It was a disappointing day Oct. 25 for trainer Brad Cox as his champion mare Idiomatic was scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) and retired with a knee injury. However, the Louisville, Ky., native had to turn the page quickly as he still has three older horses prepping for the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup card at Del Mar.
Highland Falls , Federal Judge , and Saudi Crown all hit the Churchill Downs track before sunrise on a windy morning Oct. 26 for their final Breeders’ Cup breezes.
Highland Falls was the last of the trio to hit the track, breezing at 7:30 a.m. ET, but will be targeting the biggest prize: the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Working in company with 3-year-old Liberal Arts , a grade 3 winner who recently joined the Cox barn after riding the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail with trainer Robert Medina, Highland Falls completed five furlongs in 1:00 1/5.
“He seems to be doing as well now as he ever has,” Cox said. “He is a Curlin; they normally get better the more they do, the older they get.”
Jockey Luis Saez is scheduled to ride in the Classic after Flavien Prat, who will ride Sierra Leone in the Classic, rode the colt in his Sept. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) victory. This was the second straight week in which Saez breezed the horse, and he liked what he saw.
“I’ve been watching a lot of (his) races; I’ve been looking at him for awhile,” Saez said. “He’s a pretty nice horse, and he looks like he can go the distance.”
The Jockey Club Gold Cup was a breakthrough win for Highland Falls and showed how much he had developed since his Jan. 13 allowance optional claiming victory at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. With a record of 3-2-0 from six starts this season, his only off-the-board finish came in his only start on the West Coast—his stakes debut—when fourth in the March 3 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) at Santa Anita Park. With the Breeders’ Cup held at Del Mar, Cox said shipping the horse back to California does not concern him.
“He’s a seasoned horse now; he was still lightly raced at that point,” Cox said. “He’s definitely improved and has more seasoning under his belt and understands racing a little more than he did back in March.”
Federal Judge Readies for the Sprint
Another horse gaining seasoning at the right time for the Cox barn is Siena Farm and WinStar Farm’s Federal Judge, aimed at the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).
Federal Judge wins the Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland
Showing promise at age 3 last year, the Army Mule gelding was fourth in the 2023 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) before sitting on the bench for 11 months. After two allowance starts this summer at Saratoga Race Course, Federal Judge added his name to the list of top Breeders’ Cup prospects with a scintillating 5 1/2-length victory in the Oct. 4 Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland.
Cox will attempt to replicate that front-running score, holding no secrets about the strategy.
“Speed is his weapon,” Cox said. “I think we see the best of him when he’s aggressively ridden. I know there’s going to be some other speed in the race, but we’re either going to be in front of them or on top them if we get the opportunity.”
With his final breeze Saturday, Cox made sure to not expend too much of that flashy speed. He clocked a half-mile in 48 2/5 by himself when the track opened at 5:30 a.m. and was restrained on the gallop out once completing the distance.
“I shut him down after that; I didn’t want to do too much with him,” Cox said. “Super pleased with how he’s doing.”
Saudi Crown Prepares for Dirt Mile
Just moments before Federal Judge breezed, Saudi Crown sped around the Churchill Downs oval with an important five furlongs in 1:00.
The FMQ Stables’ colt was scratched from the Sept. 28 Ack Ack Stakes (G3), intended to be his final prep for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), with a foot injury. He was taken to Lexington, where a podiatrist worked on his foot.
Saudi Crown wins the R.A. “Cowboy” Jones Stakes at Ellis Park
“They did a great job,” Cox said. “Everything’s patched up, looks great, is holding together. I don’t think it will be an issue.”
Returning to the work tab at Keeneland Oct. 13, the 4-year-old son of Always Dreaming has recorded his last two workouts at Churchill Downs. Cox is pleased with his progress.
“I was really looking for a good (work) today and we really got it,” Cox said. “At the end of the day, he’s got to step up and do the running. But I feel like we’ve prepared him to the best of our ability given what we’ve had to deal with the last six weeks with him.
“I’m not concerned with the horse’s fitness, but I did miss a little bit of time with him.”
Jockey Florent Geroux, who will ride in the Dirt Mile, said, “He felt great to me,” when asked about the foot.
Due to his Ack Ack scratch, Saudi Crown enters the Breeders’ Cup off nearly three-month layoff and only one race in seven months since returning from the Middle East.
“I’m not too worried with him,” Geroux said of the layoff. “He’s a horse who runs very good fresh; some of his best races have come off a few months layoff.”
Rattle N Roll, Tumbarumba Scratch From Fayette With Breeders’ Cup in Mind
Regarding layoffs, Lucky Seven Stable and trainer Kenny McPeek hope to pull off an improbable comeback with Rattle N Roll in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Rattle N Roll wins the 2023 Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs
The 5-year-old son of Connect returned from a year-long layoff Sept. 28 in the Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs. The closer did not receive a quick pace ahead of him but still came on strong for third. McPeek had mentioned that the Breeders’ Cup Classic was on the radar should he win, but it appears he ran well enough to justify traveling to Del Mar.
Entered for the Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland Saturday, Rattle N Roll was scratched and instead worked a bullet five furlongs at Churchill Downs in 59 3/5, the fastest of 39 workers at the distance on Saturday morning.
Pre-entered as the second also-eligible for the Classic, Rattle N Roll received good news Friday as the connections of Skippylongstocking opted to run him in the Dirt Mile instead, Daily Racing Form reported. One more Classic dropout will open the last spot in the gate for him.
Also scratching from the Fayette for a run in the Breeders’ Cup is Wathnan Racing’s Tumbarumba , who worked an easy four furlongs under Saez in :49 1/5 in preparation for the Dirt Mile.
Tumbarumba wins the Fred W. Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park
“It was a maintenance work,” trainer Brian Lynch said. “We feel like he’s as good as we can have him going into it. He’s not the most aggressive horse working by himself, but he looked very comfortable and had a good gallop out.”
After starting the year with a victory in the Jan. 27 Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park, the 4-year-old Oscar Performance gelding has finished second in four straight starts. His most recent runner-up effort came in the Ack Ack over a sloppy track, a condition Lynch said he did not seem to like. However, just like in all his starts this year, Tumbarumba showed his heart and tenacity in battling off his pace rivals before being caught late by the closing Three Technique .
“It’s a wonderful asset in a race. In a horse, you love to see that kind of fight,” Lynch said of the gelding’s competitiveness. “I feel like he’s been second enough times; maybe he’s going to have his turn on a big day.”
Four of his five starts this season have come in a one-turn mile, but Lynch said the two-turn mile configuration of one-mile races at Del Mar will benefit Tumbarumba.
“With his tactical speed, he could lay up close,” Lynch said. “It’s a short stretch, and if it does turn into a dog fight, you know he’s going to give you everything he’s got to the wire.”
