Retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who serves as an analyst for
NBCSN’s coverage Saturday’s Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita from 7-8 p.m. (EDT),
believes the presence of Fury Kapcori could compromise the chances of the classy
gelding Game On Dude, who will be seeking a third straight victory in the 1
1/4-mile event.
“You’d have to talk to the riders; I’m not sure how it’s going to shake out,
but I would have to think Fury Kapcori is going to be on the lead, but I’m not
positive, because obviously Game On Dude is a lead horse as well,” Bailey said.
An earner of more than $6.4 million, Game On Dude is listed as the 4-5
favorite on the morning line, but the Bob Baffert trainee drew post No. 1, with
confirmed speedball Fury Kapcori drawn to his immediate outside in post 2.
“It should be a fast enough pace to set it up for either Clubhouse Ride or
Imperative,” Bailey added. “(Imperative’s) certainly gotten awful good of late.”
Claimed for $40,000 in late December, Imperative earned his first stakes
victory when upsetting Game On Dude in the Grade 2, $1.5 million Charles Town
Classic on April 19.
Clubhouse Ride also exits a highly encouraging performance, rallying to
defeat Fury Kapcori by a half-length in the Grade 2 Californian on May 31.
Purchased for $22,000, the six-year-old son of Candy Ride has already earned of
$1,220,132 and could add another $300,000 to his coffers with a victory
Saturday.
Trainer Craig Lewis is quick to point out that Clubhouse Ride doesn’t owe his
connections anything, noting that he’s already surpassed expectations, and isn’t
willing to concede a hot pace that would set up well for his late-running
charge.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lewis said when asked if Clubhouse Ride would benefit
from a pace duel between Fury Kapcori and Game On Dude. “Those two have to hook
up and go fast. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Two pretty crafty riders
are on those horses (referring to Hall of Fame veterans Gary Stevens on Fury
Kapcori and Mike Smith on Game On Dude), so we’ll see. Sometimes it doesn’t
unfold as it appears in paper.
“I hope there’s enough pace for Clubhouse Ride, but that said, I know this:
If we had another chance to buy him for $22,000, we would do it.”
The Gold Cup is a “Win and You’re In” event, with the winner receiving an
automatic berth, and fees paid, into the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on
November 1 at Santa Anita. The Gold Cup is also one of seven Grade 1 Challenge
races for automatic berths into the Classic this year. Moonshine Mullin, winner
of the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on June 14, was the first to qualify.
The next five televised Classic qualifiers are the Haskell Invitational at
Monmouth Park on July 27 (NBC); Whitney H. at Saratoga August 2 (NBC); Pacific
Classic at Del Mar August 24 (NBCSN); and Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park
and Awesome Again at Santa Anita September 27 (both on NBCSN).
The complete “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series” television schedule is
available at
http://challenge.breederscup.com/schedule.
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