Breeders' Cup Comes Up Empty for Most of the West Coast

With the exception of Bob Baffert and his merry band of traveling players, trainers based in California came away from the 43rd Breeders' Cup Championships Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland with a few minor placings and bags of meaningless souvenirs. Without a doubt, to ship fit, accomplished Thoroughbreds so far for so little can be discouraging. A 1-for-14 strike rate in the win column is grim. But life goes on, and the Californians can console themselves with the pleasant little autumn season back home at Del Mar that runs through Thanksgiving weekend. Masochists all, the most dedicated Thoroughbred trainers cling to the admonition of Lola Montez, the 19th-century dancer and political adventurer who declared, each time she had to move on, "Courage, and shuffle the cards." Phil D'Amato was dealt an especially tough hand in Kentucky. The perennial leader at West Coast meets arrived with four, ran three, and did not hit the board, although Sorrento Sky (IRE) was beaten two noses and three necks for second behind Bacio in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T). The real blow came when Thought Process was removed from the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) by the official veterinarians. The daughter of Collected was a grade 1 winner coming off an overpowering victory in the Rodeo Drive Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park, and she sported a record that would have deserved Eclipse Award consideration with a big effort in the Breeders' Cup. D'Amato remains both mystified and frustrated by the manner in which his filly was scrutinized and eventually eliminated from competition. She had worked in California the weekend before the race to the satisfaction of local protocols, and passed out-of-competition PET scans at University of California, Davis veterinary labs, according to her trainer. "Six different vets that looked at her gave us six different answers," D'Amato said. "I think that was code for not being comfortable with her. None of them had ever seen her the last two years in California, so I think she just got caught up in that lack of familiarity." As has become the custom, Breeders' Cup officials hire an army of veterinarians to inspect horses throughout the week of the event. Tensions are understandably high, and hypocrisy abounds. Horses competing in the supporting features are not accorded the same level of precautionary passion. "It's a different environment, so if you're going to run in the Breeders' Cup you've got to be prepared for stuff like that," D'Amato said. "We brought her to the Breeders' Cup in good faith that we'd satisfied everything they'd asked. But we're their guests, so we just have to move on." Thought Process, all dressed up with no place to run, went through the Nov. 3 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale session of high-value mares for a bid of $1.5 million from Bryant Prentice's Pursuit of Success. "She was close to the heart of everyone in our barn," D'Amato said. "We'll miss her." Iron Man Cal represented the D'Amato hopes in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), but the winner of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar pretty much lost his race before they blew the horns. "He got really worked up in the paddock and washed out," D'Amato said. "He's the kind of horse who needs to run out of his own stall in a comfortable environment. He'll get a nice break now, and if we do ship it will be at least a week and a half out." Majestic Oops, a consistent performer in top company throughout the year, finished sixth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1). She, too, passed through the Keeneland auction ring Tuesday, selling for $375,000 to Mulholland Springs. Then there is Gold Phoenix (IRE), the Old Man River of the D'Amato barn, who missed the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) for the first time since 2021. He had run in the last four versions with a fees-paid berth courtesy of his four-peat in the Del Mar Handicap (G2T), and in the last three of those turf renewals, he was fourth, fourth, and fifth. More to the point, however, only one North American horse finished in front of him during that stretch. Yet, he was relegated deep on the also-eligible list for the 2026 renewal. Keeneland's loss will be Del Mar's gain. Gold Phoenix, who won the Eddie Read Stakes (G2T) there during the summer, is being pointed for the Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G2T) at a mile and a half Nov. 27. Peter Miller arrived at Keeneland with a record of two wins and two seconds from seven starters in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). Given that, Miller could be forgiven if he thought his red speedball Liam Smith had a puncher's chance in the 2026 version, even at odds of 20-1. As it turned out, Liam Smith, making his stakes debut, was beaten only by T O Elvis and Englishman, which is kind of like playing third fiddle to Jascha Heifetz and Itzhak Perlman (apologies for the highbrow reference). The colt also paid the price for his effort. "The way he was getting out around the turn, I was worried something was wrong," Miller said. "It looked like he'd get nothing. Then he changed leads and got comfortable. It turned out we had to go into his left knee to clean up a couple of chips." Dr. Larry Bramlage performed the routine surgery at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, and Liam Smith will remain in Kentucky during his recuperation. The son of Midshipman had won his prior start impressively after being claimed by Miller for $50,000. "Dr. Bramlage said he'd need 60 days and be good as new," Miller said. "It would be great if he could make it to Dubai in March, but we'll wait and see." In addition, Miller came within three-quarters of a length of nailing third money in the Dirt Mile with Moonlight, at 53-1. Fourth place was worth a cool $50,000 to owner Tom Kagele. "I'm not usually happy finishing third and fourth," Miller added. "But I was really proud of the way our horses ran." Moonlight was lapped onto Full Serrano (ARG), winner of the 2024 Dirt Mile for Hronis Racing and John Sadler. They watched their 7-year-old Argentine finish just 2 lengths behind the battling Further Ado and Owen Almighty. "We knew Further Ado was a monster at Keeneland," said Sadler, referring to the colt's 20-length maiden win and 11-length score in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1). "He ran so good the other day they're thinking about unretiring him." Sadler also sent out Super Corredora to finish fourth after setting the pace in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), beaten a neck for third money by fellow 3-year-old Measure. The daughter of Gun Runner won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) last year and came off a six-month layoff to win the Zenyatta Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita a month before the Breeders' Cup. "Now she gets to be a 4-year-old next year," said Sadler, citing races such as the B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile Stakes (G1) and Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) already penciled onto her dance card. California was also represented by runners from the stables of Michael McCarthy, Doug O'Neill, Richard Baltas, Bob Hess, Jeff Mullins, Leonard Powell, and George Papaprodromou. Having survived a week in the Breeders' Cup fishbowl, they're all getting back on the horse this weekend at Del Mar. In fact, Mullins, Hess, Miller, and Papaprodromou square off Nov. 7 by sending forth California-bred sprinters in a race named for The Chosen Vron, who won 19 of 25 starts. His 17 stakes victories included back-to-back scores in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) in 2023-24 at Del Mar. Trained by Eric Kruljac, The Chosen Vron finished fifth in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita and was a vet scratch from the 2024 Sprint at Del Mar. Upon his retirement in March 2025, he went to Katie Fisher's Kingfisher Farm near Solvang, Calif., where he is the poster boy for the Kingfisher Equine Rehab & Rehome Program.