As traditionalists look at past performances of Gunite and Evil Halo for their respective Breeders’ Cup races, it has to bring smiles.
There’s something about the two Winchell Thoroughbreds that you won’t see in any of the other 175 horses that participated in 14 Breeders’ Cup races this weekend at Keeneland.
Both are running with just two weeks of rest.
In a move more befitting of the first Breeders’ Cup than the 39th, the presence of both horses trained by Steve Asmussen comes at a time when a two-month break is much more fashionable for a major race. lasts more than two weeks. However, after a couple of winning attempts at Keeneland on October 22, the ties were no longer shy about making a November 5 return at the World Championships.
Winchell Thoroughbreds race manager David Fiske said: “There was a brief discussion about holding them in the Breeders’ Cup. “There was a comment or maybe someone mentioned that it was a short break and someone replied that they do it at Preakness all the time. So we said, ‘Fine. Okay. , let’s move on to something else.'”
Gunite, a 3-year-old mixed-race son of Gunman , won the Perryville Stakes at Keeneland by 3 3/4 length and was second pick 7-2 in the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1). Wicked Halo, Gun Runner’s 3-year-old purebred daughter, was crowned her fourth straight win, four-match long score in the Raven Run Stakes (G2) at Keeneland and placed in the 10-1 roster. in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1).
Wicked Halo training on October 31 at Keeneland
When both emerge from those races showing vigor and power, that’s all the systems will win the Breeders’ Cup.
“Coming back in two weeks is not unprecedented,” Fiske said. “It’s just something that not a lot of people do these days. Gunite in particular, came out of his race very well. He didn’t seem to be trying too hard in Perryville. He was circling Keeneland very well. good and he is very similar Epicenter He seems to show up every time. “
Including this spring’s Epicenter runner-up, Asmussen has two wins and two seconds in the Preakness with horses that ran two weeks earlier in the Kentucky Derby (G1) weekend. He has no qualms about running on what counts as a “short break”.
“With 50,000 warm-ups, we’ve had a lot of different models, and with two weeks off, our percentage is very good,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “Our horses have responded very well to it and this is an opportunity that both horses deserve.”
From a historical standpoint, both horses are trying to become the first Breeders’ Cup winner in a two-week break since 2018, when Shamrock Rose used the win in the October 20 Raven Run as a stepping stone to victory in the November 3 Filly and the Mare Sprint. Since then, the only winner with three weeks of rest or less is Spin to run in Dirt Mile 2019.
At last year’s event, the 4-week gap was the shortest for 14 winners, and 3 of them raced in August.
Reflecting how training methods have evolved, at the Breeders’ first Cup in 1984, four of the seven winners raced in 14 days of rest or less, with the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1 ) Wild Again has only 12 days between races.
In fact, the arrangement of the major tournaments four or five weeks away from the World Championships explains the scarcity of winners during the short break. However, the Raven Run example illustrates how a prep at the same track or in the same state two or three weeks before the Breeders’ Cup can produce an extra fitness starter or two.
“I’m not going cross-country shipping for a two-week break,” Asmussen said. “But if they have a race close to the Breeders’ Cup and it’s on the same track or near it, I’d advise you to definitely get another starter for the Breeders’ Cup.
“With a track like Keeneland, not everyone runs their races there. We’ve seen that time and time again. So with (Gunite and Wicked Halo) running races. best race ever on the Keeneland track, I think it’s a great opportunity for them to be in the Breeders’ Cup there.”
