The 15 races on this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships, up one compared with last year’s 14 races, will offer purses of $26-million and have attracted a record 193 pre-entered horses for the six races on November 4 and nine races on November 5 at Churchill Downs.
The number of pre-entered horses increased 5% from last year’s 184 and the number of pre-entered horses from overseas was up 11.5% from 26 in 2010 to 29 in 2011.
A leading female horse will figure prominently against males for the third consecutive year in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). In fact, the Breeders’ Cup pre-entries released Wednesday morning point to top females taking on males in the Classic, TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), and Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) this year.
The connections of four-year-old filly Havre de Grace followed through on their Breeders’ Cup plans for the daughter of Saint Liam—who already defeated males this year in the Woodward Stakes (G1)—by pre-entering her in the $5-million Classic. Havre de Grace also is pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (G1), with the Classic listed as her first preference.
Zenyatta defeated males in the 2009 Classic at Santa Anita Park and then finished a close second to Blame in last year’s Classic at Churchill, as she secured Horse of the Year honors. Havre de Grace finished third in last year’s Ladies Classic and enters this year’s Breeders’ Cup off an 8 1/4-length romp in the Beldame Invitational Stakes (G1).
Of course Havre de Grace will not be the only female looking to make history. Goldikova (Ire) will try to win the Mile for a fourth straight year. Breeders’ Cup Ltd. has moved the Mile to the race before the Classic on Saturday to draw more attention to the effort.
Also pointing to a possible showdown with males will be 2009 Emirates Airline Filly and Mare Turf (G1) winner Midday (GB). The connections of the Juddmonte Farms homebred have listed the Turf as first preference for Midday, who finished second in last year’s Filly and Mare Turf. Her second preference is the Filly and Mare Turf. Also pre-entered in the Turf is French classic winner Sarafina, a four-year-old Refuse To Bend (Ire) filly who will make her North American debut.
Looking to spoil Havre de Grace’s Classic plans will be Uncle Mo, who won last year’s Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) to secure champion two-year-old male honors. After missing the 2011 Triple Crown due to illness, Uncle Mo has returned to health and enters off an easy win in the Kelso Handicap (G1).
So You Think will make his North American debut as the Australian champion three-year-old male of 2010 is pre-entered in the Classic. The High Chaparral (Ire) horse will make his first career dirt start after finishing second in the QIPCO Champion Stakes (Eng-G1) on October 15 at Ascot.
Other previous Breeders’ Cup winners back this year on the list of pre-entries are last year’s Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner Big Drama, who will try to repeat in that race, and Shared Account, who upset last year’s Filly and Mare Turf. Eldaafer will try to win the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (G3) a second straight year as the 1 3/4-mile test will be the first Breeders’ Cup race on Saturday (post time 1:20 p.m. EDT). Chamberlain Bridge, who will try for a second straight win in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G2), will face 2009 Turf Sprint winner California Flag.
The $2-million Ladies Classic, which will close out the Friday card and be contested at night for a second straight year (7:30 p.m. EDT post), has attracted pre-entries from 15 horses. After accounting for the various preferences, the 1 1/8-mile race will likely have 11 starters. Trainer Bill Mott won the race last year with Unrivaled Belle and will figure prominently this season with TVG Alabama Stakes (G1) winner Royal Delta.
After finishing second to Goldikova in last year’s Mile, three-time champion Gio Ponti has been pre-entered in that race but his connections listed his first preference in the Classic. Gio Ponti finished second to Zenyatta in the 2009 Classic at Santa Anita Park.
This year’s new race, the $500,000 Sentient Jet Juvenile Sprint has attracted 12 pre-entries although two of those horses have listed other races as first preference in fields they have been accepted to, leaving a likely field of ten.
