US Racing / Graham Cunningham / 22 October 2008 / Leave a comment

Blue skies, high temperatures and the perfect vantage point on the winners post... Graham Cunningham reports from day two of the Breeders Cup.

Head fears nothing as Goldikova bids to put him in the history books

As work stations go, this one takes some beating. My desk in the outdoor media centre at Santa Anita hangs over the winning post and the weather is blissful with blue skies and temperatures in the 80's predicted right through until Saturday.

And anyone who hears Freddie Head waxing lyrical about Goldikova's chance of landing the Breeders' Cup Mile would be tempted to enhance the mood further by lumping on the star French filly.

The diminutive Head has enjoyed a landmark 2008 and, having partnered the mighty Miesque to both her wins in the Mile, knows exactly what is needed if Goldikova is to make him the first BC winning rider ever to return and win as a trainer.

"Miesque was something special and Goldikova isn't that good yet, but she could be and has everything you need to go very well here," he said.

"When we heard Henrythenavigator and Raven's Pass were going for the Classic it was a big nail out of our foot and Goldikova has travelled over well."

It's rare to find a trainer of a leading BC hope who doesn't have some concern about the draw or opposition, but Head fears neither.

"The draw is no problem and I haven't really looked at the other horses," he added. "Winning as a jockey is the best business in the world, but winning as a trainer is very rewarding. And I feel this filly is good enough to win."

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Seen and heard on the backstretch at Santa Anita

Resident chaplain Reverend Eddie - complete with huge black stetson - is up and about early dispensing coffee and doughnuts as well as pastoral care to anyone who needs it.

Trainer Ralph Beckett knows Muhannak faces a tough task against Sixties Icon in the Marathon but form students said the same about his star filly Look Here before she won the Oaks at 33-1.
"He's probably a stone below Sixties Icon in the ratings, but we know he loved Polytack and it's a sporting tilt for an owner who might listen to an offer if he runs well," he said.

Muhannak went out with a pony called Freckles for his exercise, while Sixties Icon cantered with the rather better known Fleeting Spirit. Trainer Jeremy Noseda, who had to don a fetching blue plastic jump suit to visit his stars in the quarantine barn, was giving little away about their prospects.

Fleeting Spirit will need to jump faster than she sometimes has to offset an inside draw in the Turf Sprint, but some fair judges among the European party are becoming increasingly confident that Sixties icon will go very close and I agree with them.

The five-year-old has strung together a series of fine efforts against high-class rivals in Britain and the [4.0] available about him with a couple of fixed odds firms seems most unlikely to be available come the weekend.

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Ventura on the right highway if Frankel has done his sums right

Rumour and speculation is always an integral part of Breeders' Cup week and the usual amount of hot air is being expended about the chances of the local team. However, two people who know the California scene inside out are veteran trainer Bobby Frankel and Daily Racing Form correspondent Steve Andersen.

Frankel will be watching Aidan O'Brien's runners with interest this week given that the Ballydoyle handler is chasing his world record of 25 Group 1 wins in a season.

However, Frankel will be watching Friday's BC Filly & Mare Sprint with even keener interest given that he saddles one of the biggest dangers to the hot favourite Indian Blessing.

Ventura is the filly in question and, on the back of several fine efforts in good company over a mile, it's safe to say that Frankel fancies her. How much? Well, suffice to say that his eyes lit up when told that his runner is trading at [9.0] with the fixed odds layers back on the other side of the Atlantic.

Andersen may not have trained any Group 1 winners, but he has backed plenty and is aiming to add to his tally with a clutch of Californian stars this weekend.

"Albertus Maximus is up against a good one in Well Armed in the Dirt Mile, but he's getting better quickly and I have a good feeling about him," he said.

"Midshipman has a good shot in the Juvenile," he added. "And although last year's Sprint winner Midnight Lute has been under a cloud recently his trainer Bob Baffert feels he's getting better and better right now."

But the one horse Andersen feels has banker potential is the filly locals have simply come to know as "the Amazon."

"Zenyatta is America's answer to Zarkava and she will do in the Ladies' Classic on Friday what Zarkava did to the best of the Euros in the Arc," he said.

"She's a shade of odds on, but I'll be having a stiff bet on her and I just don't see her being beaten."

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Timing is everything...or not, as the case may be

As you probably know, the land of the free isn't quite free enough yet to allow horseplayers to wager on Betfair. The website can be viewed, of course, but no bets can be placed and anyone tempted to try and get round the ban had better show a shade more ingenuity than one prominent British owner at Monmouth last year.

The man in question - let's call him Mr P - thought he would have no problem getting on via Betfair's telephone service but tripped up badly when he forgot to add five hours to bring his chosen race on a par with British time.

Ever vigilant, the Betfair phone operator refused to accept the bet and rubbed salt in the wound by suspending Mr P's account until he returned to Blighty.

Naturally, the British media corps would never dream of flouting local laws just to get a bet on. However, it's a fair bet that the accounts of friends and family members back in Blighty will see a marked upturn in activity as the week wears on.

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Lukas likes the lolly but slams the surface

Debate still rages about whether Santa Anita are right to run the Breeders' Cup on the new Pro Ride surface, but legendary local handler D Wayne Lukas is still pining for the old days.
Lukas has just one runner this year - namely Be Smart in the Juvenile Fillies' - and didn't mince his words on hearing that one of his training rivals hates the new surface.
"I hate it, too," he said. "But I don't hate the $25m in prize money."