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Rail Trip, Gitano Hernando out of BC Classic Grade 1 winners RAIL TRIP (Jump Start) and GITANO HERNANDO (GB) (Hernando [Fr]) will both miss the November 7 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita, their connections have reported. Rail Trip, who captured the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) in July, has been battling foot problems since a third-place effort in the Pacific Classic (G1) over Labor Day weekend and missed a scheduled workout at Hollywood Park on Tuesday. "I think we'll shut him down," trainer Ron Ellis told Daily Racing Form. "He probably needs about a week or five-to-seven days to walk. There is no way to have him 100 percent (for the Breeders' Cup)." Ellis reported that Rail Trip "sloughed his frogs" during the Pacific Classic and emerged from an October 9 workout with bruised feet. Meanwhile, Barry Irwin of Team Valor said that Gitano Hernando will voluntarily bypass the Breeders' Cup Classic and instead be prepared for the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) on March 27. With Kieran Fallon aboard, Gitano Hernando stunned California's leading older horses along with Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mine That Bird (Birdstone) when taking the October 10 Goodwood S. (G1) at 18-1 in his U.S. debut. "The colt just ran too hard last time and we don't feel comfortable bringing him back in a month," Irwin said. "We feel that he is a prime candidate for the World Cup in Dubai next spring and the risk to the colt by running him back at such a high level next time is too great." The 2010 Dubai World Cup will be run at the new Meydan racecourse over a synthetic surface for the first time, and the purse will be increased to $10 million. "Ten million dollars at a mile and a quarter on a synthetic surface is a very attractive target," said Aron Wellman, Team Valor's racing manager. Irwin said Gitano Hernando would return to trainer Marco Botti's yard at Newmarket, England, next month. "We have all-weather surfaces available to us in Newmarket," Botti said in a statement. "We could bring the colt to Dubai in January of February, or we could just show up for the big day itself. This is the type of horse that needs one good prep, as he showed in the Goodwood. Worst case scenario, we could work him at Lingfield or even stage our own afternoon trial if necessary. We have a lot of options."
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