Also preparing for retirement is Champs Elysees; he has one more race left on his schedule, the Canadian International at Woodbine, before he joins big brother Dansili at stud in England. The new economic realities of the breeding game had kept the son of Hasili in training this year, rather than heading to an immediately lucrative stud career; Bill Finley hopes this also delays the flight to the breeding shed for horses including Summer Bird and Sea the Stars. (It must be particularly tricky for Summer Bird to find a stud ‘gig’ at the moment – who would want to stand him, despite his accomplishments so far this year, when his sire commands a mere $10,000 a pop? Hopefully, that fact alone should keep him in training next year).

There was some rather exciting racing this past weekend, both here and abroad; Indian Blessing held off Sara Louise in what has to be one of the most thrilling finishes the Gallant Bloom has ever seen. One hopes both will aim for the Filly & Mare Sprint, since they seem to be worthy adversaries. Meanwhile, at Ascot, Rip Van Winkle proved he is more than an afterthought to Sea the Stars with a determined win in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. This victory is setting him up for a run at the Breeders’ Cup Classic (following last year’s winning ‘European Milers Take 1-2 in the Classic’ formula) – it’s a shrewd move since it avoids Goldikova and allows him to keep his solid miler status intact.

Rip Van Winkle’s great rival, Sea the Stars, is still on target for the Arc on Sunday – it’s highly unlikely he would come to California after his Paris run, but it’s still not been entirely ruled out. We’ll look at the Arc in more detail later this week, but it’s hard not to chuckle a bit at the British outrage that some of the Arc undercard will not be broadcast on terrestrial television – imagine being able to see the Arc itself on even a normal cable channel in the US!

Tomorrow, I’ll be discussing the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Alex Brown’s radio show – tune in to hear our thoughts on Summer Bird, Quality Road and the other likely entrants!

Goldikova’s trainer, Freddie Head, has opted to send the 4-year-old to the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp for her final Breeders’ Cup prep – and he also suggested that she might remain in training next year, which is an exciting prospect. Should Goldikova repeat her Mile win, she will be the second mare partnered by Head to such a result; he was the jockey aboard the great Miesque for both of her Breeders’ Cup Mile wins – and he thinks that Goldikova is better (and certainly easier to ride). Now in possession of six G1 wins and a gilded list of defeated foes, it’s not surprising that she may be scaring off some competition.

Other European horses with possible Breeders’ Cup plans include Ballydoyle’s Rip Van Winkle and Mastercraftsman, both of whom are under consideration for the Classic (although they tend to excel at the mile distance – but see Goldikova, above). Sea the Stars is still looking unlikely, but is a theoretical possibility for the race.

Recently unlucky (to put it nicely) filly Dar Re Mi may head to the Filly & Mare Turf, and Godolphin recently purchased Delegator (last seen beating older horses after previously finishing in the wake of Sea the Stars) with a view toward the Mile (although I don’t love his chances against Goldikova). Obviously there will be a slew of European horses coming for the Turf – but you knew that already.

Although she is not being pointed toward this year’s Breeders’ Cup, it’s not a bad bet to keep an eye on Deluxe – the 2-year-old filly won her debut race in France, and if she follows in her sisters’ hoofprints, we can expect to see this latest daughter of Hasili in the Breeders’ Cup at some point in the next few years. Banks Hill won the Filly & Mare Turf at 3 and was second at 4, while Intercontinental won the race at 5. (Champs Elysees, another Hasili foal, had bad racing luck over the weekend in the Northern Dancer – he ended up being placed third after an inquiry).

Back in the States, the appallingly-named D’Funnybone stamped himself as a favorite for the Juvenile in the Futurity, while Regal Ransom put himself back in play for the Classic with his Super Derby win. With only a few more major races to go before we get to serious Breeders’ Cup countdown time, divisions are beginning to tighten up – here’s where things get interesting…

Breeders’ Cup horse betting

Speaking of Woodbine, Hasili family scion Champs Elysees was narrowly beaten there by Marchfield in the Sky Classic; seeing him pop up in a race made me wonder whether any of Hasili’s other offspring were currently in training; it seems 4-year-old Raise the Flag made a luckless start in France for Andre Fabre last year, but I did not find any more recent information. Meanwhile, the mare herself has headed back to Europe to see Oasis Dream after spending a few years Stateside and visiting with Storm Cat and Empire Maker. Her Storm Cat filly should be a 2-year-old now, but I would imagine we’ll hear from her later rather than sooner.

And so to next weekend; it’s unclear whether Mine That Bird will indeed be lining up for the Travers; so far, he seems to be doing well after his minor throat surgery, but a decision will be made tomorrow. Quality Road had a fine workout that should make him the morning-line favorite – for all things Travers, tune in tomorrow to hear my thoughts in my very own dulcet tones.

In other racing news, Einstein is headed to California after working a bullet at Churchill Downs; naturally, we Einstein fans hope to see a great performance from him in the Pacific Classic (ideally one not beset by the bad luck he’s run into in his last two starts).

