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The prep season for the 2022 Breeders’ Cup World Championships is in full swing, and this Saturday, Aug. 6, one of the crucial prestigious races for older filth horses in North America, the $1 million, Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, will carry collectively a number of the main contenders for the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic.
The Whitney Stakes is a Breeders’ Cup Problem Collection Offered by America’s Greatest Racing “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Nov. 5 Basic, with the Whitney winner incomes an expenses-paid spot within the beginning gate. For the other intercourse, Saturday’s $400,000, Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff, additionally on Nov. 5. Each the Whitney and Clement Hirsch have served as key preps for his or her respective Breeders’ Cup races by way of the historical past of the World Championships.
The 39th Breeders’ Cup World Championships will likely be held for the third time at Keeneland on Nov. 4-5, 2022.
The Whitney will likely be broadcast on NBC throughout a present from 5-6 p.m. ET Saturday, whereas the Clement Hirsch will likely be proven on TVG.
Right here’s some background on the Whitney, the Clement Hirsch, and different key races on the street to the Breeders’ Cup this weekend:
Whitney Stakes
The Whitney was first held in 1928 and is considered one of Saratoga’s seemingly limitless group of historic stakes races, received by greats akin to Discovery (3 times), Warfare Admiral, Gallorette, Tom Idiot, Kelso (3 times, a kind of by way of disqualification), and Dr. Fager by way of the years. The race has additionally made its contributions to Saratoga’s repute as “The Graveyard of Champions,” with one notable instance being Onion’s defeat of Secretariat in 1973. It’s no shock, then, that the Whitney has persistently been a key prep race in Breeders’ Cup historical past ever because the World Championships started in 1984. That 12 months, Whitney winner Slew o’ Gold completed third within the inaugural Basic at Hollywood Park however was elevated to second when runner-up Gate Dancer was disqualified after lugging in and pushing Slew o’ Gold into winner Wild Once more in a tough, however thrilling end. Slew o’ Gold was voted Horse of the 12 months in 1984 however and entered the Racing Corridor of Fame in 1992.
In 1986, the filly Woman’s Secret put collectively an exceptional marketing campaign, profitable 10 of 15 begins, together with the Whitney in a 4 ½-length romp and later the Breeder’s Cup Distaff. She was voted Horse of the 12 months in 1986 and joined Slew o’ Gold within the 1992 Corridor of Fame class. One other legendary filly, Private Ensign, took down the 1988 Whitney for the tenth of her 13 profession wins with no defeat, a profession capped by a win in that 12 months’s Distaff.
In 1989, Simple Goer entered the Whitney off of an eight-length romp within the Belmont Stakes over Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Sunday Silence, and at Saratoga he dealt with older horses with ease beneath Pat Day in a 4 ½-length win. The Ogden Phipps homebred would go on to win the Travers Stakes, Woodward Stakes, and Jockey Membership Gold Cup earlier than a much-anticipated rematch in opposition to Sunday Silence in an exciting renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Basic at Gulfstream Park, with Sunday Silence prevailing by a neck.
After a comparatively quiet few years, in 1995 Whitney runner-up L’Carriere completed a nonthreatening second to the “unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable” Cigar in that fall’s Basic at Belmont Park. A 12 months later, the good Serena’s Music completed second within the Whitney by a neck to Mahogany Corridor and would go on to complete second in that 12 months’s Distaff as nicely. And in 1997, Skip Away completed a distant third within the Whitney however quickly reached peak type and received the Breeders’ Cup Basic earlier than fashioning a Horse of the 12 months marketing campaign in 1998.
That 12 months, Superior Once more accomplished the primary Whitney-Breeders’ Cup Basic double, profitable the 1998 Whitney by three lengths beneath Pat Day (considered one of Day’s 5 wins within the race) after which the Basic by three-quarters of a size in a wild end the place he cut up horses late and surged to victory. He subsequently turned a cornerstone stallion for Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs in Kentucky.
One other nice racehorse turned standout sire, Medaglia d’Oro received the 2003 Whitney by turning the tables on Volponi, who had received the ’02 Basic by a surprising 6 ½ lengths at odds of 43.50-1. Medaglia d’Oro would run second once more within the ’03 Basic, this time to Pleasantly Excellent. In 2004, Whitney winner Roses in Might completed second to Ghostzapper in a Breeders’ Cup Basic that launched the latter into superstardom. 2005 Whitney runner-up Saint Liam would fare higher in that fall’s World Championships, nonetheless, scoring by a size within the Basic and incomes Horse of the 12 months honors. His vanquisher within the ’05 Whitney, the pure pace horse Commentator, defeated Saint Liam by a neck that 12 months and received the Whitney once more going gate-to-wire in 2008.
