ARCADIA, Calif. — In one of the greatest and closest finishes in Breeders’ Cup history, four horses — Dancing in Silks, Crown of Thorns, Cost of Freedom and Gayego — flashed under the wire of the $2 million Sprint at Santa Anita Park so desperately close together it probably made even the photo-finish camera blink.
But the final pictures showed Dancing in Silks, a 25-1 bomb, a nose in front of Crown of Thorns (15-1) with Cost of Freedom (18-1) a head away third with Gayego a bare nose away in fourth. The win was a huge gamble for owner Ken Kinakin, who had to cough up $180,000 to supplement the Californian-bred gelding into the race. Imagine, for a 25-1 shot.
“The power of positive thinking,” Kinakin told his aghast trainer Carla Gaines, when he told her he was putting up the cash.
Ridden by Joel Rosario, Dancing in Silks sat behind the pacemakers, then forged to the lead in the shadow of the wire, surrounded by his three rivals. He got the trip in 1.08.14, topping a $1 trifecta of $2,145 and a $1 superfecta of $7,651.
The sensation of the race was the 9-5 favorite Zensational, who missed the jump from the rail and ended up a weak fifth.
JUVENILE TURF
Pounced got the Europeans off to a flying start in the second day of the Breeders’ Cup with a gritty win in the Juvenile Turf at a mile, but the star of the show was his jockey, the exuberant glamour boy of the European turf, Frankie Dettori.
The flashy Italian got Pounced smartly out of the gate and parked him fourth on the fence while three Americans, Bridgetown, Becky’s Kitten and Interactif, cut out a snail’s pace up front. Turning for home, Dettori angled Pounced off the fence, split horses and rolled to a nifty win as the 2-1 favorite. Perfect ride, perfect timing.
In the winner’s circle, Dettori, as always, plucked flowers from the horse’s blanket, threw them into the air, then gave his trademark flying leap off the horse’s back. He plowed his way through the crowd, smiling, waving and kissing everyone in sight.
Pounced, medicated for the first time with Lasix, beat game pacemaker Bridgetown by three-quarters of a length with Interactif a head back in third. The final time was 1.35.47 for the mile after getting a slow 6 furlongs in 1.12.47.
TURF SPRINT
In last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over Santa Anita’s downhill turf course, California Flag was hooked in a speed duel through blazing fractions (:20.3, :41.4) and tired badly down the stretch to finish 10th. Yesterday, the pace scenario was more to his advantage, as the 5-year-old California-bred gelding quickly shook loose on the lead under Joe Talamo, cruised along through sensible splits (:21.2, :43) and kept on going to win by 1¾ lengths as the 3-1 favorite.
His final time of 1:11.28 for 6½ furlongs was 0.18 off the course record, set last year by California Flag.
“He had an ideal trip,” said his 19-year-old jockey, Joe Talamo. “Once that filly [Canadian Ballet] took back, he opened up. I think last year played a roll in that nobody wanted to go with him early.”
California Flag, who dumped his exercise rider and ran off one morning last week, is now 4-for-6 over the downhill course. The 5-year-old mare Gotta Have Her, who rallied for second, was previously 4-for-4 going downhill.
“We learned from our mistakes last year,” trainer Brian Koriner said. “There wasn’t a crazy speed horse in there [this year], and having run on the downhill turf course was a big advantage.”
This was the first Breeders’ Cup victory for both trainer and jockey.
JUVENILE
When Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator ran 1-2 in last year’s Classic, it indicated that European grass runners take to Santa Anita’s synthetic Pro-Ride surface like ducks to water.
Godolphin Stable’s 2-year-old colt Vale of York, coming off races in England and Italy, confirmed that with a hard-fought score at 30-1 in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, beating 2-1 favorite Lookin At Lucky by a head.
“He ran a huge race,” said winning trainer Saeed bin Suroor. “He’s a tough horse, and next year we’ll bring him for the Kentucky Derby.”
