Post by Ripley on Sept 29, 2016 13:49:08 GMT -5
BATTLE BROOK BREEDERS' CUP PLANS
With just over three months to go until the Breeders' Cup, hosted this year by new race track Battlestone Downs, many people are starting to piece together which horses might end up in which races. In a year as wide open as Year Sixteen, there is a lot of room for movement and wonder. The filly and mare divisions do not seem to possess clear cut leadership, while the males of both turf and dirt divisions seem more dominant over their female counterparts than has been the case in a long time, making for a more segregated Breeders' Cup in a long time.
We turn to Battle Brook Stable for some clarity on where they believe their horses will end up December Week Four. Ripley Marsh was more than willing to oblige even though she is now overseeing not one, but two stables.
She writes:
Thanks for inquiring about our Breeders' Cup status. It's been a long while since we've had good news exposure. I would like to do this for both our fans and my staff as a reminder that we are still a presence even though Year Sixteen has been much harder than we originally expected it would be. I would also like to say, for Sun King's myriad of fans, that the big horse is doing quite well and will begin walking under tack the second week of October. I would like to thank everyone for their support. We hope that his recovery continues at a speedy pace and that he will be ready to run in December, if not November. Some have questioned if he might just make the Breeders' Cup itself, but it is too soon for that thought to have crossed my mind.
Below is a list of horses and races that we believe are well-matched:
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Kismet: We never expected this one to be easy, but we didn't expect it to be this hard to find the winner's circle. She almost gets there every time. We might try to put blinkers on her and see how that goes. We fully expect to point to the Fillies Turf. Despite not reaching the winner's circle, her performances are almost even with every other juvenile turf filly out there. We'll figure things out in the next couple races with the end plan to be there with her December Week Four.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Luna de Soltera: Really, this filly is truly tremendous. We, and everyone else in the racing world, had high expectations for her and she really has delivered. I've never felt less than confident going into a race with her. She trains like a machine and her latest win really solidified her status as a top runner. We have a bit of a rivalry going with her and Lawless. Hopefully, we can separate these two and make next year's Tiara really interesting. In another year, I might have considered sending her against the boys in the Juvenile, but there's plenty of time for that at three.
Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Dirt Sprint, Swing Dancer: The biggest hit against her this season was her reputation. People like to forget that not everyone wants to take on top males with their sprinting fillies prior to the sprinter tiaras. Unfortunately, there are no options for girls who just want to run against girls instead of losing to Innerstellar and Ares in Horse Of The Year races. Perhaps her form tapered off during the tiara, but only because we had to run so fiercely to get the grade to compete. We plan to run only against fillies in the Breeders' Cup and expect a return to winning form for her during the fall. She's matured in the month she's had off and will return to racing October Week Three if we find a suitable spot. She is sitting on the edge of grade two and I believe she'll be the dark horse if not this fall, then next year.
Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf Sprint, Taboo: With consistent but non-winning performances, we feel that this pretty gray girl will fire her best against her own sex. While the males are not overly deep this season, we are hoping that several of our top competitors head to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint leaving us to circle the wagons around this one. We expect more top performances from Taboo as she is she training really well. It will be about timing her move correctly and finding just the right slot.
We may play with the idea of heading to the Breeders' Cup Mile with her depending on how she runs in the Fall Highweight Handicap in December. It's only half a furlong shorter, but Tabz had a knack for the mile as a juvenile and has finished second at the distance twice this season.
Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, Coveted Faith/Awestruck: The second name on this list may be a little surprising to most people considering Awestruck hasn't exactly been at the top of her division since the Triple Tiara preps. However, we had an inkling that maybe we should try her back on the turf. Her most recent win, a victory in September Wk 4, came over First Class and Melusine. While it is a long way to the top of the heap, Awestruck's turf win may pave the way for some separation between Enrapture and her going forward. We always expected Awestruck to be our turf filly and perhaps she is sending signals that now is the perfect time to try once again.
Coveted Faith had a battle-hardening summer after taking the Duchess Stakes--the final leg of the Turf Triple Tiara. She won a race at 8 furlongs, but her biggest win of the season came at ten. The filly and mare turf division is solid at the top, but her running style may be just right to spring a potent upset. She'll enjoy her October off and then we'll come back in the Flower Bowl with a fresh horse for the winter.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Breaking Point: He's been a change up for us this season. We never would have thought that a War Admiral descendant would be the first horse in our turf sprint stud line. He's really outdone himself at this stage in his career. He's proven his versatility and his talent in a variety of competitions. We made a really good judgement call before the Hawk Cup and bought his dam from Nature Blue Stable. She'll be bred to Divided Notion next season. While he's only two, he has a huge future ahead of him in our breeding barn as he'll likely service Cross My Heart, Paranormal Hunter, Artemis' Glory and Taboo at one point or another.
