Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Catholic Boy will train up to BC Classic
ELMONT, N.Y. – Travers winner Catholic Boy will forgo a prep race and will train up to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, trainer Jonathan Thomas said Wednesday.
Following the Travers, which Catholic Boy won by four lengths, Thomas had said that he might look to use the Hill Prince, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds at Belmont on Oct. 6, as a stepping-stone to the Classic. But upon further review, Thomas and his ownership group – headed by Robert LaPenta – felt training Catholic Boy up to the Classic is the preferred way to go.
“After taking a little time and going through his [past performances] and what’s worked for us in the past, the smartest move is training up to the Classic,” Thomas said by phone Wednesday from Lexington, Ky., where he was attending the Keeneland yearling auction.
Catholic Boy will have 10 weeks between the Travers and the Classic. He had 10 weeks between races after he won the Remsen and finished second, beaten a half-length, in the Sam. F. Davis at Tampa in February. He had nine weeks between the Florida Derby, where he was fourth, and the Pennine Ridge at Belmont, a turf race that he won.
Thomas said he’s “a huge fan” of trainer Bob Baffert’s work and noted that that both American Pharaoh, in 2015, and Arrogate, in 2016, were 3-year-olds who won the Classic without having raced since the Travers.
“It’s a recipe that’s worked well, not that I’m putting him in the same category of American Pharoah and Arrogate,” Thomas said. “It seems like a good way to approach that race.”
Thomas said Catholic Boy would likely ship from Saratoga to Churchill “in the next week or two” and get four or five workouts over the main track in preparation for the Classic.
Motion has two in Sands Point
Trainer Graham Motion entered stakes winners Secret Message and Colonia in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Sands Point Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf, which drew a field of eight 3-year-old fillies.
Secret Message comes off an eye-catching 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Pucker Up Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 11. Colonia finished fifth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, which followed a victory in the Hatoof Stakes at Arlington in July.
Both fillies started slowly and came far off the pace in their most recent race.
“Secret Message is a big, long-striding, scopey horse,” Motion said. “The other horse is a little more compact. They have somewhat similar styles. I guess they would both benefit from a bit of pace, but they don’t have to be out the back, either.”
Joe Bravo will ride Colonia while John Velazquez picks up the mount on Secret Message.
The Motion pair will have to contend with a trio of runners from the barn of Chad Brown. Two of the three – the Frenchbreds Shadan and Barkaa – are making their first start for Brown and first in the U.S. after racing in France. The other runner, Reversethedecision, is coming off a secondlevel allowance victory early in the Saratoga meet.
Shadan has won her last two starts, both at lesser tracks in France. Barkaa was a Group 3 winner at Longchamp in April and has made her last two starts in Group 1 company, finishing 1 1/4 lengths back in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches in May at Longchamp and ninth in the Prix de Diane in June at Chantilly.
Others entered in the Sands Point were Californiagoldrush, third in the Del Mar Oaks; Capla Temptress, second in the Grade 2 Lake Placid; and Victorine, another French-bred and -based filly who has won 2 of 6 starts.
Come Dancing eyes Beldame
Trainer Carlos Martin will carefully monitor the field for the Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame Stakes for his filly Come Dancing, who rolled to a 6 1/4-length victory in last Sunday’s $100,000 Royal Delta Stakes at Belmont Park.
While Come Dancing benefited from an uncontested lead, she did show in the Royal Delta that she could handle a route of ground. The Royal Delta was run at 1 1/16 miles around one turn, while the Oct. 6 Beldame will be run at 1 1/8 miles, also around one turn.
“She’s always shown flashes of brilliance, but there was always a question mark of stretching her out,” Martin said. “Her pedigree said yes. She did have everything her own way, but she did pull away and won by six, it wasn’t like she was all out.”
Come Dancing, a daughter of Malibu Moon, ran 1 1/16 miles in the slop in 1:44.68 and earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure.
As of now, the presence of Elate towers over the Beldame, which could keep the size of the field down.
“Other than [Elate], it could be coming up a weak race,” Martin said.