Futurity, Pilgrim to offer Breeders' Cup berths

Two-year-old candidates for the upcoming Breeders' Cup at Del Mar will emerge Friday when Aqueduct hosts the $175,000 Futurity (G3) and $200,000 Pilgrim (G2), both Breeders' Cup Challenge races.

The six-furlong Futurity offers a free berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1), while the 1 1/16-mile Pilgrim is similarly tied to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1).

On paper, the Futurity might be the more intriguing of the two races. The Wesley Ward-trained Outfielder was an eye-catching winner of his debut at Churchill Downs in May, and most recently finished a respectable fourth in the Prix Morny (G1) at Deauville on Aug. 24.

"We gave him some time and got him ready, but unfortunately, that may have cost us going into the Morny not having the two starts," Ward said. "Previous Prix Morny races we've had a win in America and a win at Royal Ascot, so they had good experience, where this guy went from a maiden to a straight six-furlong race.

"He ran in the toughest Prix Morny that I ever ran in, so those two factors — not having the experience and being an extremely tough race — I thought he ran very credible. All the other horses in the race had a lot more experience than him."

Ward also saddles Longshoreman, a rough-trip fifth in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint last time. But Outfielder's main challenger figures to be Belgian, a George Weaver-trained colt who aired by 11 lengths in his debut at Saratoga. Originally scheduled for the turf, the race was instead conducted over a sloppy main track.

Intricate Spirit easily won his debut at Saratoga and then finished a close second in a restricted Kentucky Downs allowance won by next-out stakes winner Street Beast. Attfield rallied to win first out at Saratoga and should enjoy the stretch-out, while Expressway and No Pressure were separated by a neck in their mutual Sept. 13 debut over the Futurity course and distance.

Although the Pilgrim features the With Anticipation (G3) second and third Heeere's Johnny and Capital Partner, the race looks far more wide open on paper. Bottas looked a potentially smart colt for Miguel Clement when taking his first start at the Spa on Aug. 23, while Scope and Teleport saw their one-two placings reversed by the stewards at the same level one week earlier.

Also likely to be given a look by bettors are the Bill Mott-trained Noble Dynasty and Repentless, a graduate by three lengths at first asking over the Kentucky Downs strip for Kelsey Danner.