Lots to do before that happens, however. He'll be our big horse for the next couple seasons on the turf and we'd like to knock out the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint with him. He's a very confident animal and will likely only have one or two more starts before December Week Four.
Breeders' Cup Marathon, Vagabond: Vagabond has finally lived up to what we expected of him as an older horse. The win over Ultimate Revenge in the Independence Cup was his most impressive and important victory to date. He almost temps us to run in the Classic, but we've always felt the mile and a half suits him. He really excels at the long distance game and we'd love to get him a chance to win a Breeders' Cup. This will be the first year he actually participates and he couldn't be coming into it any better. He'll have two more starts before the Breeders' Cup in the Invasor Stakes and Senior Superstars Finale. He'll spend more time training over the turf hills and getting fit for the long distance in his down time. The great thing about Bond is that he really doesn't miss a day of training. That kind of durability is hard to find.
Breeders' Cup Turf Marathon, Casualty of War: He came out of his second to Take Flight in the Continental Stakes well. The long range plan is still the Breeders' Cup Turf Marathon with him. Hopefully, Take Flight heads to the Breeders' Cup Turf and Sultan can have a chance to improve upon his second last year. We'll have him ready off of his next three starts before the Breeders' Cup. He's a hard trying horse and he's made for the distance. It'll be nice to infuse some of his guts and long-windedness into our future stock.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, Wire Tap*: Most people don't really know him, which is fine. The less press the better. Pedigree is Foolish Lad and Royal Assault which means he's a half to Turf Triple Sprinter Crown winner Call Me Crooked. Definitely on the opposite end of the spectrum from her in terms of distance. He wants to run forever, this one. Took a while to get him to the track, but in five starts he's ripped off two wins. There's a lot of competition at the top between IRS's Wild Havoc and Ensignia, and Valkyrie's Flawless Majesty, but if he's a grade four by December we'll consider him for the Breeders' Cup. He has a lot more "ifs" to deal with than our other stock, but we think he's got the talent to stir up some trouble.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Cascabel, Gold Rush: We have been very blessed with male talent in the last four years. Although, we don't have the wow factor of a Sun King this season, we feel we're damn close with Cascabel and Gold Rush. Jacob--my assistant trainer--believes Gold Rush is just barely tapping into his talent and Cascabel's precocity has been nearly untouchable at two. I honestly am amazed at what Cascabel has done at two. Year Sixteen has been more than a little testing, but Cascabel just makes things so easy. He comes to work in the morning, puts in a perfect run, goes back to the barn and if we're at the track, he soaks in the visitors. For him to be so good in the afternoon as well, it is refreshing.
Gold Rush was bred with the intent to run over dirt and turf, but now we're thinking the Kentucky Derby is calling his name as well. It's nice to have him running under a second barn name because I don't feel so bad against pitting him against Cascabel. It will be intriguing to find out for ourselves which colt is better at this stage in his career. Obviously, Rush is a little bit behind compared to Cas, but his first HOTY win was stellar. We weren't expecting him to be this developed so quickly, which is a testament to Jacob's handling.
Both colts will go to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with the intent to win. May the best horse and farm win.
Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Saintly Touch: When we made the decision to cut Saintly Touch back in distance, we didn't know we'd create a miler monster. Who expects a Preakness Stakes winner to be so deadly at eight and nine furlongs? His first run in the Finale Flaws Derby was only supposed to be a prep for longer distances, but it has turned into so much more. Eight HOTY victories later and we feel like everyone will have to bring their running shoes to beat us. I don't like to be cocky, but Saint has never been more in form than now. He's a really special horse to me being out of The Devil's Touch and he is her first male heir in the breeding world. It will be most interesting to see if the Breeders' Cup will stir up some breeding interest in him as he still has one open slot in Year Seventeen.
Breeders' Cup Turf, Spotlight Pride: Thank goodness we have Saint and Pride on our side this year. We have a bit of rivalry going with Take Flight and Pride, but Pride has been running like a machine this season. It's been a quietly fantastic season--if that's such a thing. Between the Dubai World Mile, the Wire Finish Cup Turf and the Twilight Stakes, he's really put together a versatile season. We really wanted that victory at eleven furlongs and to do it in the Twilight Stakes cements him as a top stallion prospect. The horse couldn't be doing any better which is good because we have five races coming up that won't be easy, ending with the Breeders' Cup Turf.
Breeders' Cup Classic, Uno Momento: This entry is probably a surprise as it is a surprise even to us, especially considering how strong our older horses are at the moment. Uno has been on fire since coming back from his run in the Triple Crown. He's totally different in how carries himself, how big he's gotten since his early three year old season. His last two HOTY race wins made this decision easy for us. We know we have the horse going to the Classic. He's the fifth grade one winner out of El Sol del Mar and he has the versatility and intelligence to handle the challenge of older horses. We think his running style will be very effective if there isn't much pace and his recent growth will give him the edge he needs to beat rivals Barely Smokin, Incognito and the older horses. It's a gamble, but you need to be in it to win it.
