2024 BREEDERS CUP news and notes

[Cigarillo]

Winning Beyers:

Sprint: 103
Turf Sprint: 102
F&M Sprint: 98
Distaff: 100
Turf: 106
Dirt Mile: 104
Mile: not sure
F&M Turf: 100
Classic: 112

I just noticed that with this Classic figure, Sierra Leone has improved or maintained his highest Beyer in every start of his nine-race career. Really great training job to get this horse to straighten out (although I think he did come in again in this race, no head-on so it's hard to tell) and continue improving after starting off as a very nice 2yo, and no reason to think he wouldn't continue to improve at 4.

Fierceness, meanwhile, becomes the first 3yo to post three 110+ figures since... I think maybe Curlin? Not sure. Two really extraordinary colts this year, plus Forever Young who is surely going to get a G1 at some point if he stays healthy.

From the beginning of the year I kept hearing (reading) people say this crop of 3 year olds were weak. It was one of the best as a group that I can remember going back a few years. Hope to see them both run a few more races at 4.

[Northport]

Aidan O’Brien must get a bonus from John Magnier every time he says he personally failed to get a horse ready for an event. Because it cannot simply be because the horse isnt a dirt horse. They knew the horse needed more gate speed and they spent months working on it. It’s literally why they changed tactics for the Juddmonte International and had him break from an American gate with 5 stablemates at Southwell. Aside from a prep race in America, I genuinely think that O’Brien did everything he could. City of Troy is a great turf horse but he isnt an all time great, but I guess that doesn’t look good in a stallion brochure.

At least Coolmore got its first Classic winner. And with one of the most expensive yearlings they’ve bought in America. Not often that works out for the super stables.

[Curtis]

How does it benefit the owner, or trainer for that matter, to make public every issue a horse might have?

jeez, is this a troll question?

Ask the fans who wager in Japan and Hong Kong. Hand over fist.

Sounds like you believe horse racing should be for the benefit of trainers and owners. (and breeders, which is where we're going in U.S. it seems). Maybe more empty race tracks will convince.

"Horses are privately owned, it doesn’t make sense that ALL information should be shared." I guess you can also ask
X Y Jet, et. al. That's what perps used to tell me when I was in dog rescue, that they can do what they wish with animals the "own", when I got to meet them in court ...........and burn them to the ground in front of the prosecuting attorney for animal abuse.

I guess you think maybe we should have "kept our noses out of trainer/owner business" when they went after Servis, Navarro, etc. too.

The rest of the greater racing world, in the jurisdictions where there is trust , all believe in MORE TRANSPARENCY, not less.

I’d advocate more education before the transparency. Having owned a relatively notable horse in retirement, I often found myself defending the use of a fly mask when his photos showed up on social media. It got to the point I almost had visitors sign a waiver stating they wouldn’t post any photos of him online. Owners and trainers are not necessarily PR people. They get far more grief than deserved when they broadcast information because of how many ignorant people are out there. Servis and Navarro were extreme cases. Not everyone is cheating just because they choose not to talk.

[Retrospectiv]

Aidan O’Brien must get a bonus from John Magnier every time he says he personally failed to get a horse ready for an event. Because it cannot simply be because the horse isnt a dirt horse. They knew the horse needed more gate speed and they spent months working on it. It’s literally why they changed tactics for the Juddmonte International and had him break from an American gate with 5 stablemates at Southwell. Aside from a prep race in America, I genuinely think that O’Brien did everything he could. City of Troy is a great turf horse but he isnt an all time great, but I guess that doesn’t look good in a stallion brochure.

I think it really is that simple
Just look at him. He's allll his dam and her sire, Galileo
Galileo couldn't run a lick on dirt nor could any of his offspring. He's the anti dirt sire.
It was fun to see them try though, made for a more interesting Classic this year

[Flanders]

The thing is, they are trying to make him not a 12f horse. So even him losing on the dirt was better than him winning the Turf. And yes that makes no sense at all but we've seen how European breeders don't like 12f+ horses anymore. Its like better to put a line through a race and say yeah didn't handle the dirt than have another winning race at 12f.

[Tessablue]

Per Repole's twitter account, Fierceness will indeed return as a 4yo next year!

More details here: https://www.drf.com/news/breeders-cup-b ... eturn-2025

Fierceness: likely to return in the Pegasus or Saudi Cup

Anna: will stay with mares for the first half of 2025

Forever Young: returning home, staying in training

Sierra Leone: uncertain. Might race, might retire.

[CoronadosQuest]

Per Repole's twitter account, Fierceness will indeed return as a 4yo next year!

More details here: https://www.drf.com/news/breeders-cup-b ... eturn-2025

Fierceness: likely to return in the Pegasus or Saudi Cup

Anna: will stay with mares for the first half of 2025

Forever Young: returning home, staying in training

Sierra Leone: uncertain. Might race, might retire.

Full Serrano (not a 3yo but still hes 5!) will return next year too, said they want to go to the Pegasus next

https://www.drf.com/news/breeders-cup-b ... eturn-2025

[tachyon]

--- from idolhorse.com (written by David Morgan)

''Expectations Count For Nothing In The Breeders’ Cup Furnace''
https://idolhorse.com/horse-racing-news ... p-furnace/

That's a wonderful write-up about the Japanese contenders at Del Mar including Forever Young.

His owner, Susumu Fujita, told Idol Horse that defeat had not in any way diminished their view of the colt, who will continue racing into his four-year-old season, as is the Japanese way.

“We will look at the Saudi Cup early next year,” he said. And after that? Well, Fujita is also of the ‘try again’ mindset: the Breeders’ Cup is back at Del Mar in 2025.

[tachyon]

7yo Ushba Tesoro(JPN) will remain in training until March next year.
He is expected to run in the G1s Tokyo Daishoten, Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup before his retirement.

[sweettalk]

guess scratching The Chosen Vron was a good call, ultimately? cool that he's getting a break either way and hopefully he crushes em next year.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... nkle-issue

[Squeaky]

guess scratching The Chosen Vron was a good call, ultimately? cool that he's getting a break either way and hopefully he crushes em next year.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... nkle-issue

Kudos to the reg vets who detected this subtle lameness on exam. Was the right thing to do.

[Izvestia]

guess scratching The Chosen Vron was a good call, ultimately? cool that he's getting a break either way and hopefully he crushes em next year.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... nkle-issue

I’ll say.

[Essential Quality]

Raqiya, who won the Goldikova Stakes on the undercard, is officially in Todd’s barn.

[MySaladDays]

Not everyone is cheating just because they choose not to talk.

That is pretty far afield from what I actually said, but I understand where you're coming from.

Japan has 2x the handle per year than U.S. racing does, they must be doing something right by not "hiding" information from the bettors. Ditto, HKJC website loaded with a plethora of free information, replays of morning workouts, veterinary reports, and huge amounts of free data in a well regulated environment seems to provide trust and comfot to their bettors. Both totally outpace handle in the USA, so it's kinda funny to keep saying that US Racing, with it's multiple governing bodies, medication discrepancies and problems, desperate attempts to do stuff like lowering takeout and increase field sizes ----and closing racetracks, and more to come...... is doing better

The truth is that bettors will bet with both hands when given transparent information in a regulated environment where there is trust.