OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With three wins and seven top-four finishes overall from 12 starters, it’s evident trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. doesn’t show up at the Breeders’ Cup just to be seen.
This year, Dutrow is bringing six horses to Churchill Downs for the 27th running of the Breeders’ Cup series, which now consists of 14 races over two days. Boys At Tosconova (Juvenile), Court Vision (Mile), Acting Happy (Ladies’ Classic), and Stradivinksy (Turf Sprint) all have strong r é sum é s for their races. Deciphering Dreams, a close third in the Pilgrim Stakes, is worth taking a shot with in the Juvenile Turf.
It is Believe in A.P. who at first glance would look ambitiously spotted in the Juvenile Fillies. But Dutrow said he thinks she is ideally spotted to pull what many would view as an upset in the $2 million race scheduled for next Friday.
“Did you see her last race?” Dutrow asked Friday morning at Aqueduct. “If you watch it you’ll say the same thing I did – ‘Let’s take a shot.’ She could have won by 25 over there. She’s a very nice filly.”
In her last race, Believe in A.P. rolled to a 12 3/4-length victory in a mile-and-70-yard maiden race at Parx Racing. It was her fourth start, first in a two-turn dirt race, which Dutrow said she has wanted to do all along.
“We’ve always loved her,” said Dutrow, who trains Believe in A.P. for the father/daughter team of Mace and Samantha Siegel. “She’s got plenty of talent, plenty of breeding. We know she can get two turns on the dirt. I don’t know if any other filly in the race can say that. If our filly really likes that track, she’s going to hit the board.”
Believe in A.P. is a daughter of A.P. Indy out of the Pleasant Tap mare I Believe in You, who in 2000 won her maiden in her third start, then jumped up to win the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet.
It took Believe in A.P. four tries to win her first race. In June, she finished last in a 5 1/2-furlong dirt race at Belmont. Dutrow said Believe in A.P. had a negative reaction to the Lasix shot she received that day.
At Saratoga, Believe in A.P. twice ran on the turf, finishing third in a maiden race and fifth in the P.G. Johnson Stakes. Dutrow said he only ran her on the turf because the races were run around two turns. Dutrow said jockey Julien Leparoux told him Believe in A.P. didn’t like the turf.
On Friday, Believe in A.P. worked six furlongs in 1:16.01 over Aqueduct’s main track. She worked in company with the unstarted 2-year-old colt Rocking Out. The pair basically went together through a quarter in 26.22 seconds, three furlongs in 37.94, and a half-mile in 49.90. Rocking Out actually finished a head in front at the wire, but Believe in A.P. galloped out the better of the two under exercise rider Michelle Nevin.
“I can’t say we’re taking a big shot with her,” Dutrow said. “She belongs running with good horses.”
Also working at Aqueduct for Dutrow on Friday was Deciphering Dreams, who went six furlongs over a good turf course 1:18.94. A trio of multi-colored traffic cones, commonly referred to as dogs, forced the turf work to be done well off the rail.
With Ramon Dominguez up, Deciphering Dreams went a quarter in 27.25 seconds, and a half-mile in 53.87 seconds. He galloped out seven furlongs in 1:35.63.
Deciphering Dreams, a New York-bred son of Freud, won a statebred maiden race at Saratoga over firm turf. He then finished third behind Juvenile Turf hopefuls Air Support and Soldat in the Grade 3 Pilgrim run over extremely soft turf.
“Our horse is a big horse, when he hit that grass course, he’s got to sink down more than the others,” Dutrow said, referring to the soft turf. “I think that’s the weakest race of all the Breeders’ Cup races. I don’t see anything in there that makes me want to duck out of there.”
Believe in A.P. and Acting Happy were scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs on Sunday. Dutrow’s other four horses are set to leave Tuesday.
"I think we have a good little group of horses going over there,” Dutrow said. “They’re all doing good and we’ll see what happens, man.”
