It’s time at last — Thoroughbred racing’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be held this Friday & Saturday, November 4th & 5th at Santa Anita!
Virginia interests again are well represented in races both Friday & Saturday including Virginia-bred Stellar Wind, who will face Beholder for the third straight race along with powerful 6-5 early favorite Songbird in the $2 million Distaff. The clash takes place Friday at 7:35 PM.
Stellar Wind and Victor Espinoza, left, hold off Beholder and Gary Stevens to win the Grade I $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA.
©Benoit Photo
Stellar Wind, bred by the Keswick Stables & Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings Inc., has gotten the best of Beholder in her last two outings. She was one half length better in the Clement Hirsch Stakes and a neck better most recently in the Zenyatta Stakes. The 4 year old daughter of Curlin has 7 wins from 11 lifetime starts and purse earnings of $1,353,200. Songbird is a 3 year old Kentucky-bred who is 11-for-11 with earnings of $3,372,000.
Also on Friday, Virginia owner/breeder David Ross has entered Scuba in the Marathon Stakes, part of that day’s “Cup” under card. Jockey Kendrick Carmouche will direct the 5/2 second early pick for trainer Brendan Walsh. Dortmund, owned by Kaleem Shaw of Reston, Virginia, is 6/5 early choice in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, slated for 6:05 PM on Friday. Martin Garcia will guide for trainer Bob Baffert.
On Saturday, Kaleem Shaw has another horse — Klimt — in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, which is scheduled as the 8th race. The Baffert trainee is 6/1 early and will be ridden by Rafael Bejarno. Drefong, set to compete in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, was co-bred by Middleburg native Anthony Warrender. This Baffert conditioned horse will have Martin Garcia up too. Finally, a pair of entrants in Saturday’s under card kickoff race — Con Te Partiro and Red Lodge — are part owned by Sheri Greenburg of Keswick. She is a partner in the Hat Trick Racing ownership group and Wesley Ward trains the duo. Con Te Partiro could participate in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf if she draws into the field; she currently is the #15 horse.
All the action from Santa Anita can be seen on NBC Sports Network late Friday afternoon and all day & early evening . The s $6 million Classic will be aired on NBC itself Saturday from 8-9 PM. Race fans can wager at the new Off Track Betting Center at Breakers Sports Grille in Richmond (9127 W. Broad St.) and via on line wagering partners TVG.com, XPressBet.com and TwinSpires.com.