The Post will profile each of the nine Breeders’ Cup races to be run next Saturday at Santa Anita Park. The Countdown to the Cup spotlights potential nice-price winners as handicapped by Ed Fountaine, John DaSilva and Anthony Affrunti. Good luck.
ANALYSIS: Under normal circumstances, undefeated (4-for-4) Shanghai Bobby would be a solid favorite off runaway scores in the Hopeful and Champagne. But these aren’t normal circumstances. Like the rest of the Todd Pletcher-trained Breeders’ Cup runners trapped at Belmont Park because of the storm, Shanghai Bobby won’t leave until tonight or tomorrow for the long, grueling trip to California. On top of that, because of the new Breeders’ Cup rule for 2-year-olds, he will not be able to run on Lasix as in his other starts.
Trainer Bob Baffert’s pair of Power Broker and Title Contender also must go off Lasix, but they have the decided benefit of coming off big wins going two turns over this track.
LIVE LONG SHOTS: Capo Bastone finished third behind Power Broker in the Grade 1 Front Runner here Sept. 29. Speak Logistics wouldn’t be the first Calder shipper to run a big race in the Breeders’ Cup. Fortify was second in the Hopeful and third in the Champagne racing without Lasix.
THE BET: Power Broker and Title Contender were both expensive purchases who worked a bullet five furlongs in company for this; Baffert could run 1-2. Use the live longshots and Shanghai Bobby underneath in superfectas.
HORSE TRAINER ODDS
1. Title ContenderM. Garcia 6-1
2. Speak LogisticsA. Serpa 8-1
3. Had EnoughM. Gutierrez 20-1
4. Shanghai BobbyR. Napravnik 2-1
5. MonumentJ. Talamo 12-1
6. Dynamic SkyL. Contreras 12-1
7. Capo BastoneJ. Rosario 15-1
8. FortifyR. Dominguez 9-2
9. Power BrokerR. Bejarano 5-2