Internationals in the Breeders' Cup -- Saturday

INTERNATIONALS IN THE

BREEDERS' CUP

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

Breeders' Cup Saturday

by Kellie Reilly

Following the profiles of Friday's "Internationals in the Breeders' Cup,"

here is the briefing for the foreign hopes on Saturday.

FILLY & MARE TURF

DANK: Smashing Beverly D. winner no longer needs an

introduction to American fans. Although the daughter of Dansili was on an

upwardly mobile trajectory before heading to Arlington, few could have

envisioned her utter rout of a field including MARKETING MIX (last year's Filly

& Mare Turf runner-up) in near course-record time. Admittedly, Marketing Mix ran a bit dourly in the Beverly D. in her cutback from the 1 1/2-mile

Sunset. Even so, that relentless galloper has historically been vulnerable to a

rival with a superior turn of foot (e.g., Zagora here in 2012, and TIZ

FLIRTATIOUS in the Rodeo Drive) and Dank's eye-popping burst surely

qualifies. She fits the mold of an older horse just coming into her own for Sir

Michael Stoute. Dank is three-for-four this season, with her lone loss of 2013

being a staying-on third in the Duke of Cambridge over a mile at Royal Ascot. At

nine furlongs and beyond, she is perfect. Dank opened her four-year-old campaign

with a gutsy victory in Newmarket's Dahlia, despite carrying the top weight of

127 pounds. In the Kilboy Estate at the Curragh, she put the race to bed in a

matter of strides, in a precursor to her fireworks in Chicago August 17.

Although she has not raced since, she has reportedly been training sharply. Note

also that Stoute's only winner of this race, Islington (2003), had not raced

since early September, while his Filly & Mare Turf losers were all coming off

more recent starts. A potential negative is Dank's drawing the rail, setting the

stage for the kind of sit-and-suffer passage that ruined The Fugue's chances in

last year's running. It will be up to Ryan Moore to get her out at the

appropriate time. The beautifully-bred Dank is a half-sister to Eagle Mountain,

the runner-up in the 2008 Turf at Santa Anita.

TURF

MAGICIAN: Aidan O'Brien sophomore has upset potential if he's back to his

early-season best and ready to fire off the bench. The son of Galileo kicked off

the year with a devastating four-length conquest of the 1 5/16-mile Dee Stakes

at Chester, a tight left-handed circuit that often identifies horses who can

thrive in the United States. Magician next shortened up to a mile only 15 days later for the May 25

Irish 2000 Guineas. Once again explosive, he defeated a solid field highlighted

by Trading Leather (who progressed when later stepped up in trip). That

sensational performance catapulted him into prominence in the Epsom Derby

betting, but his Coolmore connections opted not to wheel him back, or stretch

him out to 1 1/2 miles like a yo-yo. Instead, he was kept to a mile for the June

18 St James's Palace at Royal Ascot, and a showdown with Dawn Approach and

Toronado. Unfortunately, Magician suffered a setback at the last

minute. He was passed fit to run, but he was clearly not himself when fading

tamely to last. O'Brien recently admitted that he never should have lined up

that day. Magician was under consideration for a comeback on the October 19

Champions Day card at Ascot, but he swerved his possible engagements there, a

decision made all the easier by the prevailing soft ground. This is a brutal spot

to return, and it's always worth wondering if a Coolmore entrant is taking a

shot just to have representation. But Magician looked like something special in

May, and he might still have a trick or two up his sleeve. While he's also

trying 1 1/2 miles for the first time, his Chester performance suggests that

he'll handle it. Others previously untried at this distance have won the Turf

-- Pebbles (1985), Kalanisi (2000) and Johar (dead-heat in 2003) -- so there's

precedent. Magician was reportedly one of Declaration of War's workmates in a

recent move at Southwell (see his profile below for the Classic).

MILE

CRISTOFORO COLOMBO: O'Brien colt has yet to return to his respectable

juvenile form. Third to Dawn Approach and Olympic Glory in the 2012 Coventry, he

was a well-beaten fifth to Dawn Approach in the 2000

Guineas at Newmarket. Cristoforo Colombo was sidelined for four months and

resurfaced in sprints this fall. After a closing eighth, beaten less than two

lengths, in the Renaissance at the Curragh, he landed a minor race on the

Dundalk Polytrack, but could do no better than seventh when wheeling back on

short rest for the Waterford Testimonial. On that evidence, he's not up to this

task. As an aside, he's by Henrythenavigator, the sire of last year's Juvenile

Turf winner George Vancouver, who also failed to make any impact at three and

has since been retired to stud.

