breeders Cup day. Between Santa Anita and Belmont Park there will be a total of 14 graded stakes races. My selections for Belmont, Santa Anita, and Remington Park which hosts the Oklahoma Derby are below.

Belmont Park
Saturday

Race 5 GI Beldame Invitational $400,000
1. It's Tricky
2. Royal Delta
3. Cash for Clunkers

Race 6 GII Kelso Handicap $400,000
1. Tapizar
2. To Honor and Serve
3. Shackleford

Race 7 GI  Vosburgh Invitational $400,000
1. Sean Avery
2. Rothko
3. Fort Loudon

Race 8 GI Flower Bowl Invitational $600,000
1. Nahrain
2. Hessonite
3. Zagora

Race 9 GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational $600,000
1. Point of Entry
2. Finnegans Wake
3. Little Mike

Race 10 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational Stakes $1,000,000
1. Hymm Book
2. Ron the Greek
3. Fort Larned

Sunday
Race 7 GII Matron Stakes $200,000
1. Kauai Kate
2. Unabashed
3. Seasoned Warrior

Race 9 GII Futurity Stakes $200,000
1. Carried Interest
2. Overanalyze
3. Handsome Jack

Santa Anita
Saturday

Race 6 GI Chandelier Stakes $250,000
1. Executiveprivilege
2. Beholder
3. Scarlet Strike

Race 7 GI FrontRunner Stakes $250,000
1. Know More
2. Power Broker
3. Capo Bastone

Race 8 GI Zenyatta Stakes $250,000
1. Include Me Out
2. Via Villagio
3. Amani

Race 9 GI Rodeo Drive Stakes $250,000
1. Marketing Mix
2. Nereid
3. City to City

Race 10 GI Awesome Again Stakes $250,000
1. Game on Dude
2. Suggestive Boy
3. Richard's Kid

Sunday
Race 9 GII John Henry Turf Championship $150,000
1. Slim Shadey
2. Turbo Compressor
3. Bourbon Bay

Remington Park
Saturday

Race 9 Oklahoma Derby $400,000
1. Daddy Nose Best
2. Called to Serve
3. Speightscity

Weekend Stakes Races 8-4-12 and 8-5-12

          This is just one of many summer weekends that features Grade I racing coast to coast thanks to Del Mar and Saratoga. Del Mar host's the Grade I Clement L. Hirsch for fillies and mares on Saturday and the Grade II Best Pal Stakes for 2yo colts as well as two fillies on Sunday. Saratoga has a weekend full of top class racing. On Saturday three stakes races headline the card. The Whitney Invitational Handicap is the race of the weekend. $750,000 and a trip to the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships is on the line in this Grade 1 event. The card also features the Grade I Prioress Stakes for sprinting 3yo fillies, and the ungraded but very deep De La Rose Stakes. On Sunday the Grade I Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes is the feature, the race for older male sprinters is shaping up as a good one.  Last but not least Mountaineer Racetrack in West Virginia has its biggest day of the year on Saturday. Headlined by the West Virginia Derby, the entire card is made up of stakes races making for a wonderful day out there. Lastly the talented filly Stopshoppingmaria, who finished second in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last November makes her seasonal debut in the first race at Saratoga on Saturday a race to certainly keep an eye on. My selections for the major races of the weekend are below.

Del Mar

Saturday

GI Clement L. Hirsch Stakes $300,000
1. Amani
2. Include Me Out
3. Switch


Sunday

GII Best Pal Stakes $150,000
1. Scherer Magic
2. Know More
3. Heir of Storm

Saratoga

GI Whitney Invitational Handicap $750,000 *Race of the Weekend

The Whitney is loaded with speed. Rule, Endorsement, Trickmeister, and Fort Larned are all horses who need to be on the lead, if not, right off it. The pace will likely be too hot for any of these four horses to hold on and hit the board. Rule is a solid horse and I look for him to put in a big effort. He may be the slowest of these four horses which may put him in a decent spot, but I do not think he is good enough.  Endorsement will not run as poorly as he did last time out in the Suburban. The issue for Endorsement is that he is inside of Trickmeister who will apply constant pressure. I look for these two horses to get in a speed duel early. Trickmeister is 1 for 1 at Saratoga, but this race reminds me a lot of the Donn Handicap and Trickmeister was just not good enough that day, I see a similar outcome on Saturday. Fort Larned has a developed into a very good racehorse, but not a Grade I racehorse, I think he will chase the pace, but in the end is simply not good enough to hit the board against these horses.
I believe the race sets up for a closer, this leaves Hunters Bay, Caixa Electronica,  Ron the Greek, Flat Out, and Hymm Book. Ron the Greek will be the post time favorite based off of his two Grade I wins this year. He has every opportunity in the Whitney to cement himself as the favorite for the Breeders Cup Classic, and Horse of the Year. I do not believe in Ron the Greek though. He got a perfect trip in the Stephen Foster last time out to nip Wise Dan by a nose. Although the pace scenario is in his favor again I am still not sold on Ron the Greek, so I will take a stand against him on Saturday. Hymm Book has been disappointing since his victory in the Donn Handicap. He has a similar closing kick to Ron the Greek, they both grind away late, neither possessing a devastating late closing kick. I liked his last race in the Suburban, He ran into Mucho Macho Man who demolished the field. I think he will enjoy the return to two turns, and hopefully the one turn race sharpened him up a bit. I look for Hymm Book to hit the board and out finish Ron the Greek, but I do not think Hymm Book is your winner. Flat Out returned off a layoff in the Monmouth Cup and his race was encouraging. He chased the pace came out late and could not run down Rule. He should improve in his second start off the layoff and he loves Saratoga which was proven by his two seconds here last year. I look for Flat Out to have first run on the horses running from deeper back in the field, but I think he will be second best. This leaves two big prices, Hunters Bay and Caixa Electronica. My selection is Hunters Bay. Hunters Bay has gotten good, he was won 4 out of his last 5 and comes into the Whitney off his first graded stakes score in the Dominion Day Handicap. Trained by Reade Baker, who is going to have a giant day (Tu Endie Wei) Hunters Bay to me provides the most upside in a race that has horses who are very similar. Hunters Bay faces a lot of adversity, he comes off a win on the Polytrack at Woodbine, now he comes to the dirt at Saratoga, and is running against the best horses he has ever faced. He is versatile and I look for him to sit a good trip in behind horses and get first run on the horses coming late. He is also a big price, which enhances the pick. I am taking a shot in here because I am not sold on the Older Male division and I am looking for a new player, and I believe Hunters Bay is that player.
Selections
1. Hunters Bay
2. Flat Out
3. Hymm Book

GI Prioress Stakes $300,000
1. Tu Endie Wei
2. Judy the Beauty
3. Jamaican Smoke

De La Rose Stakes $100,000
1. Julie's Love
2. Dealbata
3. Dancinginherdreams

Sunday

GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes $400,000
1. Hamazing Destiny
2. Shackleford
3. Emcee

Mountaineer

GII West Virginia Derby $750,000
1. Hansen
2. Penn's Grant
3. Le Bernadin