Classic Contenders Arabian Knight, White Abarrio Headline Breeders' Cup Works

Arabian Knight Ernie Belmonte

It was a tale of two Breeders' Cup preps Monday morning at Santa Anita for Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) and White Abarrio (Race Day), the former putting in an eye-catching six furlong work in 1:11.54 and then galloping out a mile in 1:37.57 without any pressing encouragement, as reported by the DRF in the Breeders' Cup Clocker Report, and the latter having it tentatively postponed until Wednesday. When asked for a reason, conditioner Rick Dutrow only said: “We weren't able to work [White Abarrio] this morning. Hopefully we'll get to gallop him tomorrow [horses are not permitted to work at Santa Anita on Tuesdays] and work him Wednesday.”

Bob Baffert was thrilled with the work from the GI Pacific Classic winner–who many believe will ultimately be the post-time favorite in the Classic–and likes the changes he's seeing: “I was really happy with the work and the way he has been progressing since the Haskell, which was kind of a disaster all around. He just seems to be progressing and continuing to get better with maturity. We've still got another couple of weeks to go, but I couldn't be any happier with the way he's coming into the race at the moment.”

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