In fact, both youngsters ran huge races. Lookin At Lucky, unbeaten in four starts including a pair of Grade 1’s in California, drew the unlucky far outside 13 post, and he was fanned wide around both turns under Garrett Gomez. Still, he looked like a winner rallying down the stretch.
But Vale of York, Ahmed Ajtebia up, swung off the rail in mid-stretch and finished with a rush, splitting horses to get up in a four-horse blanket finish. Noble’s Promise, 6-1, and 50-1 pacesetter Piscitelli were third and fourth.
“It’s frustrating to know you have much the best horse and to come up short like that,” said Lookin At Lucky’s trainer, Bob Baffert. “At least you know you can look forward to the Derby.”
MILE
Goldikova, the brilliant French filly, stamped herself as one of the great heroines in Breeders’ Cup history when she came from near last to win the $2 million grass Mile for the second straight year. Only nine other horses have come back to win two Cup races in its 25-year history.
Sent off a hot 7-5 favorite, the 4-year-old star came to Santa Anita off three Grade 1 triumphs in England and France before finishing third as the 2-5 favorite in the Prix de lat Foret last out at Longchamp. But there was no holding her here.
Her French jockey, Olivier Peslier, settled her near the rear, swung wide on the turn, and at the top of the lane had only three horses beat. But Goldikova dug in and ran by horse after horse before reaching the hard-hitting leader Courageous Cat, a 22-1 longshot from Bill Mott’s barn, who refused to give in. Peslier had to throw everything at Goldikova to push in front. She eventually won by half a length, with Justenuffhumor, 16-1, third.
Goldikova, trained by Freddy Head for the Wertheimer brothers, ran the mile in a swift 1.32.26.
DIRT MILE
The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile wasn’t run on dirt at all yesterday, but rather over Santa Anita’s synthetic Pro-Ride surface. That was just fine with Furthest Land, a synthetic-track specialist who rallied to win at 21-1, giving jockey Julien Leparoux his third winner in this year’s Cup.
Furthest Land, a 4-year-old gelding claimed a year ago by owner Ken Ramsey and trainer Mike Maker for $35,000 from Christophe Clement, was 2-for-2 on synthetics. Ready’s Echo, second at 24-1, Midshipman, third at 3-1, and 7-5 favorite Mastercraftsman, who ran fourth, all previously won on “plastic” tracks.
“Now he might be voted claimer of the year,” Ramsey said of his $35,000 bargain buy.
Midshipman, making just his second start after winning last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile over this strip, set the pace and was still in front with a furlong to run. Mastercraftsman, trapped in traffic turning for home, finally found room and was rallying up the rail. But the favorite failed to sustain his run and Midshipman tired as Furthest Land came rolling outside to win by three-quarters of a length.
TURF
The European Cup repeater Goldikova hardly had cooled out before another European, the terrific Conduit, stepped up for the Turf and did what he did last year — run off with the $3 million event, the second richest thoroughbred race in America, behind the $5 million Classic. It was Europe’s fourth win of the afternoon.
But Conduit had to reach down to the depths of his pedigree to hold off Presious Passion, the pride of New Jersey, who opened his usual long daylight lead but when Conduit came to him in the stretch, the Passion, as always, refused to surrender and he went to the wire dogged to the last breath. Conduit, the 4-5 favorite, eventually beat him only by half a length. Dar Re Mi plugged on for third.
Conduit, ridden by Ryan Moore, gave his English trainer Sir Michael Stoute his fifth Cup winner, but already Stoute is looking ahead. He said he would take Conduit back home, look him over for 10 days or so, “Then we’ll consider taking him to Japan for the Japan Cup.”
Presious Passion set extremely fast fractions for a mile and a half, blazing through 6 furlongs in 1.09.24 and the mile in 1.34.58. No wonder Conduit had to work so hard to get him in a final time in 2.23.75, just one second off the track record.
