Accelerate, West Coast among Breeders’ Cup workers

ARCADIA, Calif. – Leading older horse Accelerate, champion West Coast, and other Breeders’ Cup hopefuls Catalina Cruiser, City of Light, McKinzie and Selcourt were among 144 workers on a gray morning at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Accelerate worked a half-mile in 47.80 seconds for the BC Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

The workout was delayed a day after the track was closed on Saturday morning because of rain. Trainer John Sadler said the surface on Sunday was still wet. He timed Accelerate galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.20.

“He likes a little bit of a track with moisture in it,” Sadler said. “Normally, he works a little slower, but I think the track is a little on the tighter side.”

Accelerate won the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 29, his fourth Grade 1 win this year. West Coast, the champion 3-year-old male of 2017, was second in the Awesome Again in his first start since a second in the Dubai World Cup in March.

West Coast worked five furlongs in 59.40 seconds for the BC Classic on Sunday under jockey Drayden Van Dyke. Trainer Bob Baffert timed West Coast galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.54.

“He came off the track and he wasn’t even blowing,” Van Dyke said. “The last race did him good.”

McKinzie and Axelrod, the first two finishers of the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 22, worked Sunday for the BC Classic. McKinzie worked six furlongs in 1:12.

“He looked good,” Baffert said.

Axelrod, trained by Michael McCarthy, worked a half-mile in 51.40 seconds.

McCarthy worked four other candidates for Breeders’ Cup races. Liam the Charmer, who could start in the BC Turf, worked a half-mile in 51.40 seconds, his first major exercise since a win in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship on Sept. 30.

City of Light, who beat Accelerate in the Oaklawn Handicap in April, worked a half-mile in 50 seconds and is bound for the BC Dirt Mile.

Paved, a candidate for the BC Filly and Mare Turf, and Vibrance, a hopeful for the BC Juvenile Fillies, worked a half-mile in 48.40 seconds in company.

Sadler also trains Catalina Cruiser, who is unbeaten in four starts and is the favorite for the BC Mile. On Sunday, Catalina Cruiser worked six furlongs in 1:12 under Van Dyke.

“He was really relaxed,” Van Dyke said. “He can be a little aggressive.

“I like where his mind is. It was a nice workout.”

In other workouts, Selcourt worked six furlongs in 1:12.80 for the BC Filly and Mare Sprint. Trained by Sadler, Selcourt has not raced since a win in the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes here in March.

“She’s coming along,” Sadler said.

Gunmetal Gray worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 for the BC Juvenile. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Gunmetal Gray finished second to BC Juvenile favorite Game Winner in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes on Sept. 29.