Loggins Will Sit Out Breeders' Cup

'TDN Rising Star' Loggins (Ghostzapper), who is coming off a game second-place finish in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, will not run in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, reports his trainer, Brad Cox.

Though beaten by fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) last out at Keeneland, Loggins showed that he is one of the top juveniles in training. He was part of a three-horse battle for the early lead before being passed in the stretch by his rival only to fight back gamely in the late going to miss by just a neck. He was also put into tight quarters in the stretch, causing rider Florent Geroux to wage a claim of foul, which was not allowed.

“He ran a big race the other day, was running back in three weeks and he did all the heavy lifting that day,” Cox said. “He responded well and showed that he's a good horse and can be a top colt. But he was a little tired after the race and he had a right to be tired. We put our heads together and thought we want to get this horse to the Kentucky Derby and take a swing at some of the Grade I Derby preps and the Derby itself. So now is the perfect time to take a deep breath with him, kick him out for 45 days and kick him back up in the middle of December. He'll be sent to the Fair Grounds and that's where he'll prepare for his races next year.”

Cox said he might have tried another route if Loggins had not show signs of being tired after the big effort at Keeneland.

“If he'd bounced out of his last race and was, the term is tearing the barn down, we might think differently,” he said. “But I didn't see that. We saw a horse that was tired and to try to put him through two works to get him ready for the Breeders' Cup would have been tough. When you go to the Breeders' Cup you have to be on top of your game and I didn't see that happening with him coming out of the Breeders' Cup as tired as he was. It would have been three races in seven weeks and that's a lot.”

In his debut, Loggins won a maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs by 8 1/2 lengths to earn Rising Star status.

“I think he's a big-time talent,” he said. “That's why we did what he did. He's a very fast horse and has a big future. He's an exciting prospect for next year.”

Loggins may have set an unofficial record for having the most owners, in his case 10. They are Spendthrift Farm LLC, Steve Landers Racing LLC, Martin S. Schwartz, Michael Dubb, Ten Strike Racing, Jim Bakke, Titletown Racing Stables, Kueber Racing, LLC, Big Easy Racing LLC and Winners Win.