CLASSIC

DECLARATION OF WAR: Son of the all-conquering War

Front, out of a half-sister to 2012 Belmont Stakes hero Union Rags, gives

O'Brien his best chance since the legendary Giant's

Causeway just failed in 2000. While the Ballydoyle machine has thrown a

battalion of top-class turf horses into the Classic in ensuing years, they were

playing "against type" by trying to belie their pedigrees on an alien surface.

Henrythenavigator didn't have the same kind of problem when runner-up in the

2008 edition on Pro-Ride, but he was a question mark at the trip.

Declaration of War, on the other hand, has a more dirt-oriented pedigree -- like

Giant's Causeway -- and is a top-level performer at the distance. His Coolmore

connections have always believed he'd act on dirt, since he was briefly with

Todd Pletcher as a onetime Kentucky Derby hopeful early last year. But his

American sojourn doesn't tell us much, for he was sidelined after a single

half-mile work, and later joined O'Brien in Ireland. A winner on every kind of turf condition from good-to-firm to

heavy, and unbeaten on synthetic, Declaration of War has traveled

sweetly on the bridle before delivering the coup de grace over a range of

distances. He had the finishing speed to win the one-mile Queen Anne at Royal

Ascot, but looked more like a 10-furlong horse in his subsequent appearances at

a mile. Outsprinted by Toronado and Dawn Approach in the Sussex, he again

couldn't match the turbo of Moonlight Cloud and Olympic Glory when fourth in the Marois. He did well to force a photo-finish

for third with the high-class, and similarly

versatile, Intello that day. Declaration of War got going too late when second to Al

Kazeem in the 1 1/4-mile Eclipse, but made amends last time in the August 21 Juddmonte International. Taking up a closer stalking position, Declaration of

War surged past the ubiquitous Trading Leather and Al Kazeem for an emphatic

victory. Both Giant's Causeway and Sakhee had won the Juddmonte en route to

their Classic near-misses. Aside from the dirt question, Declaration of War must

also prove that he's sharp enough off a 2 1/2-month break. He thrived on bustling

activity over the summer, turning in five commendable Group 1 performances in

two months. Scratched from the September 7 Irish Champion due to rain-softened

ground, he skipped Champions Day for the same reason. On the other hand, that

means he enters this swan song fresh, unlike some other Ballydoyle inmates who

were over the top by the time they arrived here. Although

GAME ON DUDE will be tough if he runs up to his best performance on his home

track, Declaration of War warrants respect as a legitimate win candidate at a

price. O'Brien just revealed that he was much more impressive in his recent

work in company at Southwell than Giant's Causeway had been in his pre-BC test

spin over the same track, a fibresand surface noted for its significant

kickback. Declaration of War also reportedly made an excellent appearance

Thursday morning, his first since clearing quarantine.

PLANTEUR: Third-place finisher in the last two runnings of the Dubai World Cup would have been a little more interesting on the

old Pro-Ride, but the son of Danehill Dancer could find dirt a much tougher

proposition. Although he's out of a Giant's Causeway mare, his family is all

turf. An even more disconcerting factor is his poor display in the Prix

Dollar last out, where he did too much on the front end and gave way badly in a

tailed-off 12th. That was hardly the kind of prep envisioned by Marco Botti, who

trains the six-year-old for Sheikh Joaan of the Qatari royal family. Planteur does have plenty of back class, as his roll call of victories over Rewilding, Sarafina,

Cirrus des Aigles and Cape Blanco attests. He was also in typically good form

early this season, when winning the Winter Derby Trial in course-record time

over Lingfield's Polytrack, taking third in the World Cup for the second year in

a row, and just missing to Maxios in the Prix d'Ispahan. Planteur returned from

his summer break with a score over inferior foes in the Winter Hill at Windsor,

but his Dollar flop must leave more questions about his form ahead of his

sternest test. He gets an equipment change (adding a hood) in hopes that it will

get him to settle, which just adds another variable to an uncertain equation.