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00:00And this is the TDN Writers' Room Weekend Preview brought to you by Three Chimneys.
00:11As you might expect, a very quiet weekend after the big Breeders' Cup races were run
00:15last weekend.
00:16Only a handful of major races, only a couple of graded stakes races, only one grade one
00:21race on the calendar this weekend, at least when it comes to flat racing.
00:24That is the Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Keelan, and the headliner will be McCulloch
00:28for, who else, but Chad Brown, going for his fifth win overall in the race that, like most
00:34turf races, stakes races, he has just dominated over the years.
00:38He also has Gina Romantica in there.
00:40McCulloch will be a heavy favorite in that race.
00:42Looks like on paper, in that seven-horse field, he'll be very tough to beat.
00:47One of the reasons why she'll be a heavy favorite is Pizza Bianca, who apparently was going
00:51to run in this race, at least that's what was kind of the conventional wisdom coming
00:55into the weekend, was not entered and instead will be entered in, was entered in the Sands
01:00Point at Belmont and Aqueduct, Jose Ortiz will ride.
01:03Now, she has not run since the Coronation Cup back in June at Royal Ascot, where she
01:08finished eighth.
01:09But no, let's not forget what kind of filly this is for Bobby Flay and Christophe Clement.
01:14She won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last year at, of course, at Del Mar.
01:18Will either one of these fillies come back in the Breeders' Cup?
01:22Probably not, as generally the three-year-old fillies that run the three weeks out from
01:26the Breeders' Cup don't come back in the Breeders' Cup.
01:29We don't have a big history of that.
01:31But McCulloch at Keeneland, Pizza Bianca at Belmont and Aqueduct, among the three-year-old
01:35filly division, should be a very interesting week of racing.
01:38Expect the two big guns to probably both get in the winner's circle.
01:41Back to McCulloch's race, there's a couple other new faces in there, one of which is
01:46Paris Peacock.
01:47This is an interesting starter.
01:48She comes in from Ireland for trainer Jessica Harrington, has won two grade threes over
01:53there, group threes over there.
01:55I think she'll deserve some respect, as will Bella Bell, who was second last time out in
01:59the grade one Del Mar Oaks at Del Mar, of course, trained by Phil D'Amato, who, like
02:04Chad Brown, just excels with fillies on the grass.
02:07So an interesting weekend of racing from that perspective.
02:10There is one other race of some note.
02:14It's at Keeneland on Friday.
02:15It's called the Sycamore Stakes, grade three for a mile and a half.
02:19And I say that only because, I mean, Mira Mission 7-2, Arklows 4-1, we could get a starter
02:24out of the Breeders' Cup turf from that.
02:26But the horse I'm going to be pulling for is Channel Maker, an eight-year-old, right?
02:31So far in the history of the Breeders' Cup, the following horses have had five Breeders'
02:36Cup starts.
02:37Better Talk Now, California Flag, Forensic Fire, Kona Gold, obviously, Perfect Drift
02:44and Channel Maker.
02:45Channel Maker, if he wins this race impressively enough, and he's 8-1, that he convinces his
02:52connections to give him another try in the Breeders' Cup turf.
02:55And he was the top American finisher last year at Del Mar in the Breeders' Cup.
03:01He finished fifth.
03:02He would be the first horse ever to compete in six different Breeders' Cups, one Juvenile
03:08Turf and the rest of them have been Breeders' Cup turfs.
03:11So that's kind of a cool story.
03:13Run well in 2020 as well.
03:15Ran third.
03:16Ran third?
03:17Yeah, I always laugh with trainer Bill Mott because he's got a very high-headed way of
03:21going and I'm like, you know, he drowned in a rainstorm.
03:25Let's just hope it doesn't rain during the race because he literally runs with his head
03:29up in the air.
03:30So it just shows you it takes all kinds of different kind of movements.
03:34Just because a horse is high-headed doesn't mean they're not a good one.
03:38Now I'm going to throw you guys what is admittedly a trick question.
03:41There is another Grade 1 Thoroughbred race this weekend.
03:45Anybody have any idea what I'm talking about?
03:49The Jumpers, guys!
03:50Come on!
03:51No Jump fans out there?
03:53But actually this is kind of a neat thing because on Friday, excuse me, on Saturday
03:57at Far Hills is the Grand National Steeplechase, which is the premier steeplechase race run
04:02in America.
