Now that post positions for this year’s Breeders’ Cup are set, we’ll be analyzing each race in the order they will be contested. First up is the Marathon – a race for which I have a special fondness. With the defection of Temple City, we have a field of twelve:
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | ML |
| #1 | Atoned | Robby Albarado | Neil Howard | 20-1 |
| Has not won a race since 2008, but was a close third behind Eldaafer in his last effort. | ||||
| #2 | Prince Will I Am | Javier Castellano | Michelle Nihei | 4-1 |
| Comes into this race off a two-win streak (including his trainer’s first graded stakes win last time) and should be bred to go long – but is he better on turf? He may try that route next year. | ||||
| #3 | Million Seller | Jeremy Rose | H. Graham Motion | 50-1 |
| The lone filly in the race has not beaten the best company, but she has an interesting pedigree – although she’s US-bred, she’s out of a Japanese-bred Sunday Silence mare – she looked like she wanted more distance in her last race. | ||||
| #4 | Eldaafer | John Velezquez | Diane Alvarado | 12-1 |
| Another horse on a two-win streak; he did not fare well in this race last year, but he’s been improving since then and could finish in the money. | ||||
| #5 | Romp (ARG) | Martin Garcia | Kristin Mulhall | 50-1 |
| 6-year-old gelding got his first win since 2008 in his last effort, but this seems a tall order for him. | ||||
| #6 | Gabriel’s Hill | Julien Leparoux | Seth Benzel | 20-1 |
| Almost beat Alcomo back in July, but that’s the closest he’s come to a win; seems overmatched here. | ||||
| #7 | Awesome Gem | David Flores | Craig Dollase | 7-2 |
| He may have a habit of finishing second in big races and earning a lot of money the hard way, but he finally dug in for a G1 win in the Hollywood Gold Cup. I included him in my Breeders’ Cup Classic trifecta a few years back to good effect, and he’s a worthy favorite here. | ||||
| #8 | Giant Oak | Garrett Gomez | Chris Block | 4-1 |
| This is an interesting spot for a horse who has finished respectably against the likes of Blame in the past; has he simply needed more distance all along? Certainly one to watch. | ||||
| #9 | Bright Horizon (GB) | John Murtagh | Aidan O’Brien | 10-1 |
| While he is well-bred and has some wins to his credit, he’s not part of Aidan O’Brien’s first string by any means; that said, it’s always worth keeping an eye on the European-trained horses in this race. | ||||
| 10 | Alcomo (BRZ) | Rafael Bejarano | Eduardo Caramori | 6-1 |
| Beat Gabriel’s Hill and Eldaafer in the Brooklyn Handicap and was just behind A. U. Miner in his last race, but this world traveler has not run since July. | ||||
| 11 | Precision Break | Jamie Spencer | Paul Cole | 15-1 |
| This American-bred, European-trained gelding finished well back in his last race a few weeks ago and has never beaten top-class horses – but again, this is a familiar distance, if nothing else. | ||||
| 12 | A. U. Miner | Calvin Borel | Clark Hanna | 9-2 |
| Beat Alcomo in the Greenwood Cup in July, but was a close third last time out behind Redding Colliery and Giant Oak. The distance looks like a good fit. | ||||
Predictions: It looks like this should go to the American contingent this year; unless he gets seconditis again, this should be Awesome Gem’s race, with Giant Oak and A. U. Miner rounding things out. Eldaafer is something of a wild card and I’d include him in any exotics.
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