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.

Romantica has the credentials to upstage Dank (Cecilia Gustavvson/Horsephotos.com) ROMANTICA: Blueblood out of 2001 Filly & Mare Turf romper Banks Hill aims to complete the first mother/daughter double in this race — and a family triple, since her “aunt” Intercontinental won the 2005 edition. Her “uncle” Dansili is also the sire of DANK and LAUGHING. The Andre Fabre filly is at her best at this distance on good ground, as evidenced by her three-for-four mark. Runner-up to the high-class Ridasiyna in the nine-furlong Prix Chloe in just her third career start, she was a close second in the 2012 Prix de Psyche in her first attempt at 1 1/4 miles. Romantica duly obliged in her second try at the trip in the Prix de la Nonette. In the process, she reversed form with a subpar Ridasiyna, who went on to romp in the Prix de l’Opera and finish a hard-charging fourth in the 2012 Filly & Mare Turf. Romantica found 1 1/2 miles well beyond her when ninth in last fall’s Prix Vermeille. The daughter of Galileo reappeared with a victory in the April 29 Prix Allez France, giving the runner-up nine pounds and a beating, but was upset on very soft ground in the May 24 Prix Corrida at 1 5/16 miles. Romantica found the better going of the August 18 Prix Jean Romanet much more congenial. Despite being floated out wide by Dalkala (winner of this season’s Middleton and Prix de l’Opera), Romantica rallied convincingly for her first Group 1 laurel. She again tried the Vermeille, but the combination of the longer distance on soft ground worked against her, and she was well beaten by Treve — who came back to dominate males in the Arc. Santa Anita should be ideal for Romantica, making her a live contender at a better price (6-1) than 5-2 morning-line favorite Dank. She’s another who must avoid possible pitfalls from her inside post 2 with her exclusive rider, Maxime Guyon. Romantica holds more appeal than Juddmonte’s American-based hope, EMOLLIENT, whose turf form isn’t as compelling as her form on Polytrack.

TURF

The Fugue, on a mission after her luckless passage in the F&M Turf last year, takes on males this time (Cecilia Gustavsson/Horsephotos.com) THE FUGUE: John Gosden filly was a traffic-nightmare third in last year’s Filly & Mare Turf, but she’s older, wiser, and arguably stronger for her return visit to Santa Anita. The Fugue had scored big wins in the 2012 Nassau and Musidora, along with a fine second to Shareta in the Yorkshire Oaks and a badly-hampered third in the Oaks at Epsom. This year, The Fugue brings world-class form versus males, and a newfound flair for 1 1/2 miles. Her four-year-old campaign got off to a promising start when third to Al Kazeem in the June 19 Prince of Wales’s at Royal Ascot, where she fared best of the closers. Expected to move forward in the July 6 Eclipse, she instead flopped behind Al Kazeem in the worst performance of her career. The Fugue had an excuse, though (scoped dirty), and she has roared back in her two ensuing starts. Back up in trip to 1 1/2 miles for another crack at the Yorkshire Oaks, she proved to be much stronger with age. Held up off a robust early pace, The Fugue was still on cruise control as she coasted in the stretch, and she drew right away to erase any lingering stamina doubts. The Fugue dropped back in trip for the 1 1/4-mile Irish Champion and turned in a similar performance. Traveling with more aplomb than Al Kazeem in the stretch, she overpowered him and decisively avenged her earlier losses at his hands. Finishing back in third was Irish Derby hero Trading Leather, who provides some mouthwatering form lines. Trading Leather was best of the rest behind Novellist in his record-setting King George VI & Queen Elizabeth, and also second to DECLARATION OF WAR (Classic) at York. The Fugue would have contested the Arc — the most prolific source of Turf winners — if the ground hadn’t turned soft, and she’ll be in her element here. She drew well in post 7, reducing her chances of enduring another heartbreaking trip. Gosden noted Wednesday that she’s in “tremendous shape,” a telling bulletin indeed from a trainer known for forthrightness, not salesmanship.

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

Olympic Glory has the class, but faces a quick turnaround and must corner better than he did at Longchamp (Cecilia Gustavsson/Horsephotos.com) OLYMPIC GLORY: Richard Hannon sophomore has established himself as a world-class miler, just missing to the superb Moonlight Cloud in course-record time in the Prix Jacques le Marois, then crushing the October 19 Queen Elizabeth II in first-time blinkers. But lining up at Santa Anita, just two weeks after winning the QE II on testing ground, didn’t work out too well for Excelebration last year. Excelebration didn’t duplicate his QE II heroics when a flat fourth to WISE DAN, and Olympic Glory is in danger of a similar regression when facing the Horse of the Year here. It’s also worth pointing out that Toronado was expected to fly the flag for the Sheikh Joaan/Hannon team, until connections realized that he wouldn’t be ready after all. Had Toronado impressed in his last work, it’s doubtful that Olympic Glory would have been pressed into double-duty. Yet the son of Choisir (also the sire of OBVIOUSLY) could prove more robust than Excelebration, and perhaps the parallel shouldn’t be pushed too far. As a juvenile, Olympic Glory won three of four starts during a two-month span, his only loss to champion Dawn Approach in the Coventry. Although Olympic Glory ended 2012 with a victory in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp, he ran his two worst races this year at the Paris track. Hannon observed that he didn’t handle the turn en route to his 11th in the French 2000 Guineas (the only time he was ever out of the exacta in his life), and he again didn’t corner well when a lazy second to Maxios in the Prix du Moulin. Those efforts call into question his aptitude for Santa Anita. But his team now says that it was the hill and a general lack of focus, not so much the turn itself, that he didn’t cope with at Longchamp. In any event, blinkers concentrated his mind wonderfully in the QE II, where he reveled in soft going down the straightaway. He’s a major threat if he runs anywhere near his best in entirely different circumstances — two turns on firm ground. After a spin around Santa Anita on Thursday, jockey Richard Hughes was reportedly delighted with how he handled the turn.

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.