04:03And it is a rematch between Snap Decision, who will likely be the Eclipse Award winner
04:07this year among Jumpers, and Noah and the Ark.
04:11Noah and the Ark beat Snap Decision by nine lengths last time out in the Lonesome Glory
04:15Stakes at Saratoga.
04:18But that day, because it was a handicap race, Snap Decision gave him 28 pounds.
04:24He carried 168, and Noah and the Ark carried 140, 168 pounds.
04:31Obviously it was too much.
04:32This is a weight-for-age race.
04:34They will both carry 156.
04:36So expect to see Snap Decision snap back into the winner circle.
04:41There's also on the card, the first ever running, and this is near and dear to my heart, somebody
04:45who is very meaningful to all of us at the TDN, John Forbes, who passed away last year.
04:50They have named a two-mile turf race on the flat, the John Forbes Memorial at Far Hills
04:56with a $100,000 purse.
04:59And there's actually some normal, well, I'm not calling Jump Jockeys abnormal, but there
05:04are some mainstream flat jockeys riding in this race.
05:08So their horses are carrying like 148.
05:10They're going against the Jump guys.
05:12So somebody who weighs 112 pounds would have to carry what, like 36 pounds of dead weight,
05:17a lead weight in their saddle pad.
05:18I can't get any response to the Jump races Saturday, guys.
05:23No.
05:24I love Snap Decision.
05:25Didn't women like sweep the card at a Jump race meeting last week?
05:31It seems like they, because you've got Kerry Bryan basically taking charge now.
05:36I think they won like seven of the nine races at a Jump meet last week.
05:40It's like, go women, go.
05:41Like, they are winning everything on the Jump schedule right now.
05:45Zoe, I have no answer to that.
05:47Beats me.
05:48Bill, I spent two racing days this March, courtesy of Mr. Michael Dickinson, at Cheltenham.
05:55So I now have a new appreciation for Jump racing.
06:00And also way back in the day when I was with ESPN, we did the Breeders' Cup steeplechase
06:06from Far Hills.
06:08One of the more enjoyable afternoons at a racetrack that I think I've ever spent.
06:13What a beautiful part of New Jersey.
06:15And if I can take you down memory lane, if I'm not mistaken, I think Bill Finley made
06:19an appearance on that ESPN telecast to talk about the steeplechase horses.
06:24Did I?
06:25I'm getting old.
06:27I don't remember.
06:28Michael Dickinson, by the way, has a horse in the two-mile flat race with $100,000 purse.
06:34So there is actually a stakes race with some decent money for the normal flat horses on
06:40the card.
06:41Hey, when we come back, we're going to talk about the Breeders' Cup Classic, but first
06:43these messages from one of our sponsors, Three Chimneys.
06:48Here comes Taba.
06:50Taba in the center of the track with good looking stride.
06:53Squares off with Cyberknife.
06:54Cyberknife takes the lead.
06:56Taba going with him.
06:57These two in a thriller.
06:58Cyberknife just in front.
07:00And Cyberknife has won the TBG.com Haskell over Taba.
07:05Jack Christopher finished third.
07:07The running time, 1 minute 46.24 seconds.
07:12Come, dream with us at Three Chimneys.
07:17Welcome back.
07:18Well, there were no preps over the weekend for the Breeders' Cup Classic, but this would
07:22be a good time again to rehash the race.
07:24Obviously, the story is Flightline.
07:26That was interesting.
07:27Ed DeRosa, who's a real good handicapper, works for Horse Racing Nation, used to work
07:30for Brisnet, put out a morning line for the Breeders' Cup Classic.
07:36And when you first look at it, you would think that he's kind of out of his mind.
07:40But then on second thought, I'm going to explain why I think Ed's straight on here.
07:45He's got Flightline at 3 to 5.
07:47Now, if Flightline is going to be 3 to 5 in what's going to be a 10 or 11 horse field,
07:51there's not going to be a 5 to 2, 3 to 1 shot behind him.
07:55This is his line.
07:56Flightline, 3 to 5.
07:57Epicenter, 12 to 1.
08:00Taba, 15 to 1.
08:02Life is Good, 20 to 1.
08:04Olympiad, 30 to 1.
08:05Hot Rod Charlie, 14 to 1.
08:07And we keep going.
