Breeders’ Cup Previews J

Street Sense and Calvin Borel will unite for one last race (Michael J. Marten/Horsephotos.com)

Street Sense will cap a majestic year with the victory. He’ll become the
first horse to capture the elusive trifecta of the Kentucky Derby (G1), Travers
S. (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), and we believe he’ll do it. Carl Nafzger
has successfully used Polytrack preps to prepare the dark bay for career bests,
and Street Sense received the perfect set-up in the Kentucky Cup Classic (G2) on
September 29, finishing second over the Polytrack at Turfway Park. Hard Spun was
the controlling speed that afternoon, so jockey Calvin Borel did not abuse
Street Sense through the stretch, and the colt received a respectable 107 BRIS
Speed rating for the runner-up effort. He netted a 111 figure for his score in
the Travers two back, rallying boldly to catch the game front runner in the
stretch of the 1 1/4-mile test, and Street Sense is two-for-two at 10 furlongs.

He owns the numbers, takes his (dirt) track with him and won’t have any
trouble with the distance. Street Sense, who finished a good third in his lone
appearance over an off track last year, is also training superbly for his career
finale, turning in several eye-catching moves at Churchill Downs before a
sensational move at Monmouth earlier this week. He worked well over the slop
earlier this season, and now appears ready to deliver his best regardless of
footing. Street Sense has proven effective behind fast and moderate splits, and
a legitimate clip up front looks very possible with Lawyer Ron and Hard Spun
contesting the pace. Jockey Calvin Borel is very confident in the colt, and
Nafzger can point his charges toward big events as well as anybody, winning both
the Derby and Classic with Unbridled in 1990. Street Sense rates a slight edge.

Tiago will try to add a first stakes win over a non-California track to his record in the Classic (Michael J. Marten/Horsephotos.com)

Tiago is bigger, faster and more mature than he was earlier in the year when
racing in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont. The John Shirreffs-trained sophomore
colt has captured his last three starts on the West Coast, winning the Santa
Anita Derby (G1), Swaps Breeders’ Cup S. (G2) and Goodwood S. (G1), and he
captured the latter in game fashion following a 2 1/2-month freshening. We’re
expecting improvement upon that notable performance. The bay colt has exhibited
more tactical speed in his recent outings, and he’s definitely a strong closer.
We’ll include him in some exotics.

We’ll take a stand against Any Given Saturday, but we won’t knock him too far
down in our selections. He’s difficult to ignore based on his smashing 4
1/2-length score in the Haskell two back, at the expense of Curlin and Hard
Spun, but this race will set up completely different and take place over an
extra furlong. Any Given Saturday finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby, and his
victory in the Brooklyn H. (G2) last out was far from spectacular. It may not
make much of a difference, and we won’t be surprised to see him hit the board,
but we have our doubts whether Any Given Saturday is good enough to the win.

AWESOME GEM (Awesome Again) is a hard-knocking older horse, finishing a close
second in the Goodwood, Pacific Classic (G1) and San Diego H. (G2) in his last
three outings, but his Speed ratings are low. Those numbers were earned over
synthetic tracks, but the four-year-old gelding earned only a 103 when winning a
Grade 2 on dirt earlier this year at Santa Anita. The late runner remains a
contender for a small share, but we can’t recommend his chances against this
salty competition.