Campbell family living the BC dream thanks to Private Prospect

Private Prospect (green blinkers) just missed by a head in his graded bow last out (Four Footed Fotos)

Chicago-based trainer Mike Campbell said Thursday that having Private
Prospect in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park was a “dream come true for the whole family.” His wife,
Janice, is a big part of the Campbell operation and son Jesse will be aboard the
two-year-old son of Discreet Cat.

Campbell shipped the dual stakes winner, who was second
in the Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Futurity in his last start, to Santa Anita early to
get the horse acclimated to his surroundings since the trainer said that he can
be problematic in the paddock at times.

“I schooled him here a couple of times so the officials
here can get used to him and vice versa,” Campbell explained. “Plus, there’s
nothing like working over the track here.

“Aaron Gryder worked him here the other day (six furlongs in 1:13 2/5 on
October 22) and I asked him for his honest opinion and he had only good things
to say. I breezed him down the lane earlier in the week and he stood in the gate
this morning. Everything is a go.”

Carpe Diem has romped in two starts, including a Grade 1, thus far (Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Daredevil, the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Juvenile, is undefeated in two career starts, including a victory in the
Grade 1 Champagne, with both successes coming on wet tracks at Belmont Park. Trainer Todd Pletcher
expressed no reservations about the More Than Ready colt’s ability to transfer
his brilliance to a fast track.

“He trains really well on it. I thought his breeze on
Saturday (going a half-mile over Belmont’s fast dirt training track in :47 2/5) was as good as horses get,”
Pletcher said. “He’s always trained very impressively. I never breezed him on a
sloppy track, and he certainly handles it well. I think he’s a good horse on any
surface.”

Carpe Diem is also two-for-two, with both starts coming over
fast tracks. The son of Giant’s Causeway broke his maiden with a 2 1/2-length front-running
score at Saratoga in a five-furlong dash. While stretching out around two
turns for the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, Carpe Diem showed a new dimension
while stalking and pressing the pace before drawing off to a 6 1/4-length win.

Angela Renee is but one of Todd Pletcher’s four entrants to the BC Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com)

Angela Renee is scheduled to seek her second straight victory at Santa Anita
in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, having captured the Grade 1
Chandelier in her first two-turn start on September 27. The daughter of
Bernardini, who finished first and second in her first two starts, has worn
blinkers for her last two starts, including a distant third over a sloppy track
in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga.

“John Velazquez, who rode her in her first two starts, said that he felt she
was a little bit shy, a little bit intimidated, so we put the blinkers on. In
the Spinaway, Johnny said it didn’t matter if she had blinkers on or not, that
she hated the slop,” Pletcher explained. “So, being a timid, laid-back sort, we
kept the blinkers on, and it worked out very good.”

In addition to having a race over the Santa Anita track, she has been
training over the track since the 1 1/16-mile race on September 27.

“She handled the track well. She’s been out here for five weeks since then,
so we’ll see if that’s an advantage or not,” Pletcher said.

Fast Anna brings a very light resume into the BC Sprint, owning just four career starts (Cecilia Gustavsson/Horsephotos.com)

Twelve months ago, Ritvo made Thoroughbred racing history at Santa Anita as
the first female trainer to saddle a Classic winner when sending out Mucho Macho Man for a victory in the
1 1/4-mile contest. Mucho
Macho Man, who also finished second in the 2012 Classic at Santa Anita, is
retired to stallion duty, but Ritvo will take part in this year’s Breeders’ Cup
with Sprint contender Fast Anna.

“If feels great to be back with another good horse,” Ritvo said. “I 100
percent believe he belongs here.”

Fast Anna is a sophomore son of Medaglia d’Oro out of champion Dreaming of
Anna, the winner of the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Frank Calabrese’s
homebred joined Ritvo’s barn at Gulfstream Park in January and debuted with a
front-running triumph on April 12. The dark bay returned nearly three months later to win
an entry-level allowance by 13 lengths at Gulfstream before trying Grade 1
company in the King’s Bishop at Saratoga.

Fast Anna set the pace before
finishing second by a neck on that occasion and ran second again in the Grade 3 Gallant Bob at Parx
Racing last out on September 20.

“He’s still learning. He has so much talent, we decided to
go in this direction,” Ritvo said. “He’s gotten more relaxed in the paddock,
more relaxed in his training. When we bring him behind the gate to school him
now, he practically runs in. He wants to do everything right.”

Fast Anna got noticed at Santa Anita on October 26 when he
breezed five furlongs in :57, the fastest of 55 recorded at the distance.

“He had a fast work the other day, but he did it well
within himself, and who better to work him than Gary Stevens?” remarked Ritvo, whose
speedster is slated to be ridden by John Velazquez.

Little Alexis has gone off at double-digit odds in all but one of her four lifetime starts (Lauren J. Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com)

Little Alexis will be making just her
fifth start and her first against older distaffers when she heads to post
Saturday in the seven-furlong race.

“She’s a very lightly raced filly,” Vaccarezza said of the Mr. Greeley
sophomore Friday
morning. “When she broke her maiden (on February 9 at Gulfstream Park), she beat a good
field including My Miss Sophia. Then we put her in a stakes race (the July 5 Cash Run) and she won again.

“Then she ran with the big fillies in the (Grade 1) Test (at Saratoga on
August 2). She had trouble at the gate and on the backstretch, but when (jockey
Jose Lezcano) started to really ride her at the top of the lane, she came
running and I watched the video maybe 20 times and right after the wire she was
two or three (lengths) in front.

“She ran impressive so we took her to the (Grade 1) Cotillion (last out on
September 20 at Parx Racing). It was her first time two turns and the racetrack
was extremely fast but she ran a good race. I think she deserves to be here and
we’ll see.”

Asked to contrast the experience from 2012 to this year,
Vaccarezza said it was somewhat different.

Living the Life is two-for-two thus far in the United States (Cecilia Gustavsson/Horsephotos.com)

One of those lining up against 15-1 outsider Little Alexis, who will be
ridden by Joel Rosario from post 2, in the Filly & Mare Sprint is the Gary Mandella-trained
Living the Life.

Sergio Zepeda, chief assistant to Mandella, goes back a long way with the
family. The 51-year-old veteran previously worked for Mandella’s father, Hall of
Fame trainer Richard, before joining Gary after he went on his own.

“I’ve been with Gary since he was a little kid,” Zepeda said of his boss, who
now towers over him at 6 feet, 4 inches. “I used to spank his butt and how he
signs my check.”

Zepeda has seen several stars develop in both barns and is
optimistic that Living the Life is about to join that list.

“She’s a really nice
quiet filly around the barn,” he said. “She acts like a pony. But on the track,
she’s all business.”

The Footstepsinthesand four-year-old English import galloped 1 1/2 miles Thursday
under exercise
rider Alfonso Avalos as she seeks her third straight U.S. victory since
joining the Mandella barn.