William S. Farish's Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}), winner of the GI Runhappy Travers S. and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup (via DQ) in his two most recent appearances, tuned up for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with a smart five-furlong drill that was clocked in 1:00.20 (XBTV video) over a sloppy Belmont main track Monday morning. The move was originally supposed to take place Sunday, but trainer Shug McGaughey explained that John Velazquez was not available and therefore elected to work Monday, the off track notwithstanding.
“I thought the was work was excellent,” trainer Shug McGaughey told the TDN's Bill Finley. “It was exactly what I would have imagined. I asked him for a minute to 1:01 and wanted him to let him run past the wire and gallop out strong. He did it all on his own. I didn't expect for it to rain that much, but they sealed the track good. So it didn't really matter to me.”
Promoted to second in the GI Kentucky Derby, the chestnut skipped the rest of the Triple Crown series and is perfect in three starts since. McGaughey believes there is more in the tank.
“I thought today was an awful good work,” he said. “What has been a surprise to me is how well he's come out of his races since the Dwyer, and that's what made me change my mind and go to California and take a chance. I think he deserves it. I thought he had an awful good work today and seems to have come out of it fine. As of right now, we're going forward.”
Bloom Runners Excelling at Santa Anita…
Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) looms as one of the heavier favorites on Breeders' Cup weekend, and the 4-year-old did little in a Monday morning breeze over the Santa Anita main track to suggest she isn't about to deliver a top effort in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. Working in the company of her stablemate Comedian (Into Mischief), Midnight Bisou drilled five furlongs in 1:00.40 with big-race rider Mike Smith at the controls (XBTV video).
“Let me think of the right adjective–she was perfect,” part-owner Jeff Bloom told the TDN Monday afternoon. “She's been doing so well since she got in and today's work was no exception. She just really moves well over the surface here at Santa Anita, and this work in particular was eyecatching. She worked alongside a really talented colt of ours named Comedian and she just cruised through the work. Mike Smith was all smiles afterwards saying how pleased he is with the fact that she just literally skips over the track. He was sitting on a ton of horse from start to finish and she could have re-exploded on the gallop out.”
Midnight Bisou, co-owned with Madaket Stables and Allen Racing, is in the midst of what many consider a Horse of the Year-worthy campaign. Among her seven wins from as many starts are the GI Apple Blossom H., the GI Odgen Phipps S. and GI Personal Ensign S. She exits a facile success in the GII Beldame S. at Belmont Park and returns to the site of her victory in the 2018 GI Santa Anita Oaks.
Snapper Sinclair (City Zip) has been cross-entered for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile and the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, with a declared preference for the latter event, Bloom confirmed. The bald-faced chestnut was full of himself Monday morning, working five-eighths of a mile in 1:01.40 (XBTV video).
“Not to sound like a broken record, but Steve and I were talking this morning about just how well he's doing,” Bloom offered. “He's a millionaire the hard way. He's one of those horses that's shown incredible versatility by running some very powerful races on both turf and dirt. Since he's arrived here off his win in the Tourist [Mile] at Kentucky Downs, he's done even better. He's carrying really good weight and he's also shown an affinity for the track. It was a fabulous work to watch and in terms of what he got out of it. We're really excited about the progression he's made and what potentially might be a big run for us in the Breeders' Cup.”
As for the preference in the Dirt Mile, Bloom added: “I've always maintained that he's a better dirt horse. I think his numbers reflect that he's a faster horse on the dirt, but either way, I think he's ideally situated to run in here. The fact that it's a two-turn mile will be an advantage for him, but we want to run him in the Breeders' Cup and we'd be happy to run him in either spot.”
Baffert Works a Pair…
A pair of Breeders' Cup-bound gallopers from the Bob Baffert shedrow breezed towards their respective Breeders' Cup engagements at Santa Anita Monday morning.
'TDN Rising Star' Improbable (City Zip), who will be cutting back in trip for the GI Dirt Mile, worked a bullet six furlongs in 1:11.80. Fellow 'Rising Star' Eight Rings (Empire Maker), romping winner of the GI American Pharoah S. in his two-turn debut last time, went the same distance in a more leisurely 1:14.40 (XBTV video). The $520,000 Keeneland September yearling will be one of the choices for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
