Photo:

Shamela Hanley / Eclipse Sportswire

The end of Saudi Cup winner Señor Buscador’s racing career has come into view.

Breeder and majority owner Joey Peacock said the 6-year-old son of Mineshaft exited a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic well and is targeting the Dec. 7 Cigar Mile Handicap and the Jan. 25 Pegasus World Cup for his final two starts.

“It’s an awful lot to ask of a horse to compete at the Grade 1 level as a 7-year-old,” Peacock said. “I’m happy to go as far as the Pegasus with him because I think he’s doing well. Going past that would be asking an awful lot of the horse.”

Peacock said he has been in discussions with some of the leading breeding operations in Lexington and expects an agreement with one of them to be announced soon. He already is preparing for the next chapter in Señor Buscador’s career by buying eight broodmares at Keeneland’s November Sale. He was outbid on a handful of others. He said he will continue efforts early next year to add to his broodmare band with the goal of reaching 15.

Señor Buscador is the last horse Peacock bred with his father, Joe. He eagerly awaits the next chapter in the horse’s career and will remain heavily invested in him.

“We’re buying specifically for him,” Peacock said of his recent spending spree. “Whether we’re right or wrong, we 100 percent believe in him and his pedigree.” His dam, Rose’s Desert, has produced a number of good runners for the family.

Señor Buscador has a record of 22: 7-2-3 with earnings of $12,941,427. He raked in $12,018,000 so far this season, highlighted by a dramatic late rush that got him up in time in the $20 million Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse this past Feb. 24. He then finished third in the $12 million Dubai World Cup, just a neck behind Japan’s Ushba Tesoro for second in the March 30 contest.

If the past is any indication, the late-running Señor Buscador has the opportunity to go out in style. He ran second to loose-on-the-lead Hoist the Gold in the Cigar last December. Peacock looks forward to returning to Aqueduct.

“The Cigar is a one-turn mile and it’s a great set-up for him,” he said.

Señor Buscador should again be a factor in the $3 million Pegasus at Gulfstream Park. His customary late kick fell a neck short of overtaking National Treasure in last year’s 1 1/8-mile edition.

Señor Buscador is preparing for his remaining two starts at trainer Todd Fincher’s home base, Zia Park, in New Mexico. Fincher was encouraged by the horse’s performance in the Classic.

“That was his best race since coming back from Dubai, so we’re happy with that,” Fincher said. “It seems he’s come back even better, so maybe he’s just starting to peak again.”

Horses react differently to distant travel. In this case, Fincher’s trainee has been slow to return to form. A fourth-place finish in the Aug. 24 Pat O’Brien (G2) at Del Mar and a dull performance in the inaugural California Crown Sept. 28 at Santa Anita preceded the Classic. He wound up fifth of six in the California Crown.

Fincher was particularly distressed by the California Crown. “That was as bad as he’s ever run,” he noted.

According to the trainer, a loose horse interrupted the horse’s last major work for the California Crown, turning an intended five-furlong drill into one that had to be aborted after three furlongs.

“We had a couple of bumps in the road on the comeback trail that kind of slowed us down,” said Fincher, hoping Señor Buscador will finish with a flourish.