We turn to Battle Brook Stable for some clarity on where they believe their horses will end up December Week Four. Ripley Marsh was more than willing to oblige even though she is now overseeing not one, but two stables.
She writes:
Thanks for inquiring about our Breeders' Cup status. It's been a long while since we've had good news exposure. I would like to do this for both our fans and my staff as a reminder that we are still a presence even though Year Sixteen has been much harder than we originally expected it would be. I would also like to say, for Sun King's myriad of fans, that the big horse is doing quite well and will begin walking under tack the second week of October. I would like to thank everyone for their support. We hope that his recovery continues at a speedy pace and that he will be ready to run in December, if not November. Some have questioned if he might just make the Breeders' Cup itself, but it is too soon for that thought to have crossed my mind.
Below is a list of horses and races that we believe are well-matched:
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Kismet: We never expected this one to be easy, but we didn't expect it to be this hard to find the winner's circle. She almost gets there every time. We might try to put blinkers on her and see how that goes. We fully expect to point to the Fillies Turf. Despite not reaching the winner's circle, her performances are almost even with every other juvenile turf filly out there. We'll figure things out in the next couple races with the end plan to be there with her December Week Four.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Luna de Soltera: Really, this filly is truly tremendous. We, and everyone else in the racing world, had high expectations for her and she really has delivered. I've never felt less than confident going into a race with her. She trains like a machine and her latest win really solidified her status as a top runner. We have a bit of a rivalry going with her and Lawless. Hopefully, we can separate these two and make next year's Tiara really interesting. In another year, I might have considered sending her against the boys in the Juvenile, but there's plenty of time for that at three.
Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Dirt Sprint, Swing Dancer: The biggest hit against her this season was her reputation. People like to forget that not everyone wants to take on top males with their sprinting fillies prior to the sprinter tiaras. Unfortunately, there are no options for girls who just want to run against girls instead of losing to Innerstellar and Ares in Horse Of The Year races. Perhaps her form tapered off during the tiara, but only because we had to run so fiercely to get the grade to compete. We plan to run only against fillies in the Breeders' Cup and expect a return to winning form for her during the fall. She's matured in the month she's had off and will return to racing October Week Three if we find a suitable spot. She is sitting on the edge of grade two and I believe she'll be the dark horse if not this fall, then next year.
Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf Sprint, Taboo: With consistent but non-winning performances, we feel that this pretty gray girl will fire her best against her own sex. While the males are not overly deep this season, we are hoping that several of our top competitors head to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint leaving us to circle the wagons around this one. We expect more top performances from Taboo as she is she training really well. It will be about timing her move correctly and finding just the right slot.
We may play with the idea of heading to the Breeders' Cup Mile with her depending on how she runs in the Fall Highweight Handicap in December. It's only half a furlong shorter, but Tabz had a knack for the mile as a juvenile and has finished second at the distance twice this season.
Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, Coveted Faith/Awestruck: The second name on this list may be a little surprising to most people considering Awestruck hasn't exactly been at the top of her division since the Triple Tiara preps. However, we had an inkling that maybe we should try her back on the turf. Her most recent win, a victory in September Wk 4, came over First Class and Melusine. While it is a long way to the top of the heap, Awestruck's turf win may pave the way for some separation between Enrapture and her going forward. We always expected Awestruck to be our turf filly and perhaps she is sending signals that now is the perfect time to try once again.
Coveted Faith had a battle-hardening summer after taking the Duchess Stakes--the final leg of the Turf Triple Tiara. She won a race at 8 furlongs, but her biggest win of the season came at ten. The filly and mare turf division is solid at the top, but her running style may be just right to spring a potent upset. She'll enjoy her October off and then we'll come back in the Flower Bowl with a fresh horse for the winter.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Breaking Point: He's been a change up for us this season. We never would have thought that a War Admiral descendant would be the first horse in our turf sprint stud line. He's really outdone himself at this stage in his career. He's proven his versatility and his talent in a variety of competitions. We made a really good judgement call before the Hawk Cup and bought his dam from Nature Blue Stable. She'll be bred to Divided Notion next season. While he's only two, he has a huge future ahead of him in our breeding barn as he'll likely service Cross My Heart, Paranormal Hunter, Artemis' Glory and Taboo at one point or another.
Lots to do before that happens, however. He'll be our big horse for the next couple seasons on the turf and we'd like to knock out the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint with him. He's a very confident animal and will likely only have one or two more starts before December Week Four.
