A Look At The Breeders' Cup Pre-Entries, Woodbine Style

Pre-entries for the Breeders' Cup races at Churchill Downs beginning next Friday have been released earlier today. You can check them out on the Breeders' Cup website by clicking here. As opposed to listing all of the fields for the races, I thought I would point out some Woodbine story lines that fans might recognize by following the Woodbine meet in 2010 and even previously to 2010. Please let me know if I'm missing any by placing your comments below:



Milwaukee Appeal to run in Ladies' Classic

2009 Woodbine Oaks winner Milwaukee Appeal will run for trainer Scott Fairlie in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic. Milwaukee Appeal also entered two of the Canadian Triple Crown races last year and finished 3rd in the Queen's Plate and 2nd in the Prince of Wales Stakes in 2009. Milwaukee Appeal faces a tough field in the Ladies' Classic, however, going up against horses like Life At Ten, Malibu Prayer, Blind Luck and Persistently.

Woodbine Mile Shippers Find Themselves In Breeders' Cup Mile

I was lucky enough to be at Woodbine for Woodbine Mile Day and the top two horses in the race will both start in the Breeders' Cup Mile on turf. Court Vision, the winner of the Woodbine Mile and The Usual Q.T., the runner up, will run against the likes of Goldikova and Sidney's Candy. This race is also shaping up to be quite a race and it will be interesting to see how the Woodbine Mile is as a prep race for the Breeders' Cup. Will it supply the winner of the Mile this year? We will see.

Al Khali Hopes Quick Turnaround Won't Hurt Him

Al Khali, who had a terrible trip in the Pattison Canadian International just 11 days ago, will run in the Breeders' Cup turf. The quick three week turnaround between the International and the Breeders' Cup usually causes owners and trainers to strongly think about running in the turf, but the connections of Al Khali appear ready to give it a try. Many feel that Al Khali was the best horse in the Pattison Canadian International, but a troubled trip caused the horse to settle for fourth place on the day. While 11 horses are pre-entered into the race, it appears only eight horses will go to the post, giving Al Khali plenty of room to stay out of trouble.

Madman Diaries Looking For Juvenile Victory

Two year old Madman Diaries, who broke his maiden back at Woodbine in May, has entered in both the Juvenile and the Juvenile Turf for the Breeders' Cup. Madman Diaries won his first race in May in a romp over the field at Woodbine and then followed that up with a win and a second place finish in two stakes races later on in the season. Despite entering in both the Juvenile and the Juvenile Turf, the first choice for the connections is the Juvenile Turf.

Miss Keller In The Filly and Mare Turf

Three Chimneys' owned Miss Keller, who is coming off of a win in the Canadian Stakes on September 19th and a second place finish in the E.P. Taylor Stakes on October 16th, will enter the Filly and Mare Turf race at the Breeders' Cup. Trained by Woodbine based Roger Attfield, Miss Keller will run in the one mile and three eighths race on turf against the likes of Plumania, Midday and Eclair de Lune. Like Al Khali, freshness may be a concern for Miss Keller who will run just three weeks after her last race.

Mark Casse Looks For Breeders' Cup Victory

Top Woodbine trainer Mark Casse will send Delightful Mary to the Breeders' Cup looking for the Juvenile Fillies crown. Casse could have had two horses in the race but opted to keep Winstar Farm owned Blue Laser out of the Breeders' Cup in favour of the Delta Jackpot. Delightful Mary has had three races at Woodbine this season, breaking her Maiden in her first race on August 8th. Delightful Mary also won an allowance race and then finished second in a stakes race at Woodbine on October 9th. The winner of that stakes race, Wyomia, will try the Juvenile Fillies Turf race for trainer Daniel Vella.

Grand Adventure Tries Turf Sprint For Sam Son

Grand Adventure, who finished second behind Serious Attitude in the Nearctic Stakes on October 16th, will try the Turf Sprint for Sam Son Farms and trainer Mark Frostad. The 5th place finisher from the Nearctic, Bridgetown, will also try this race for Woodbine based owner Melnyk Racing Stables. Grand Adventure has bounced around many different distances this season but will go in the Turf Sprint against defending champion California Flag who was featured in the Jockeys television series. The sprint this year will be scaled back to five furlongs, compared to six and a half furlongs last year.

Those appear to me to be the big Woodbine story lines in this year's Breeders' Cup. I wish all Woodbine connections the best of luck and hopefully they can come back to Canada winners. Be sure to keep your eye on At The Post over the next two weeks for Breeders' Cup coverage, including my selections of the races. Hopefully it goes a bit better than my October 16th pick four ticket!

Posted in: US Tracks,Woodbine