breeders cup
Jack Schneider envisions only one way Bernardini can be beaten in next month’s $5 million Breeders Cup Classic: unless he trips on a stable rock, gets stuck in the gate or is abducted by aliens.
“The only way it could happen is if Bernardini and Lava Man get into a dogfight and are so interested in looking at each other and not looking behind them, someone else gets the better of them in the end,” said the manager of Sam’s Town Race Book. .
That kind of scenario would make voting for Horse of the Year nervous (no relation to two-time Classic winner Tiznow).
Most Thoroughbred aficionados would agree that the vote is currently a two-horse race, though bolters could include horses like David Junior, Invasor, and Strong Contender.
Dangerous Discreet Cat will not go if Bernardini works as planned, as both are owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasid al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai.
Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini, who was sired by AP Indy, has topped the 3-year-old class of racing since Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro was injured in the meet at Pimlico Race Course.
The eight-race Breeders’ Cup card will be held on Saturday, November 4 at Churchill Downs and will be highlighted by the rich Classic, which will mark Bernardini’s first, and perhaps last, trial against older horses.
The colt broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park and gradually moved up the ladder while skipping the Run for the Roses and, after his Preakness win, the Belmont Stakes.
He’s been undefeated ever since, winning the Jim Dandy, Withers, Travers and, last week, Belmont Park’s Jockey Gold Cup.
Five-year-old Lava Man, a son of Slew City Slew, is this year’s West Coast racing sensation and became the second horse to sweep the Santa Anita Derby, Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic at the same season.
Bernardini’s Jockey Cup Beyer was 117, while Lava Man scored 109 in last weekend’s Santa Anita Grade I Goodwood Breeders Cup Handicap, knocking back 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo along with the previous vogue horse to the Triple Crown this year, brother Derek.
“How good is Bernardini?” echoed New Frontier betting shop manager Tony Nevill.
“I dont know.
“But I think we’ll see honest rhythm in the Classic and if he wins it, he’s a Superhorse.”
“You know if you beat him, you’ve beaten the best,” Schneider repeated.
Schneider has some good advice for players: Henny Hughes, also owned by Dubai’s royal family, if he enters the six furlong sprint.
“That horse has been incredible, an absolute monster!” Schneider exclaimed.
“He doesn’t like to stretch it, but in a race over six furlongs…
“If you see Henny Hughes running in the sprint, go around him.”
Wynn Las Vegas racing and sporting director John Avello gives Lava Man a chance to go to Churchill.
“But Bernardini is terribly good … like WOW,” said Avello, who watched the colt run in the Travers at Saratoga.
However, this is a horse race and anything can happen.
Daily Racing Form Las Vegas Match Dave Tuley, as usual, is waiting until the pole positions are drawn and the morning line is out before taking any chances.
“I don’t have any specific horses to bet on on Breeders’ Cup Day as we are still waiting to see exactly how the fields play out,” Tuley said.
“What I can tell you is that after seeing the favorites win four of the five Grade 1 races at Belmont Park last Saturday (October 7), the other being won by a 2-1 shot, I know those horses they will be wagered.” on BC day and should create great value on unlikely shots.
“Now, we have to find the right longshots.”