Breeders' Cup Marathon, Vagabond: Vagabond has finally lived up to what we expected of him as an older horse. The win over Ultimate Revenge in the Independence Cup was his most impressive and important victory to date. He almost temps us to run in the Classic, but we've always felt the mile and a half suits him. He really excels at the long distance game and we'd love to get him a chance to win a Breeders' Cup. This will be the first year he actually participates and he couldn't be coming into it any better. He'll have two more starts before the Breeders' Cup in the Invasor Stakes and Senior Superstars Finale. He'll spend more time training over the turf hills and getting fit for the long distance in his down time. The great thing about Bond is that he really doesn't miss a day of training. That kind of durability is hard to find.
Breeders' Cup Turf Marathon, Casualty of War: He came out of his second to Take Flight in the Continental Stakes well. The long range plan is still the Breeders' Cup Turf Marathon with him. Hopefully, Take Flight heads to the Breeders' Cup Turf and Sultan can have a chance to improve upon his second last year. We'll have him ready off of his next three starts before the Breeders' Cup. He's a hard trying horse and he's made for the distance. It'll be nice to infuse some of his guts and long-windedness into our future stock.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, Wire Tap*: Most people don't really know him, which is fine. The less press the better. Pedigree is Foolish Lad and Royal Assault which means he's a half to Turf Triple Sprinter Crown winner Call Me Crooked. Definitely on the opposite end of the spectrum from her in terms of distance. He wants to run forever, this one. Took a while to get him to the track, but in five starts he's ripped off two wins. There's a lot of competition at the top between IRS's Wild Havoc and Ensignia, and Valkyrie's Flawless Majesty, but if he's a grade four by December we'll consider him for the Breeders' Cup. He has a lot more "ifs" to deal with than our other stock, but we think he's got the talent to stir up some trouble.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Cascabel, Gold Rush: We have been very blessed with male talent in the last four years. Although, we don't have the wow factor of a Sun King this season, we feel we're damn close with Cascabel and Gold Rush. Jacob--my assistant trainer--believes Gold Rush is just barely tapping into his talent and Cascabel's precocity has been nearly untouchable at two. I honestly am amazed at what Cascabel has done at two. Year Sixteen has been more than a little testing, but Cascabel just makes things so easy. He comes to work in the morning, puts in a perfect run, goes back to the barn and if we're at the track, he soaks in the visitors. For him to be so good in the afternoon as well, it is refreshing.
Gold Rush was bred with the intent to run over dirt and turf, but now we're thinking the Kentucky Derby is calling his name as well. It's nice to have him running under a second barn name because I don't feel so bad against pitting him against Cascabel. It will be intriguing to find out for ourselves which colt is better at this stage in his career. Obviously, Rush is a little bit behind compared to Cas, but his first HOTY win was stellar. We weren't expecting him to be this developed so quickly, which is a testament to Jacob's handling.
Both colts will go to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with the intent to win. May the best horse and farm win.
Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Saintly Touch: When we made the decision to cut Saintly Touch back in distance, we didn't know we'd create a miler monster. Who expects a Preakness Stakes winner to be so deadly at eight and nine furlongs? His first run in the Finale Flaws Derby was only supposed to be a prep for longer distances, but it has turned into so much more. Eight HOTY victories later and we feel like everyone will have to bring their running shoes to beat us. I don't like to be cocky, but Saint has never been more in form than now. He's a really special horse to me being out of The Devil's Touch and he is her first male heir in the breeding world. It will be most interesting to see if the Breeders' Cup will stir up some breeding interest in him as he still has one open slot in Year Seventeen.
Breeders' Cup Turf, Spotlight Pride: Thank goodness we have Saint and Pride on our side this year. We have a bit of rivalry going with Take Flight and Pride, but Pride has been running like a machine this season. It's been a quietly fantastic season--if that's such a thing. Between the Dubai World Mile, the Wire Finish Cup Turf and the Twilight Stakes, he's really put together a versatile season. We really wanted that victory at eleven furlongs and to do it in the Twilight Stakes cements him as a top stallion prospect. The horse couldn't be doing any better which is good because we have five races coming up that won't be easy, ending with the Breeders' Cup Turf.
Breeders' Cup Classic, Uno Momento: This entry is probably a surprise as it is a surprise even to us, especially considering how strong our older horses are at the moment. Uno has been on fire since coming back from his run in the Triple Crown. He's totally different in how carries himself, how big he's gotten since his early three year old season. His last two HOTY race wins made this decision easy for us. We know we have the horse going to the Classic. He's the fifth grade one winner out of El Sol del Mar and he has the versatility and intelligence to handle the challenge of older horses. We think his running style will be very effective if there isn't much pace and his recent growth will give him the edge he needs to beat rivals Barely Smokin, Incognito and the older horses. It's a gamble, but you need to be in it to win it.
