|
|
Game On Dude continues to impress ahead of Classic
Game On Dude was one of 12 Baffert horses on Sunday's worktab. His Juvenile contenders, Power Broker and Title Contender, blitzed five furlongs in a bullet :59 in company. The two Pulpit colts tied for the fastest of 50 moves at the distance.
"Coil and Capital Account went really nice; Fast Bullet went real nice, and Power Broker went real nice with Title Contender," the Hall of Famer said.
Fort Larned has won of four of his eight starts this year, including the Grade 3 Skip Away, Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap and the aforementioned Whitney Handicap, but Wilkes is hopeful the best is still yet to come. "I hope we haven't seen the best of him yet," Wilkes said. "The hope is that he'll be at his peak next week." The four-year-old Fort Larned made his career debut on Churchill's "Stars of Tomorrow II" program during the 2010 fall meet. "Anytime you lead one of them over, you're hoping it's your next good horse," Wilkes said. "That's what these Stars of Tomorrow programs are all about." In other Breeders' Cup news: Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer told Daily Racing Form that Nonios would run in the Classic. The Grade 3-winning sophomore, who finished second to Game On Dude in the Awesome Again, had previously listed the Dirt Mile as his first preference. Bourbon Bay was declared out of the Turf by Hall of Fame trainer Neil Drysdale. Know More is confirmed for the Juvenile Turf, trainer Doug O'Neill said. He had been cross-entered to the Juvenile. Three flights carrying European-trained horses entered to run in the Breeders' Cup arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday, and one more shipment is due Monday. First to arrive Saturday around noon (PDT) was a private charter from England with four runners owned by Dubai's Maktoum family that originated from Stanstead Airport near London. Next to arrive was a flight from Luxembourg with French-trained contenders early evening after a refueling stop in Winnipeg, Canada, and another flight touching down soon after from Stanstead with English-trained runners as well as one for Irish-based trainer Dermot Weld. The fourth and final flight from Europe due Monday will be a private charter from Ireland with the Coolmore team eight strong trained by Aidan O'Brien, led by defending Breeders' Cup Turf hero St Nicholas Abbey and Excelebration, one of the favorites for the Mile. Todd Pletcher's assistant Whit Beckman reported that the barn's Belmont-based Breeders' Cup hopefuls emerged from their Saturday preparations in good order, and are ready to ship to California when the weather permits. Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on the East Coast, casting some uncertainty over travel schedules. "We're still scheduled to ship them all out," Beckman said of Shanghai Bobby (Juvenile), Dreaming of Julia (Juvenile Fillies), Kauai Katie (Juvenile Fillies or Juvenile Sprint) and Turbulent Descent (Filly & Mare Sprint). "My understanding is the flight may be pushed back from Tuesday to Wednesday. But all in all, it doesn't really hurt us." HRTV will televise live Monday the post position draw for the 29th Breeders' Cup. At 1 p.m. (PDT), 13 of the 15 Breeders' Cup races will be drawn. At a separate ceremony at 4 p.m., the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic and the Breeders' Cup Classic will be drawn. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
