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BREEDERS' CUP PREVIEWS
A stellar cast of 11 will vie in arguably the most exciting race on the Saturday card, the $2 million Mile (G1), over the lawn, and we're taking a shot with DELEGATOR (GB) (Dansili [GB]) in this difficult test for conditioner Saeed bin Suroor. The bay sophomore is clearly among the top milers in Europe, evidenced by his top showing in the Celebration Mile S. (Eng-G2) and strong placings in the English Two Thousand Guineas S. (Eng-G1) and St. James Palace S. (Eng-G1) at this distance, and he ranks second by BRIS Class only to the defending champion, who is stuck in the far outside post. Delegator may have turned some off when third in his prep for this, but that event was quirky and he was taken out of his element from the get-go. Frankie Dettori will ride, which is a big plus to us, and the colt is favorably drawn in post 4. It's hard to hold one career turf loss against JUSTENUFFHUMOR (Distorted Humor), so we won't and will give him a big chance at the top prize. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, the scintillating four-year-old rolled off a six-pack of turf wins in succession, all coming in fairly easy fashion on all kinds of turf conditions, and he's registered some triple-digit BRIS Late Pace ratings of 110 and 109. The emerging star had his first hiccup at Keeneland last out in the Shadwell, but little of what we see at Keeneland impacts our feelings of a horse, especially when the weather played havoc with the lawn like it had. The race could set up perfectly for the colt, which could cover-up the fact that he is not a true one-mile runner. Alan Garcia will be flying atop the Kentucky-bred. Defending champ and turf stalwart GOLDIKOVA (Ire) (Anabaa) may prove impossible to beat, but we'll play against the likely overwhelming favorite for the win. The sensational filly has been compared to some of the top female runners in recent European memory and deservedly so, as she demolishes nearly every field that stand in her path, and she was brilliant last year over Santa Anita's turf, posting big BRIS numbers in the easy 1 1/4-length decision. The classy four-year-old drew widest of all and enters off a loss than no one in her camp expected, and trainer Freddie Head will give her Lasix after running juice-free in 2008. She may be not be as good as she was last year, but Goldikova could still get the job with something less than her best under Olivier Peslier. COWBOY CAL (Giant's Causeway) seems worthy of a Grade 1 tally but could be compromised by his post position and running style for Todd Pletcher. The ultra-consistent four-year-old sports a sparkling 11-5-4-1 career turf line and looked the part with a facile triumph in the Oak Tree Mile S. (G2) leading up to this demanding test. If John Velazquez can somehow manage to avoid getting caught up in a duel, the game colt should have a big chance at a decent price. COURT VISION (Gulch) endured a frustrating 2009 campaign prior to his last test, when the four-year-old cut back to a mile to capture the Shadwell Turf Mile S. (G1) at Keeneland for trainer Richard Dutrow. The talented colt has excuses for much of this year, often being a turf course that didn't suit him, but we're quite encouraged by his showing last out over a demanding oval. The rail should have little impact on the exotics threat under Robby Albarado. KARELIAN (Bertrando) returned from a lengthy break to run a huge second in the Shadwell Turf Mile last out and should be ready to add more gas to the early fire in here. Trained by Rusty Arnold, lightly raced seven-year-old is no fluke as he's put in eight straight solid performances, but this field is too much to pick him for the win. We will include the bay in the gimmicks, however. The lightly raced, yet very talented, ZACINTO (GB) (Dansili [GB]) has never been worse than second from five career starts for trainer Sir Michael Stoute, highlighted by his runner-up showing last out in the Queen Elizabeth II S. (Eng-G2). The rapidly developing sophomore was soundly defeated by our top pick two back but turned the tables on him last out in an oddly run event, so we fear that this colt will be overbet on this occasion. WHATSTHESCRIPT (Ire) (Royal Applause [GB]) was third in this event in 2008 but does not enter in form similar to last season for John Sadler. The Grade 2 star has faced inferior foes and couldn't run them down, so even though the expected fast pace should help him here, we have some doubts as to whether he's good enough. The impeccably-bred COURAGEOUS CAT (Storm Cat) has the bloodlines to be a big threat in a race of this nature, but he's being asked to do a lot for Bill Mott. A troubled trip third versus considerably lesser in the Jamaica H. (G1) last out, the Grade 2 winner might have the wrong running style to make a big impact against this type at this juncture. Garrett Gomez will be in the irons. FERNELEY (Ire) (Ishiguru) ran his eye balls out when second in the Woodbine Mile S. (Can-G1) most recently, but we simply can't see the five-year-old duplicating that performance against a full field of Grade 1-quality milers. Dubai Duty Free (UAE-G1) speedball GLADIATORUS (Silic [Fr]) was soundly thumped in three subsequent starts following his superb score in Dubai, and even though it appears that he returned to form in Milan last out, we still see him as not much more than a pace presence.
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