BREEDERS’ CUP NOTES

Since the early years of the Breeders’ Cup, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of Dubai has been an enthusiastic participant, running more than 40 horses in his own name, with partners, or under his nom-de-course Godolphin Racing stable.

Nearly all the sheikh’s Breeders’ Cup horses shipped over from Europe, and several reached the winner’s circle: Pebbles in the 1985 Turf; In The Wings in the ’90 Turf; Arazi in the ’91 Juvenile; Barathea in the ’94 Mile; and Daylami in the ’99 Turf.

But the Cup’s biggest prize, the $4 million Classic, has eluded him so far, although Godolphin’s Swain came close in ’98 at Churchill Downs. Under a much-criticized ride by stable jockey Frankie Dettori, Swain appeared headed to victory in midstretch, but then drifted out badly under Dettori’s left-hand whipping and was beaten just a length.

Next Saturday, when the 18th Breeders’ Cup is held at Belmont Park, Sheikh Mo will again take aim at the Classic with one of his European superstars. The question is, which will it be: Fantastic Light or Sakhee? Neither has raced on dirt, and both are cross-entered in the $2 million Turf, but the Classic is their first preference.

At first glance, the 5-year-old Fantastic Light appears the obvious choice for the Classic, as he relishes a mile and a quarter. He’s won his last three starts at the distance, all Grade 1’s: the Hong Kong Cup last December, the Prince of Wales Stakes in June, and the Irish Champion Stakes last out, Sept. 8, in which he handed Europe’s 3-year-old champion, Classic-bound Galileo, his first defeat.

Sakhee, however, could be the better of the two. A 4-year-old, he’s 7-for-10 in his career, unbeaten in three starts this year and is coming off a six-length romp in Europe’s most prestigious race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The Arc is run at a mile and a half, the same distance as the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but note that Sakhee is 4-for-5 racing at or about the Classic’s 10 furlongs.

Yesterday morning, after Sakhee and Fantastic Light turned in snail-like workouts over the main track at Belmont, Godolphin assistant trainer Tom Albertrani said it’s still up in the air as to which horse will run where.

“There are going to be a lot of last-minute decisions,” he said. “We’ll probably know some time early next week. Hopefully it will be decided before Wednesday (when final entries are taken), but it might go to the last minute.

“These are the best horses we’ve brought over here in years.”

Of the two, Sakhee looked more comfortable during his a.m. breeze despite crawling through five furlongs in 1:05.1.

Fantastic Light went seven furlongs in 1:32.1, breezing through fractions of :26.1, :52 and 1:18.1, galloping out a mile in 1:48.

“He was easing up a little towards the end, but he usually does that,” Albertrani said. “He knows the difference between race day and when he’s just out there for a stroll through the park in the morning.

“He’s very consistent and very tough. If he runs back to the same form he had in his last start, he’ll be tough in either spot.”