Sunday is the last day of coast-to-coast Breeders' Cup preps, including three Grade 1's that will be telecast on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. EST, right after "Polo -- 2007 Triple Crown." Who knew polo had a triple crown?
The lineup:
4:15 p.m. EST, Kee race 7: NG $150k Bourbon S. 1 1/16m-T (BC Juvenile Turf)
Nownownow, the Biancone-trained winner of Saratoga's With Anticipation, is the 9-5 ML favorite in a field of seven 2-year-old turfers. Your Round (4-1) ran just as fast closing for third to Prussian in the Summer Stakes, and Gio Ponti (5-1) looked good winning his debut at seven furlongs on the grass at Belmont. Adriano, fourth in Saturday's Breeders' Futurity, is an early scratch.
5:12 p.m. EST, Bel race 9: G2 $150k Jerome H. 1m-dirt (BC Dirt Mile)
This field of eight 3-year-olds has four interesting runners: Daaher, who ran a monstrous race at Saratoga Aug. 26, winning a 9f N1x by 13 3/4 lengths and earning a Beyer of 107; Digger, who has won his last two by a combined 18 1/2 lengths; Vitruvius, a half-brother to Corinthian who's a half-length away from being unbeaten in three promising starts; and Most Distinguished, the G2 Amsterdam winner and G2 Woody Stephens runner-up.
The next four races comprise the ESPN2 telecast and are all BC Challenge Win-and-You're-In events:
5:15 p.m. EST, Kee race 9: G1 $500k Spinster 1 1/8 m-Poly (BC Distaff)
This would be a great race to have a clever notion about a longshot, because there are questions of fitness and intent surrounding the most accomplished runners. Lady Joanne (5-2) is using this as her bridge between the Alabama and the Distaff but trainer Carl Nafzger may be using her Polytrack debut as purely a prep (see Street Sense); Asi Siempre, last year's Spinster winner (and brutal-trip Distaff runner-up) hasn't been out since July 15; and it's still unclear whether Panty Raid (4-1) isn't a much better filly on grass.
5:40 p.m. OSA race 5: G1 $250k Lady's Secret H. 1 1/8m (BC Distaff)
Hysterical Lady is listed at 8-5 with Tough Tiz's Sis 2-1 in a field of six, but it seems on paper they should be more like 3-5 and 3-1 respectively. Hystericalady has run six triple-digit Beyers, six more than the rest of the field combined, is the lone multiple graded-stakes winner, and also looks like the lone loose speed -- which she might also be in the Distaff 20 days hence.
6:15 p.m. EST, OSA race 6: G2 $250k Oak Tree Mile, 1m-T (BC Mile)
Lava Man returns to the turf as the 4-5 favorite in a field of six and while it's hard to root against him, it may pay to play against him: Gallant and likeable as he may be, he also may have lost a few steps and his recent grass form gives him no edge in a field where he'll have company early. The race also marks the grass debut of Surf Cat, who has been first or second in 12 of 13 career starts and has hung up 10 straight triple-digit Beyers.
6:45 p.m. EST, OSA race 7: G1 $300k Ancient Title S. 6f (BC Sprint)
Greg's Gold is 4-5 in a five-horse field where Bordonaro (9-5) and Idiot Proof (3-1), brilliant on their best days but with only a single G3 victory apiece this year, probably will need a victory and an automatic starting berth just to get into the BC Sprint.