Looking to make a comeback from both bad luck and a much longer layoff is Tiago; he became ill after last year’s Breeders’ Cup and has been slowly working his way back to the races ever since. He’s prepping in the Harry Brubaker (a turf race) at Del Mar tomorrow – hopefully he’ll get something out of it and we’ll see him feature in bigger races this fall.

Once again, feel free to tune in tomorrow (or listen again later) for more Travers talk!

First up, the True North Handicap:

I’m not entirely convinced we’re going to see the same Benny The Bull we did last year; he hasn’t raced in something like 11 months, he had a bone chip removed and got un-retired ‘when the deal fell through for him to be a stallion’ according to gentleman and trainer Rick Dutrow. I am actually glad to see him return, but I think this will be the day for either be Fabulous Strike or Two Step Salsa.

The Just A Game Stakes

Forever Together does indeed look tough here; it is a big step up in class for I Lost My Choo, but she seems to thrive on the New York circuit. I also feel I should not overlook Modern Look, since each time I ignore a Frankel-trained filly on turf, they come out to win. She’s a winner in France and I like her sire, Zamindar, so I may make a small wager.

The Woody Stephens Stakes

In theory, this race should help determine where ‘everyone else’ fits in the 3-year-old picture; this is a good thing, since I am thoroughly confused by Hello Broadway. Is he a sprinter? Just temperamental? The blinkers are off this time, so we’ll see if it makes a difference. This Ones for Phil seems ideally-suited for this race, but I am looking forward to seeing how Regal Ransom and Hull run here.

The Acorn Stakes

On paper, it’s hard to see anyone beating Justwhistledixie; however, I do find Funny Moon (with Alan Garcia up) and Doremifasollatido of interest. It may just end up a $10 trifecta, but it will be interesting to see if everyone else’s odds drift up.

The Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap

I always love this race, and it’s got a great, deep field this year. I had a little luck with Wesley, who was third in the Dixie on Preakness day, so I will try to fit him in again; it’s going to be tough, though, with Court Vision, Gio Ponti and Cowboy Cal. While none of them have been in top form of late, Cosmonaut, Champs Elysees and Better Talk Now are all worth watching and I still have no idea what’s going on with Zambezi Sun – has he figured out US racing yet (and which horse is Julien Leparoux actually riding)? This is a tough one to figure out, but at the moment I’m leaning toward Court Vision, Wesley and Gio Ponti.

Check back tomorrow for my thoughts on the Belmont field itself…

But back to the Derby Trial for a moment – while Silver City with Julien Leparoux will be the likely favorite, the race is also notable for featuring Gato Go Win, the horse at the center of the Jeff Mullins/Air Power controversy. One imagines things will be a little tighter around the detention barn this time around. I also like Tintim Por Tintim.

The Withers is also this weekend; while the race is now essentially a Preakness prep, check out Teresa’s great article on its history. This year’s Withers does have an interesting field, however; This One’s For Phil is coming into the race with a good record, but I will have my eye on Gone Astray. You never know who may show up to be a threat in Maryland, even if recent history does not smile upon new shooters in the Preakness.

In actual Derby news, you’ve likely heard about Quality Road’s second quarter crack by now as it’s all over the Twitterverse; all systems are reported to be go at this point, but it’s certainly a worry. It was also announced that Alan Garcia will retain the mount on Regal Ransom with Ramon Dominguez taking Desert Party. Only eight more days…

“We want to run. Our people buy horses to run, and when you have horses like Stardom Bound and you have the ability to run them against someone like Zenyatta or run her in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) against other big names, that’s what’s going to drive people into the seats.”

Really? You buy horses to run (for more than a year)? That doesn’t sound like you’re offering your investors the best possible return (although, granted, these are hedge fund investors, so presumably they’ve already written that money off as lost). It seems disingenuous to claim racing is the goal when there are ‘real’ investors involved, rather than the ‘we’re in this for fun’ partnership types; instead, there is the presumption investors will get some sort of return (in horse racing!) – which means stud fees, not racing purses. To make sure I was not entirely insane, I checked with Friend of the Blog, Holy Prepuce.

Holy Prepuce, an attorney and Harvard-trained economist, explains:

“As nearly as I can tell, IEAH organizes, enters into, and manages
partnerships for the ownership of particular horses. Its proposed
hedge fund would own multiple horses, but if structured like most US
hedge funds it will still be a partnership, with investors as limited
partners and IEAH as fund manager and general partner.

“In either scenario, IEAH owes a fiduciary duty to its partners, and
could violate that duty if it runs horses under circumstances where it
should know that putting to stud would provide the greater return on
investment. In other words, Iavarone can sacrifice economic return
for the love of the sport when he’s playing with his own money, but
not when his investors are footing the bill.”

There you have it.

Now, I am very happy that Zenyatta, Stardom Bound, Forever Together et al. are still in training, but I prefer Bobby Frankel’s much more realistic take on the situation:

Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel told Daily Racing Form in early February that multiple Grade 1 winner Champs Elysees (GB) is still racing this year because of the recession.

“A lot of studs are going to be starving,” Frankel said.

See, there is an upside to a down economy!