One of many decade’s finest tallied the second Whitney-Breeders’ Cup Basic double in 2006, as Invasor held off Solar King by a neck on the Spa after which defeated Bernardini within the Basic at Churchill Downs for Shadwell Secure and coach Kiaran McLaughlin. The Argentine-bred by no means misplaced within the U.S. by way of 5 begins, and in addition received the 2007 Dubai World Cup. He was named 2006 Horse of the 12 months and was inducted into the Corridor of Fame in 2013.
4 years later, one other horse received the Whitney and the Breeders’ Cup Basic – and for racing followers, it’s the latter win that may perpetually be completely etched into Thoroughbred racing lore. Blame had already established himself as among the finest older horses in coaching with a rating within the Stephen Foster Handicap, and his shut win over top-class High quality Road within the Whitney additional enhanced his repute. After coming in second to Haynesfield within the 2010 Jockey Membership Gold Cup, Blame entered the Breeders’ Cup Basic at Churchill Downs as many individuals’s exacta filler behind defending Basic champ Zenyatta. As a substitute, Blame and Garrett Gomez took the lead within the stretch and someway held off Zenyatta’s closing rush to win the Basic by a head and finish the beloved racemare’s streak of 19 wins with no loss.
In 2012, Fort Larned took the identical summer season and fall route as Blame to the Breeders’ Cup – profitable the Whitney, beginning within the Jockey Membership Gold Cup (ending third), after which profitable the Breeders’ Cup Basic. A 12 months later, Mucho Macho Man completed third within the Whitney to Cross Site visitors however received the Basic. And in 2015, Honor Code defeated eventual Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Liam’s Map by a neck in an exciting Whitney earlier than operating third behind Horse of the 12 months American Pharoah within the Breeders’ Cup Basic at Keeneland.
5 summers in the past, Gun Runner defeated Eager Ice by a snug 5 ¼ lengths within the Whitney, the second of what turned out to be 5 consecutive Grade 1 wins to shut out his profession. Gun Runner additionally earned some social media notoriety that day when someway, a horseshoe misplaced by the Whitney pacesetter turned entangled in his tail and he carried it the remainder of the best way, getting an sudden (albeit small) weight handicap. The Steve Asmussen-trained son of Sweet Trip went on to take the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga – the Spa’s different elite race within the older male handicap division at the moment – after which win the Breeders’ Cup Basic at Del Mar and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes earlier than retiring to co-owner Three Chimneys Farm’s stallion barn in Kentucky. The 2017 Horse of the 12 months (who’s off to an incedible begin at stud) is an nearly positive wager to be one more Whitney winner to ultimately earn a spot in racing’s Corridor of Fame.
The 2019 Whitney winner, Bob Baffert-trained California invader McKinzie, subsequently completed second to Whitney third-place finisher Vino Rosso within the Breeders’ Cup Basic again at his house base of Santa Anita Park. The 2020 Whitney winner, Baffert-trained Unbelievable, additionally got here in second within the Breeders’ Cup Basic three months later, ending behind stablemate Genuine at Keeneland. And final 12 months, the Whitney maintained its standing as a proving floor for Breeders’ Cup glory, as Knicks Go crushed 4 completed opponents in a wire-to-wire, 4 ½-length runaway on the Spa after which, two begins later, defeated a stacked area within the Longines Basic at Del Mar by 2 ¼ lengths. Knicks Go concluded his profession with a runner-up end to Life Is Good earlier this 12 months within the Pegasus World Cup, and shortly after that was awarded Horse of the 12 months honors for 2021. Life Is Good is scheduled to start out within the 2022 Whitney on Saturday.
Clement L. Hirsch Stakes
Just like the Whitney, Del Mar’s Clement L. Hirsch Stakes was conjoined with the Breeders’ Cup from the very begin. Paula Tucker’s Princess Rooney, one of many dominant racemares of her period, received what was then named the Chula Vista Handicap by 2 ½ lengths because the second of 5 consecutive victories to shut out her profession. Her finale got here within the inaugural World Championships at Hollywood Park, the place she romped within the Distaff by seven lengths beneath Eddie Delahoussaye. Princess Rooney was voted into the Racing Corridor of Fame in 1991.
