V. I. Araci’s Aktabantay has been withdrawn from Friday’s Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile Turf because of a sore foot. Trainer Hugo Palmer has expressed his deep
disappointment at having to make the decision to take him out of the race.
“He worked and moved really well this morning and I was growing in confidence
about his chances in Friday’s race. Unfortunately, that confidence did not last
long as he was found to have a sore foot when he returned back to the barn and I
had to make the decision to scratch him.”
“He will be absolutely fine and we are now looking forward to the spring and
we will be aiming him at the Two Thousand Guineas,” Palmer added.
The defection of Aktabantay allows Decadent Racing’s Faithful Creek to draw
in for trainer Brian Meehan with jockey Kieren Fallon slated to ride. The son of
Bushranger has been kept up to his work since his arrival at Santa Anita and has
pleased Meehan who has been trackside for the past two days.
“We all feel deeply sorry for Hugo Palmer and his team it is all very
disappointing when something like this happens,” Meehan said. “We are obviously
pleased to be getting a run but not in circumstances like this. Kieren Fallon
who will be on board tomorrow got on the horse this morning and said that he
gave him a really nice feel and we have the horse in really great shape.”
Jamie Osborne was trackside Thursday morning to see his Breeders’ Cup Classic
contender Toast of New York do a routine canter on the main track. Osborne who
arrived in California Wednesday night, was happy with what he saw and reported
the horse to be in good shape.
“I guess we won’t know until Saturday how he is going to handle the track,
but he seems comfortable on it. He is a big horse and weighs 550 kilos which is
30 kilos more than he was when he won the U.A.E. Derby in March.
“That has been a gradual progression and a sign of his growing maturity.
Fitness-wise he is where I want him and that is my job. Jamie (Spencer) will do
the steering and I will leave the race tactics up to him. I guess there will be
plenty of pace in the race and ‘Toast’ will sit handy off the pace, but if the
race turns out differently Jamie can adapt.”
Pia Brandt could not be happier with her Distaff contender L’Amour De Ma Vie
who jogged half a circuit with a pony before doing a steady canter around a
circuit of the track.
“She seems to really like the dirt out here and she actually prefers it to
the sand back at home. She is obviously very relaxed as she seems to sleep a lot
in her barn. She is behaving very well out on the track even when being passed
by hundreds of colts,” Brandt said.
With trainer Richard Hannon in attendance, the 5-2 morning-line Mile favorite
Toronado again looked well as he went through the gates with his big race jockey
Richard Hughes aboard before putting in a regulation canter on the main track.
“Everything is good with the horse, and I’m very happy with him,” he said. “I
thought he was maybe a little quiet yesterday, but he was on his game today.”
Newmarket trainer David Simcock saddles England’s other runner in the race,
Trade Storm, who comes to Santa Anita off an international success in the
Woodbine Mile in Toronto in September. Simcock was at Santa Anita for the first
time on Thursday morning to see Trade Storm and his Turf Sprint hope Caspar
Netscher warm up on the main track before breezing on the turf under Jamie
Spencer.
“Both horses had a blow this morning and I couldn’t be happier with them,”
Simcock said. “They are in great form. Ian (Russell) has done a great job with
them out here. All we need now is a bit of luck, they are both live contenders.”
With regard to Trade Storm, Simcock added, “The track may be a bit tight for
him, we’ll have to see, but they should go a good pace which will really suit
him.”
Irish trainer Dermot Weld was at Santa Anita for the first time this week to
supervise Mile contender Mustajeeb’s turf work Thursday morning. His horse put
in a pleasing piece of work in the company of a horse from local trainer Paddy
Gallagher’s barn. His big race jockey Pat Smullen was again aboard Mustajeeb for
the work.
“I was very happy with him this morning,” Weld said. “He went well on the
track and changed his leads, which is important. I think he’s ready to run a big
race.”
Smullen concurred with his trainer, “He’s in very good shape, and felt good
out there.”
Alain de Royer-Dupre’s Aga Khan-owned runner Veda continued her Mile
preparations by going out on the track in the company of fellow French
challengers Anodin (Mile) and Flintshire (Turf). The three-year-old daughter of
Dansili put in the strongest canter of the three, without being asked to do too
much.
Jonathan Pease, trainer of this year’s Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two
Thousand Guineas) winner Karakontie, was at Santa Anita on Thursday morning to
see his charge visit the turf course for the first time this week.
Flaxman Holdings’ racing manager Alan Cooper said after Karakontie’s solid
gallop on the turf track, “The horse is very well, he’s back to his racing
weight after his trip over here and is thriving here at the track. His trainer
couldn’t be more happy with him.”
David Brown’s Wind Fire, who will make her dirt debut in the Sprint, put in
her strongest piece of exercise since arriving in California. With former jockey
Kevin Darley in the saddle, she went out on to the main track shortly after 7
a.m. and galloped from the half-mile pole down the homestretch.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with her,” Brown said. “She is in tremendous
form, really tremendous. I asked her to do a little bit more today and she did
it really nicely. She loves the dirt out there and has taken to it really well.”
The only European challenger in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is the
Aidan O’Brien-trained The Great War, who Thursday morning saw the Santa Anita
racetrack for the first time. The War Front colt followed exactly the same
pattern as his stable companions Chicquita (Turf), War Envoy (Juvenile Turf) and
Qualify (Juvenile Fillies Turf) and did a gentle canter out on the dirt.
“Saturday’s race will be his first run on the dirt and we will just have to
see how he handles it,” O’Brien said.
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