ARCADIA, Calif. — Two horses — one with a life-size bronze statue in the paddock garden here at Santa Anita, the other a foreigner that’s never set foot in America — cast giant shadows over the 29th Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Friday and Saturday, though neither was among the entries when post positions were drawn yesterday.
The statue is of 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Zenyatta, the great racemare whose iconic status ranks with the great sports legends in California history. The foreign horse is British sensation Frankel, ranked by Europeans as the greatest thoroughbred of all time after he recently concluded his 14-for-14 career.
Their absence explains why, despite the 15 championship stakes stacked with large fields of top-class runners, the international cast and the more than $25 million in purses, many regard this year’s Breeders’ Cup as a less-than-compelling event.
“They’re all tough races, there is no easy spot,” said Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, whose 11 Breeders’ Cup runners include Game On Dude, the 9-5 favorite for the $5 million Classic, which will be broadcast in prime time on Saturday (NBC, 8:00 p.m) for the first time. “Our problem, post-Zenyatta, is that there isn’t one super-duper star.
“She spoiled us. She made it too exciting. I’ve never been in the paddock before a Breeders’ Cup race when everyone was there to see one horse.”
Still, Baffert said, “Star power still works in our business, and in the Breeders’ Cup, every race has a star. There are six horses in the [1 1/4-mile] Classic that, if they bring their ‘A’ game, they can win.”
Game On Dude can clinch Horse of the Year by adding the Classic to victories in the San Antonio, California, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Awesome Again, with a close second in the Pacific Classic. He faces three horses — Flat Out, Ron the Greek and To Honor and Serve, winners of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Santa Anita Handicap and Woodward, respectively — who could give Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his second straight Classic, after he sent out Drosselmeyer to run down Game On Dude last year at Churchill Downs.
“The horses I’ve got in the Classic have completely different styles,” Mott said. “To Honor and Serve has good early speed and he’s going to be up close to the pace. Flat Out seems to be a mid-pack sort of a stalker, and Ron the Greek usually comes from nine miles out of it.
“I don’t think the running style should interfere with one another. We just hope we can be running at [Game On Dude] at the finish. He’s got a tremendous amount of speed and is a durable, tough horse.”
Mucho Macho Man, Fort Larned, Richard’s Kid, Alpha, Brilliant Speed, Nonios, Pool Play and Handsome Mike round out the field of 12 for the Classic, which produced the longest longshot in Breeders’ Cup history when Arcangues ($133.60) won at Santa Anita in 1993.
Mott will try to win Friday’s $2 million Ladies’ Classic, perhaps the best of the Breeders’ Cup races, for the second straight year with the 4-year-old filly Royal Delta. She’ll take on a pair of unbeaten champions, Awesome Feather and My Miss Aurelia, Todd Pletcher’s Love and Pride, coming off a handy score in the Zenyatta, and Alabama winner Questing.
The Triple Crown will be represented by a pair of rivals from last year: Derby hero Animal Kingdom, making his first start since Feb. in the Mile, and Preakness winner Shackleford, who goes in the Dirt Mile.
Horse of the Year contender Point of Entry, coming off daylight wins in the Elkhorn, Man o’War, Sword Dancer and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, faces some hard-hitting Euro invaders in the $3 million Turf, including last year’s winner, Ireland’s St Nicholas Abbey.
Another mano-a-mano clash takes place in the Mile on grass, where American standout Wise Dan goes head-to-head with Ireland’s Excelebration, who has won eight of his last 13 starts. The five losses? They came against a horse named Frankel.