Lake Victoria scoring the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Breeders’ Cup Press
The day after Breeders’ Cup Future Stars Friday—how all of the contenders came out of their races.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf
Iron Man Cal — Little Red Feather Racing and Madaket Stables’ Iron Man Cal could be back in action before the end of the Del Mar meet according to trainer Phil D’Amato.
“There’s a race here at the end of the meet (the Cecil B. DeMille-G3 on Dec. 1) or we could just wait for his 3-year-old campaign,” D’Amato said.
Iron Man Cal finished second, beaten only a neck in his Grade 1 debut.
“He’s a cool horse and he has improved every race,” D’Amato said. “He is a big, strapping colt with a bright future.”
Fanduel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
Citizen Bull — Breeders’ Cup Friday started out slow for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The finish? That was a different story.
“I started out like the Dodgers in the last game (of the World Series),” Baffert said outside his barn on the backstretch at Del Mar Saturday morning. “But we did well at the end.” The Dodgers fell behind 5-0 in Game 5 of the World Series before storming back to clinch it with a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees. Baffert’s Breeders’ Cup got off to a pokey beginning as he finished sixth in an undercard race and then he watched Nooni blaze to the early lead in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) before fading to sixth.
It all came together in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile when Baffert finished 1-2 with Citizen Bull and Gaming and was also fourth with Getaway Car.
“I knew Citizen Bull and Gaming were doing really well coming into it,” Baffert said. “It would have been nice for Getaway Car to hold on for third. He was down on the inside, taking the worst of it.”
The Juvenile win was a record-setting sixth for Baffert in the Juvenile. He came into the race tied with fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas with five Juvenile triumphs.
Citizen Bull, a son of Into Mischief owned by Tom Ryan’s SF Racing and partners, has won three of four career starts. This was his second Grade 1 win; he also won the American Pharoah at Santa Anita Oct. 5 going gate-to-wire.
He was also third in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) behind Gaming and McKinzie Street. Citizen Bull and jockey Martin Garcia broke like a rocket in the Juvenile and were never headed on the way to the signature victory.
“I knew I was super live, all of them,” Baffert said. “You’ve just got to show up. This is our program, developing young horses.”
Baffert said he was not going to get too far ahead of himself moving forward. Of course, he will map out a plan for the 3-year-old seasons for all three of his Juvenile runners. That will come later.
Citizen Bull, Gaming and Getaway Car, along with the rest of the Baffert Breeders’ Cup runners, will return to Santa Anita on Sunday.
“It’s exciting, but it’s a long way off,” Baffert said, referring to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs next May. “(Citizen Bull) is special, he showed it (Friday) and he was not tired when he came back. He is a fast horse.”
Heading into the race, Baffert said Citizen Bull and Gaming were “pretty close” on his Juvenile depth chart and Getaway Car was not a distant third.
During the week, Baffert did not tout his horses, but he had silent confidence heading into the race. A year ago, Baffert felt really good about the Juvenile when he sent Muth to the starting gate. He finished a distant second to Fierceness, beaten 6 1/4 lengths.
“Last year, we thought Muth couldn’t lose, and Fierceness kicked the hell out of us,” Baffert said. “These are hard races to win.”
The 2024 version of the Juvenile was much more satisfying.
“That is why we work so hard,” Baffert said. “All my people want to play at the top level. We feel very fortunate just to get one of these.”
East Avenue – Per Godolphin representatives, East Avenue exited his disappointing, unlucky run in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) in “good shape” and that the First Saturday in May remains the goal, “with a couple stops before then.”
“He’s fine, we’ll move on,” trainer Brendan Walsh said.
Netjets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
Immersive – NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Immersive exited the race well and will head back to her Kentucky base on Sunday, according to her trainer Brad Cox, who was winning his 11th Breeders’ Cup race. Cox has won at least one Breeders’ Cup race since 2018 when he won his first with Monomoy Girl in the Longines Distaff.
“She’s doing good, very proud of her,” Cox said.
The win in the Juvenile Fillies was the second for Cox, who also won the race in 2019 with British Idiom. However, Cox had high praise for Immersive after her win.
“I think 2-year-old fillies, she’s the best we’ve had. To accomplish what she has, we’ve not had one win three Grade 1s at 2. We’re excited about what she accomplished, proud of her, and looking forward to next year.”
Vodka With a Twist — Trainer Phil D’Amato was pleased with the runner-up effort by Vodka With a Twist.
“Her first time going two turns. I thought Irad (Ortiz Jr.) did a nice job,” D’Amato said. “She’s still learning. When Immersive swept by her on the outside, she tried to re-engage her. We will look at the (1 1/16-mile) Starlet (G2) at Los Alamitos (on Dec. 7) or freshen her up for a 3-year-old campaign.”
John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf
Thought Process — Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables and the Estate of Brereton Jones’ Thought Process finished ninth as the second choice after setting the pace.
“I was not happy with her trip,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “I thought :22, :45 and 1:09 was too much to do too soon. I thought she would be tracking the leaders. It is tough to do that against horses of that caliber.”
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint
Governor Sam – Bregman Family Racing and Swinbank Stables’ Governor Sam was in good order Saturday morning after finishing a strong third in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) at Del Mar.
“Sam is good this morning,” trainer George Weaver said. “He came out of the race fine and he gave 110 percent like he always does.”
The son of Improbable set the pace in the 5-furlong sprint over firm footing through splits of :21.77 and :44.69, digging in resolutely under Paco Lopez in the lane before being overtaken in the final yards. He finished 1 length behind Magnum Force (IRE) and Arizona Blaze (GB).
“He opened up the lead in mid-stretch and just couldn’t hold off those other two,” Weaver said. “We were proud.”
Weaver noted that Governor Sam, bred in Kentucky by Stoneriggs Farm, will now head to Ocala, Florida, for a freshening.