08:08Randy, can we possibly see in the Breeders' Cup horses as good as Epicenter and Taba going
08:15off, maybe not at 12 to 1, but at 10 to 1?
08:18I would have a...
08:20I've made a lot of lines in my day.
08:22I would have a tough time seeing a horse as good as Epicenter as the second choice in
08:28the Breeders' Cup Classic and double digits on the odds board.
08:32To me, if for some reason Flightline doesn't show as he usually does, or maybe he runs
08:39a really good race, but just nowhere close to the race he ran in the Pacific Classic,
08:43to me, the only horse in the field on paper that would have a chance to beat him is Epicenter,
08:49who I think is really headed in the right direction.
08:52And obviously, a mile and a quarter is right up his alley.
08:56But that would be surprising.
08:58He worked really well at Keeneland.
09:01I think either yesterday or this morning with Clariere, he'll go forward in the Distaff.
09:06So he's coming in.
09:08I mean, everyone's under the radar apart from Flightline right now, but Epicenter is good
09:13and he's been stable there.
09:14And Steve knows how to get these horses ready to dance the big dance on the big day.
09:19He's so good at that.
09:21Randy, I think you're selling Taba a little bit short.
09:24I don't think Flightline is going to lose.
09:26But from a handicapping standpoint, probably what a lot of us are going to do is try to
09:30figure out who's going to run second, maybe second and third, second, third, and fourth
09:34for the Superfecta.
09:36Now, I have immense respect for Epicenter.
09:38He very well could be second.
09:40But I'm a Taba fan.
09:41I mean, I loved his race in the Pennsylvania Derby.
09:43As I said, coming into that race and coming out of it, I don't think that we –
09:47I think we're just now seeing the very best of this horse.
09:50And he was behind the eight ball the way they had to rush him into the Kentucky Derby.
09:54And now Baffert has done a really good job getting him back, getting him to his best.
09:58He ran the best race of his life in the Pennsylvania Derby.
10:02And I think that he can even improve off that race.
10:05So I'm a Taba fan.
10:07I mean, if you make me make a pick right now or a betting strategy, it would be a Flightline
10:13over Taba Exacta.
10:15But I obviously have a lot of respect for Epicenter.
10:19Zoe, who's going to be second?
10:20If Flightline is first, who's going to be second in the Breeders' Cup Classic?
10:24It's going to be close.
10:25I mean, I can't talk you off of Taba at all.
10:27I can't talk you off of Epicenter.
10:29I think the thing that we need to look into is the penultimate works coming up this weekend
10:34for these horses, because that is the telling.
10:38I'm pretty sure Flightline's going to put a zinger in there.
10:41Taba will have to wait and see what he does, because Bob's penultimate works are so,
10:47so important to him.
10:49We've seen time and time again, oh, he's not going.
10:51I didn't put him on the plane.
10:52I didn't like how he acted.
10:53And that's basically Bob going from day to day.
10:56But Taba's a very, very good horse.
10:59Epicenter always shows up, doesn't always win, but he's always right there.
11:03If you don't have him in your top three, you are going to be in trouble for sure.
11:07Zoe, a question about Taba's works.
11:09They've been not slow, but they haven't been breaking the stopwatch.
11:12You know, just the 12, 12, 12, you look down, he goes a minute.
11:16Do you see a 58 coming out of this horse?
11:18Is that just not John Sadler's style?
11:20Taba or Flightline?
11:24No, I'm sorry, Flightline.
11:25Oh, Flightline?
11:26Well, I mean, he worked 12 and change.
11:28I think they're going to tighten the screws this weekend.
11:32He worked 12 and change last weekend, and he'll probably do the same.
11:35He always works solo.
11:37He doesn't have to do a whole lot, and he has a good gallop out.
11:40So he might do it by accident.
11:42I don't see him asking for that kind of work.
11:45As far as Taba, Taba's not a good work horse.
11:47I mean, he's not, by Bob Baffert's standards, this isn't a horse who's going to
11:51take you down there in 58 and change with the jock's feet on the dashboard.
11:55If he is, you better go all in on Taba,
11:58because he's not the prettiest horse to watch in the morning.
12:02He's got a good way of going, but the rider has to ask him.
12:05He'll only do as much as you ask him, and that marks for a good horse.
12:09He's certainly not a runoff or a standout in the mornings by any means.
12:14If he works in 101 and the jock's sitting up there with his feet on the dashboard,
12:19that's really good.