Throughout the remainder of the Nineteen Eighties, a number of Chula Vista/Clement Hirsch winners carried out respectably within the Distaff, and in 1990 one other eventual Corridor of Famer achieved the double. Bayakoa, who received the 1989 Distaff at Gulfstream Park, received the Chula Vista two races earlier than taking her second Distaff in a row, this time at Belmont. She was honored as champion older feminine by Eclipse Award voters in each ’89 and ’90.
Sid Craig’s Paseana received the ’92 Distaff, completed second in ’93, after which received the ’94 Chula Vista. Del Mar’s race was renamed after Clement L. Hirsch, one of many monitor’s unique administrators, in 1999, and in 2002-’03, Azeri emerged to take back-to-back runnings of the race throughout the midst of an unbelievable four-year run that noticed her win 17 of 24 races and obtain 4 Eclipse Awards, together with 2002 Horse of the 12 months. She received the ’02 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Arlington Park by 5 lengths.
As dominant as Azeri was throughout her early 2000s heyday, the magnificent Zenyatta was a minimize above from 2008-’10. She received three consecutive editions of the Clement Hirsch from 2008 to 2010 over what was, on the time, an artificial important monitor at Del Mar, and in addition captured the ’08 Distaff (then named the Women’ Basic) and ’09 Basic at Santa Anita, which additionally featured an artificial-surface important monitor. As all up to date racing followers know, Zenyatta’s quest for an ideal 20-win profession file got here to a heartbreaking finish within the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Basic at Churchill Downs when she misplaced to Blame (see above), however her legion of followers, a sizeable variety of them primarily based in Southern California, will always remember her brilliance.
Since Zenyatta’s reign, the Clement L. Hirsch has remained a key Distaff prep, with winners akin to Embrace Me Out (third within the ’12 Distaff) and Iotapa (third within the ’14 Distaff) performing respectably within the World Championships. Beholder, arguably one of the best racemare in North America since Zenyatta and already winner of the ’13 Distaff, received the 2015 Clement Hirsch previous to her superb romp within the TVG Pacific Basic. These races, and a win within the Zenyatta Stakes, set B. Wayne Hughes’ celebrity up for a showdown with American Pharoah within the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Basic at Keeneland. Sadly, Beholder needed to miss the race resulting from sickness, which disheartened racing followers throughout America however on reflection set the stage for an unbelievable 2016.
In 2016, Beholder connected with Stellar Wind, who completed an in depth second within the 2015 Longines Distaff, within the Clement L. Hirsch for one of many summer season’s most enjoyable races. Stellar Wind gamely outdueled Beholder to win by a half-length, and, because it turned out, the Clement Hirsch served as a prelude to a Longines Distaff for the ages when the 2 met once more at Santa Anita, joined by unbeaten 3-year-old filly Songbird.
Beholder closed out her profession with an exciting nostril win over Songbird, and whereas Stellar Wind was not at her finest that day, the John Sadler-trained mare got here again sturdy in 2017 to win a 3 consecutive Grade 1 stakes, together with the Clement Hirsch by a neck over Vale Dori. Stellar Wind failed to fireplace within the Longines Distaff that November at Del Mar, ending eighth, and days later bought for $6 million to Coolmore on the Keeneland November breeding inventory public sale. She raced as soon as extra within the 2018 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, ending sixth, and has since commenced her breeding profession in Eire.
Different weekend races:
There are a number of different graded stakes on faucet for this upcoming weekend that aren’t “Win and You’re In” qualifiers however have produced runners who have often gone on to shine within the Breeders’ Cup. They embrace the Longines Check Stakes, a seven-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga. The Check has had a big influence on the Breeders’ Cup as winners embrace the aforementioned Woman’s Secret (’85 Check, ’86 Distaff), Corridor of Famer Go For Wand (’89 Juvenile Fillies, received the ’90 Check earlier than tragically breaking down within the Distaff), and champion Indian Blessing (Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in ’07, Check in ’08).
