Woodward top three could rematch in BC Classic

Itsmyluckyday (center), Moreno (inside) and Prayer For Relief (outside) are likely to continue their rivalry in the BC Classic (NYRA/Adam Mooshian/Adam Coglianese Photography) The trainers of Itsmyluckyday and Moreno, the respective top-two finishers from Saturday’s Grade 1 Woodward, both said their horses came back in good shape following their epic confrontation at Saratoga. In a rematch of the August 2 Whitney, Itsmyluckyday turned the tables and got the best of the front-running Moreno in a race-long battle that ended with Itsmyluckyday prevailing by a half-length. The race put the two on course for perhaps a third meeting in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and, if Itsmyluckyday’s trainer Eddie Plesa changes his mind, a meeting in the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 27 at Belmont Park. “He came out of the race 110 percent,” Plesa said. “A little tired but, as far as wear and tear, 110 percent.” For the time being, Plesa said he does not see the 1 1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup in the plans for Itsmyluckyday, but he left the door open to the possibility. “My thinking is I don’t want to run four races in a row that are going to be that tough; that would include if we’re going to run in the Breeders’ Cup,” the Monmouth Park-based trainer explained. “I like to give my horses a little bit of a break.

“If the ultimate goal is the Breeders’ Cup, I have to be
sure we’re going into the race 110 percent. I don’t want to think we’ve maybe
run him one too many. The great (trainer) Horatio Luro said, ‘You don’t want to
squeeze the lemon too dry.'”

Plesa also said the Grade 2, $400,000 Kelso at a mile on
the same Belmont card as the Jockey Club Gold Cup could be an option, as is the Grade 1,
$300,000 Awesome Again on September 27 at
Santa Anita Park, site of the
Breeders’ Cup.

“He’ll tell me,” Plesa remarked. “He could come out bucking and
kicking and saying, ‘I’m ready to run again.’ That’s my job to figure out when
that is.”

Moreno’s trainer, Eric Guillot, meantime, said the Jockey
Club Gold Cup is his primary target.

“I always was planning that,” Guillot asserted. “Thirty days, 30
days, 30 days, babysit him, babysit him, run him. The horse hasn’t been out of
form since he broke his maiden. He has been nine-for-12 triple-digit Beyer Speed
Figures. Who else has that?”

Guillot, despite finishing second, was in a boastful mood
Sunday morning.

“He’ll win the (Breeders’ Cup) Classic by five; you all can
put it in the press,” he said of Moreno.

Asked why, Guillot answered, “Because I said it.”

If Moreno wants to win the Classic, he’ll have to face not only Itsmyluckyday
again, but also Woodward third Prayer for Relief. Trainer Dale Romans has lofty goals for
the six-year-old, who was beaten only two lengths in the Woodward on Saturday.

Romans on Sunday said Prayer for Relief will be pointed for the Jockey Club Gold Cup with the Breeders’ Cup and
Dubai World Cup being
long-term objectives.

“Those things are all in play,” Romans said.

In the Woodward, Prayer for Relief raced in midpack early
and made a strong run in the stretch without threatening the top two. After the
race, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez said Prayer for Relief “hung” before
galloping out strongly.

“I think Johnny learned a little bit about him,” Romans noted. “It’d be nice to get
(Velazquez) back next time. This is a good horse.
It’s hard to say he’s peaking at his age, but he’s definitely showing some of
his best form. He’s doing awfully good.”

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