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Welcome to our big Breeders' Cup Special, open two weeks ahead of the big day, November 4 at Churchill Downs - with the best preview service for B Cup fans and professionals alike.
Horse bios - Globeform Ratings - News - Best Bets - Race by race previews - Selections & betting plans, will be posted in on these pages - and we keep on after the 2006 B C Classic winner has been crowned, as we roll right on to the Melbourne Cup.
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| Team Europe, headed by Aidan’s four |
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Churchill Downs: Aidan O'Brien will Saturday run a 3-year-old colt with a huge European profile in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). A victory in the $5 million dirt race could boost the Irishman's stock on this side of the Atlantic. Long considered a horseman genius in Europe, the 37-year-old trainer with the boyish, bespectacled face and lilting accent has come tantalizingly close before. He runs four at the Breeders’ Cup this time, as Team Europe consists of 15 names.
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| Classic contender David Junior in focus |
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He last ran on July 8. He has never raced on dirt. He will face a stiffer test of class than ever before. He will probably also face a stiffer test of stamina than ever before. Can David Junior, the lone English trained contender for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) overcome these, seemingly all negative, factors on Saturday? If he finishes in the top three, one must say that he have. If he wins? Well, then he writes a little piece of racing history – going in against all odds. Like Arcangues was doing, when he beat Bertrando in the Classic at Santa Anita in 1993.
One can argue that David Junior is better than Arcangues was. But how would Betrando fare, against the likes of Bernardini and Lava Man? Perhaps not too well.
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| Which horses will pay more on the day, and why |
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Betting with bookmakers can be very lucrative when we are dealing with big races in North America, but their early lists of Breeders’ Cup odds do not always represent value. Quite a few horses will be much bigger odds on the tote board at Churchill Downs on Saturday, and one or two are also likely to drift out to a bigger price with bookmakers on the big day.
Like Bernardini, for example. Best priced at 6/5 with the bookies on Tuesday evening, he is likely to drift on Saturday. So, if you are preparing your maximum bet on the Classic favourite, keep you powder dry for a few more days. In the meantime, you should study this useful list of horses that are likely to be much better odds on Saturday than they are today, and also find out why.
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| BC Mile contender Araafa in focus |
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Jeremy Noseda, one of the best trainers in Europe and the man who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Breeders’ Cup history when Wilko won the Juvenile two years ago, goes to war with Araafa in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1).
This 3-year-old colt, who will retire to stud after his trip to Churchill Downs, has been brushing shoulders with Classic contender George Washington – indeed beaten him once – and he is probably a horse to take seriously as he meets Aragorn, Gorella and fellow European raiders on November 4.
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| Minor stakes could be so informative |
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Leading up to the big day at Churchill Downs next week, we need to get all the information we can, sort out the important factors from the not so crucial ones. Get rid of what’s irrelevant and memorise what is relevant. How good is this prep? Was this winner overrated? Have we seen something since, that puts a certain formline into a different light? Well, you may think most of those questions have found their answers by now – but after this weekend, you could decide to re-assess the quality of one of the most important preps in the B Cup program.
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