Two latest Check Stakes winners have saved up that crossover momentum. 2019 victress Covfefe turned in one of the crucial memorable performances of that fall’s World Championships at Santa Anita when she received the Filly and Mare Dash by a three-quarters of a size over Bellafina, and in 2021, Gamine additionally took the Check path to Breeders’ Cup glory, romping at Saratoga by seven lengths and setting a stakes file time of 1:20.83 after which almost matching that at Keeneland with a 6 ¼-length runaway within the Filly and Mare Dash. Each fillies acquired Eclipse Awards as champion feminine sprinter for his or her respective seasons. Covfefe additionally was honored as champion 3-year-old filly of 2019.
One other Saratoga race for 3-year-olds, the Nationwide Museum of Racing Corridor of Fame Stakes, has despatched a number of high-class runners on to earn Breeders’ Cup distinction, together with Artie Schiller (received the Corridor of Fame Stakes in 2004 and the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 2005), Brave Cat (received the 2009 Corridor of Fame, runner-up in that fall’s Breeders’ Cup Mile), and Huge Blue Kitten (received the 2011 Corridor of Fame, third within the 2015 Longines Turf and champion turf male that 12 months).
Maybe one of the best of all of them, Bricks and Mortar used the Nationwide Museum of Racing Corridor of Fame Stakes as his coming-out celebration in 2017, scoring his first graded stakes win by three-quarters of a size. The Chad Brown trainee had his momentum halted by accidents within the fall and was away for greater than a 12 months, however he returned with a vengeance in late 2018 to win seven races in a row during the 2019 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita. He was voted Horse of the 12 months by Eclipse Award contributors and in addition was honored as champion turf male for 2019.
The 5 ½-furlong Troy Stakes Offered by Horse Racing Eire, held this 12 months on Friday at Saratoga, turned a graded stakes for the primary time in 2018. The race has been received by a trio of horses over the previous decade which have additionally hit the board within the Breeders’ Cup Turf Dash: Inexperienced Masks (received the 2017 Troy and runner-up in 2016; additionally third within the 2015 Breeders’Cup Turf Dash); Disco Associate (received 2016 Troy and third in 2018 and 2019; third in each the 2017 and 2018 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprints); and Leinster (received the 2019 Troy; third within the 2020 Turf Dash). As well as, Bridgetown, runner-up within the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, received the Troy in 2011 and 2012.
This 12 months’s Glens Falls Stakes is ready for Saturday at Saratoga on the Whitney undercard; runners on this race for fillies and mares 3 years outdated and up have every now and then gone on to run nicely within the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, together with Honey Ryder (second in 2007) and Keertana (third in 2010). Final 12 months’s Glens Falls proved to be particularly influential in contrast with years prior, although. Invoice Mott-trained Warfare Like Goddess had emerged as among the finest feminine long-distance turf runners of 2021 with a pair of graded stakes wins within the spring, and he or she got here again after a break of greater than three months to win the Glens Falls by a snug 3 ¼ lengths over Grade 3 winner My Sister Nat. Warfare Like Goddess then picked up her first Grade 1 win within the Flower Bowl Stakes in September and skilled as much as the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar, the place she left the gates as the two.30-1 favourite in a extremely aggressive area.
Warfare Like Goddess, as per her customary model, rallied furiously from off of the tempo within the Filly and Mare Turf took a brief lead in midstretch, however a few different fillies have been rallying as nicely, and he or she completed third, crushed a size by Japanese invader Loves Solely You. Coming in second, a half-length behind the winner and a half-length in entrance of Warfare Like Goddess? My Sister Nat. Warfare Like Goddess returned earlier this 12 months with one other Grade 3 win and is listed as a possible starter in Saturday’s Glens Falls as she bids for a repeat.
A dash race for 2-year-old fillies at Saratoga, Sunday’s Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga served because the springboard for 2011 champion 2-year-old feminine My Miss Aurelia, who received that 12 months’s Gray Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs.
And the La Jolla Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile turf race additionally set to run on Sunday Del Mar, produced a Breeders’ Cup Mile winner on a one-year delay again in 2003. Singletary scored by a half-length that 12 months, and 14 months and 7 begins later he pulled off a 16.50-1 upset within the Mile at Lone Star Park for the Little Purple Feather Racing syndicate. Extra not too long ago, Clean Like Strait, winner of the 2020 La Jolla, ran a strong second behind European star Trendy Video games a 12 months later within the 2021 FanDuel Mile Offered by PDJF.
