BREEDING DEBATE; HORSE OF THE YEAR PICTURE STILL MAY BE UNCLEAR AT DAY'S END.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer However Bob Baffert's record chase and other Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I thoroughbred horse races operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982 by a consortium of North American racing organizations, led by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. themes play out today, the sport might have a mess to clean up when the eight races are over. And not just the piles of losing parimutuel tickets on the floors of Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans January through March, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America. . If Behrens, the leading Horse of the Year contender, is beaten in the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. , there might be no clear choice for thoroughbred racing's top award, and the arguments could stretch until racing writers' and executives' ballots are counted in January. ``It's very muddled,'' said D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. , trainer of a record 13 Breeders' Cup winners and two Horses of the Year. ``I don't think there'll be any way to sum it up until they run these things "These Things" is an EP by She Wants Revenge, released in 2005 by Perfect Kiss, a subsidiary of Geffen Records. Music Video The music video stars Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage. Track Listing 1. "These Things [Radio Edit]" - 3:17 2. .'' If then. It all depends not only on how Behrens does but on the performances of other Breeders' Cup entrants mentioned as Horse of the Year candidates: Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, winner Almutawakel, claimer-turned Grade I-winner River Keen, Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. winner General Challenge and Belmont Stakes Belmont Stakes Oldest of the three U.S. horse races that constitute the Triple Crown. The Belmont originated in 1867 and is named after August Belmont (see Belmont family). The stakes is held in early June at Belmont Park, near Garden City, Long Island; the course is 1.5 mi (2,400 m). winner Lemon Drop Kid Lemon Drop Kid (foaled 1996) is a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse. He is among many stakes-winning Thoroughbreds to be descended from Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Seattle Slew is the sire of his dam, Charming Lassie. (all in the Classic), dominant 3-year-old filly Silverbulletday (Distaff) and unbeaten 2-year-old filly Chilukki (Juvenile Fillies). Four of those - River Keen, General Challenge, Silverbulletday and Chilukki - are among the eight horses Baffert will send out today in quest of a record for victories by a trainer at a single Breeders' Cup. Lukas set the record with three in 1988. Baffert avoided the Horse of the Year debate Friday morning as he sat in a director's chair at his Gulfstream barn and pronounced his horses ready for action. ``I don't vote, so I'm not even worried about that,'' he said. Perhaps he was being diplomatic, since his Breeders' Cup horses have five different owners. But others had trouble putting the matter into words, too. ``The horse that wins (the Classic), more than likely could easily be Horse of the Year,'' said Scotty Schulhofer, trainer of Lemon Drop Kid, hedging just a little. ``It's a crapshoot right now.'' The candidates list reflects the fact that injuries and retirements have robbed the sport and the Breeders' Cup of some of 1999's leading handicap runners (Victory Gallop Victory Gallop (foaled May 30, 1995 in Ontario, Canada) was an American-based Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Ivan Dalos' Tall Oaks Farm, Victory Gallop was born later in the 1995 year than is common for most Thoroughbreds. , Free House, Silver Charm Silver Charm (born February 22 1994) is an American Champion Thoroughbred race horse. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before falling short of the Triple Crown by placing second in the Belmont , Real Quiet) and top 3-year-old (Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Charismatic, the only horse not competing today who still has a shot at Horse of the Year). Behrens (ridden by Jorge Chavez): If this 5-year-old wins the title, he'll have mounted the least ambitious Horse of the Year campaign by a member of the handicap division perhaps since Ferdinand (1987) failed to win a stakes outside California. Behrens has won four of eight starts and finished second in the other four. But he hasn't won a Grade I race since April and has ventured no farther from his Saratoga base than Arkansas in order to save energy for the Classic. ``He's a model of consistency,'' said Jim Bond, who has been training the son of Pleasant Colony at idyllic Payson Park, about 90 minutes away, and will van him to Gulfstream this morning. ``He's a dullard,'' said a Horse of the Year voter. Almutawakel (Jerry Bailey): The Arab-owned 4-year-old won the $5 million Dubai World Cup in March against some of America's best, and although that's his only win in 1999 and overseas races aren't supposed to count in the Horse of the Year equation, a victory today in the world's second-richest race would make him hard to deny. River Keen (Chris Antley): The 6-year-old started the year as a $100,000 claimer in California but won the New York's Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers in his latest starts and looks to cap a unique rise. General Challenge (David Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the ), Lemon Drop Kid (Jose Santos): Three-year-olds who ran 11th and ninth, respectively, in the Kentucky Derby aren't award candidates except in a weak year for older horses. They'd have to beat their elders in the Classic today. General Challenge already did it in Del Mar's Pacific Classic. Silverbulletday (Bailey): Unbeaten in 11 straight against her sex and age, the 3-year-old filly hasn't won outside her division, normally a must for females seeking Horse of the Year. She'll need an impressive Distaff victory and a Behrens defeat. Chilukki (Flores): Can a 2-year-old filly, even one who's 6 for 6, be Horse of the Year? Only if she wins and every other contender gets trounced. Even then . . . Charismatic: An afternoon of wacky results could send sentimental voters to the ex-claimer who broke down while chasing the Triple Crown. ``I don't think they'd have to be that wacky,'' said Lukas, Charismatic's trainer. Wacky is possible today. The 16th Breeders' Cup features unusually contentious races, made all the more difficult to forecast by three variables that have dominated backstretch back·stretch n. The part of an oval racecourse farthest from the spectators and opposite the homestretch. banter this week: The intention of Lukas and trainers Bobby Frankel and Joe Orseno to use nose-strip breathing aids on their horses for the first time, introducing a controversial if amusing handicapping factor. Questions about how 16 Europe-prepped horses will respond to the Florida climate after their predecessors went 0 for 28 in the 1989 and 1992 Breeders' Cups at Gulfstream. Curiosity over whether Baffert, holding the strongest Breeders' Cup hand ever, will be hot or cold or something in between. The pick-six, with a guaranteed $5 million pool, looks like the hardest puzzle of the year. But the Horse of the Year puzzle is a close second. BREEDERS' CUP Where: Gulfstream Park, Fla. When: Today, 10 a.m. TV: Channel 4 HOW CHAMPIONS WERE CROWNED A look how Horses of the Year did in Breeders' Cup races: Year Horse In Breeders' Cup 1984 John Henry Did not race 1985 Spend a Buck Spend A Buck (born 1982 in western Kentucky, died November 24, 2002 in Brazil) was an American thoroughbred race horse. Spend A Buck was sired by Buckaroo [1] out of the dam Belle de Jour. Did not race 1986 Lady's Secret 1st in Distaff 1987 Ferdinand1st in Classic 1988 Alysheba 1st in Classic 1989Sunday Silence 1st in Classic 1990 Criminal Type Did not race 1991 Black Tie Affair 1st in Classic 1992 A.P. Indy 1st in Classic 1993 Kotashaan 1st in Turf 1994 Holy Bull Did not race 1995 Cigar1st in Classic 1996 Cigar 3rd in Classic 1997Favorite Trick 1st in Juvenile 1998 Skip Away 6th in Classic Note: Lady's Secret was a filly; Favorite Trick was a 2-year-old; all others were males aged 3 and up. CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes PHOTO (color) There will be no clear favorite for the coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. Horse of the Year award if Behrens, right, is beaten today in the Breeders' Cup. Dave Oxford/Associated Press BOX: (1) Breeders' Cup (see text) (2) How the champions were crowned (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion