Distaff contenders Don't Tell Sophia, Ria Antonia top Kentucky worktab

Distaff contenders Don't Tell Sophia, Ria Antonia top

Kentucky worktab

At Keeneland on Friday morning, Spinster winner Don't Tell Sophia completed

her major work for next Friday's $2 million

Breeders' Cup

Distaff at Santa Anita by working a half-mile in :48 under jockey Joe Rocco Jr.

Working on her own after the renovation break, Don't Tell Sophia posted

fractions of :12 2/5 and :24 1/5 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.

"She was doing a two-minute lick to the half-mile pole and I got her in like

:48 and 3 or 4 and out in 1:01," co-owner and trainer Phil Sims said. "We are

just trying to maintain what we have."

Don't Tell Sophia had worked a half-mile in :48 4/5 last Saturday and

followed that with a strong gallop Wednesday. Don't Tell Sophia is scheduled to

fly out of Louisville Sunday morning to Santa Anita.

Sims flies out the same day to prepare for his second Breeders' Cup

experience. His previous starter was Hot Cha Cha, who finished fifth in the 2010

Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs.

"I may take her to the gate one day to let the gate crew get the chance to

know her and may take her through the paddock once just to see it," Sims said.

Sims said he has not taken an in-depth look at the Distaff that drew 12

pre-entries, but at first glance he noticed a lot of speed for the 1 1/8-mile

race over a track that tends to play toward speed.

"I am just concentrating on my horse, but (a speed-favoring track) is always

a concern. We are not going to take her out of her element," Sims said of the

late-running six-year-old daughter of Congaree. "There seems to be a lot of

speed in there, which is good for us. She'll run her race."

Loooch Racing Stable and Christopher Dunn's Ria Antonia, whose most recent

victory came via disqualification in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at

Santa Anita, prepared for her California return Friday morning by working a

half-mile in :47 3/5 under exercise rider Mario Orantes for trainer Tom Amoss.

The move was the fastest of 42 at the distance.

Working on her own after the renovation break and wearing blinkers, Ria

Antonia produced a first quarter-mile in :23 1/5 and galloped out five furlongs

in 1:00 2/5.

"It was very good," Amoss said. "She did it in hand and the key thing was the

rider was just sitting on her. That was exactly what we were looking for."

Runner-up to Don't Tell Sophia in the Spinster in her most recent start, Ria

Antonia will ship to Santa Anita on Tuesday from Louisville and be ridden in the

Breeders' Cup Distaff by Paco Lopez. Amoss will join her in California the

following day.

It was the second work at Keeneland since the Spinster for Ria Antonia. Last

Friday, she shared a bullet, five-furlong work in :59 4/5 in blinkers.

Over at Churchill Downs, Friday morning marked the final preparations

for Charles Fipke's Unbridled Forever, who is pre-entered in the Distaff for

trainer Dallas Stewart, and Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Top Decile,

pre-entered in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies for trainer Al

Stall Jr.

Coming off a runner-up effort in the Indiana Oaks, Unbridled Forever covered

five furlongs in 1:02 1/5.

"She had a great work," Stewart said. "She was cruising at a high speed and

galloped out nicely. One of her great qualities is that she doesn't own her

track. Whether it's Churchill, Fair Grounds, Saratoga or Belmont she's run well.

So I expect her to run really well at Santa Anita."

Stewart acknowledged that while facing older fillies and mares for the first

time would be no easy feat, he has confidence in Unbridled Forever's abilities

to compete.

"She ran well in Indiana, too," Stewart said. "We ended up second best (to

Tiz Windy) that day but she seems like she's improved every day since. She's

more up on it every day on her gallops and hasn't backed out of the feed tub a

bit. We're in good shape."

Stewart said Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez would get the Distaff mount on

Unbridled Forever. Velazquez's 12 Breeders' Cup victories are the third most of

any rider and second among active jockeys.

"She's got a great rider in Johnny Velazquez so we'll leave the trip up to

him," Stewart said. "But I'd guess she'd be somewhere in the middle; you can't

get too far back at Santa Anita."

Top Decile, who was second to Peace and War in the Alcibiades at Keeneland on

October 3, breezed a half-mile in :49 4/5 beneath the Twin Spires Friday.

"She went in :49 and change, galloped out (five furlongs) nicely in 1:03 and

just did it the right way," Stall said.

Stall seemed pleased with Top Decile's last effort despite having a little

trouble getting out of the gate.

"She came up big to get second in that last race, especially since she didn't

really break at all," Stall said. "Seeing that she'll likely face another full

field in the Breeders' Cup we can't let that happen. I believe she'll break

better. Ideally we'd like her to lay off the speed a little bit. There's a lot

of speed in that race so hopefully she sits tight behind the leaders and can

close late. We'll see what happens but we're excited."

Stall said Rosie Napravnik would ride Top Decile in the November 1 Breeders'

Cup Juvenile Fillies. Napravnik's lone Breeders' Cup victory came in the 2012

Juvenile aboard Shanghai Bobby.

Also at Churchill, Michael Langford's Carve completed his final work ahead of

next week's $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile with a half-mile breeze in :49

Friday.

"His work this morning was great," trainer Brad Cox said. "He went a

half-mile in :49 and galloped out really well."

Carve is scheduled to fly to Southern California on Saturday morning, and

34-year-old Cox said he's eager to start his first horse in the Breeders' Cup.

"It's exciting," said Cox, who has won with 23.7 percent of his career

starters since 2004. "The horse is doing as well as he can do and we expect him

to run well. Obviously we're running to win, but I will be happy as long as he

shows up. I honestly think he has what it takes to compete with these horses.

"I think we ran him back a little too quickly from the (September 6) Ack Ack

to the (September 27) Homecoming Classic, so hopefully giving him an extra week

or so should ensure that he'll be at his best."

Carve finished second in the Ack Ack Handicap at Churchill Downs but was

fifth in the Homecoming Classic three weeks later. Prior to the Ack Ack, Carve

won three straight races including the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap and

$200,000 West Virginia Governor's Stakes. The other victory was an allowance on

June 14 at Churchill in which Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith was at the reins.

Smith will ride Carve for the second time in the Dirt Mile.

"It's a huge advantage to have Mike Smith as our rider," Cox said. "He rode

him to a victory here at Churchill in June and just the fact that he knows Santa

Anita so well makes me feel a little better since our horse has never seen that

track before."

Smith's leads all jockeys in career Breeders' Cup wins with 20.

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