2011 Breeders’ Cup Preview of the Field

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2011 Breeders’ Cup Preview of the Field

Thoroughbred racing’s year-end Championships will be held on Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5. 2011 for a record eighth time at the prestigious Churchill Downs in Kentucky, home of the Kentucky Derby. It is the richest prize money event in sports, with more than $26 million in purses offered over the two-day event, with the event ending in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the race that will decide the best of the best. The 2010 Breeders’ Cup delivered nearly $140 million in winning wagers to fans at betting locations around the world.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who has never won the Classic, has two entrants this year: Game On Dude (13 starts and five wins) and Prayer for Relief (nine starts and five wins). Prayer for Relief is hoping to prove 3-year-olds are still proficient at taking on their elders in the race. Nine have won the Classic, including Curlin, Sunday Silence, and Tiznow. Game on Dude is not likely to be a favorite, but will be much talked about because one of his owners is Major League Baseball’s Joe Torre.

A suspensory ligament injury will bring early retirement to Tizway and keep him from running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Havre de Grace’s (14 starts and eight wins) lone loss this season was a second-place finish by just a nose to champion three-year-old filly Blind Luck, she’s an excellent contender to take on the boys in the Classic.

Classic hopeful Twirling Candy will not compete on championship weekend having been retired due to a minor injury.

That leaves the field to Irish Await The Dawn with a record of three starts and two wins this year, he hasn’t been racing after a fever and could be primed for a win.

Uncle Mo is back after battling liver disease, but he is full of talent and could be a wild card in the Classic.

Flat out is apparently over his soundness issues and could be in the mix, but likely to be in the middle of the pack.

Uncle Mo’s stable mate, Stay Thirsty, has two losses at Churchill Downs by double-digit margins do not encourage assurance that he handles that track well, but he consistently stays a few lengths with the best.

Gio Ponti skipped the Classic last year and opted for chasing Goldikova in the Mile last year, but this year will try the Classic since the field doesn’t seem as tough.

So You Think is a turf horse trying the dirt, so shouldn’t be a strong contender. Ruler On Ice, the Belmont Stakes upsetter, has been bested by most of the horses on this field, a true long-shot.

To Honor and Serve has good pace numbers, but when put up against others comparable horses, lacks the drive to push through and is expected to drop back.

Drosselmeyer had an excellent run in The Jockey Club Gold Cup, but one race does not a champion make. It was either a new beginning for this horse or a fluke, but if the track is muddy he could make an interesting race.

Rattlesnake Bridge’s 2011 Record of 7-2-3-1, isn’t impressive enough to think he has a shot, he make a late run and try to pick up spots, but will not cross the line first. Or second.

Headache will be just what his name implies to the rest of the horses: middle of the pack and in the way of those trying to advance.

Ice Box. He has Nick Zito as a trainer, but that’s the best that can be said.

The 2011 Breeders' Cup World Championships is going to be quite an event. The prestigious race attracts the best of the best from around the world. Whether you just like to watch horses race or you like to place bets on events to make money, you are going to be pleased with the 2011 Breeders' Cup. The horses aren’t as good as those of the past, but the field is an even keel of mediocre contenders to choose from so the race will still be an exciting event to watch.