Sun Sep 23 17:01:08 2007

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Things beginning to shake out for Breeders' Cup

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Saturday's stakes races brought some clarification to the upcoming Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Monmouth Park the end of October. The big winner was Any Given Saturday with a Canadian filly making noise.

Haskell Invitational winner Any Given Saturday served notice that he will be a factor in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday, October 27. The colt posted a 2 1/2 length win in the Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park.

"We thought earlier in the year that he was one of the best three-year-olds," said trainer Todd Pletcher. "He got a foot bruise in the Kentucky Derby, but everything else has been perfect since. We'll go from here. All in all, we're very pleased."

Any Given Saturday ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.31 as he went past the $1 million mark in career earnings.

Jockey Garrett Gomez has been aboard the three-year-old the last four starts, the last three to the winner's circle.

"He"s proved he likes it down there (at Monmouth Park) and hopefully, he'll run the same kind of race (in the Breeders Cup Classic as he did in the Haskell Invitational)," Gomez commented.

Pletcher had the favorite for the $500,0000 Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs. His four-year-old colt Fairbanks lost by less than a length to the resurgent Brass Hat. The gelding covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.72.

"I can't describe it, he's just special, thats all," owner Fred Bradley said. "He's a family horse, that's the main thing. Buff (trainer William Bradley) and I bought his mare, and we bred it and we foaled it, trained it and everything. It's just been a family operation, and I really appreciate it."

Brass Hat recorded his first stakes win since last year's Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. He was second to Electrocutionist in the 2006 Dubai World Cup.

Travers runner-up Grasshopper was using the $500,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs as a stepping stone to the Breeders' Cup Classic. Sent off as the prohibitive 3-10 favorite. the colt was upset by Going Ballistic.

Returning to the main track after two turf races, Going Ballistic passed the favorite down the stretch to win by a length. Grasshopper, under Preakness winning jockey Robby Albarado, was second in the nine horse field. The time for the 1 1/8 mile Super Derby was a pedestrian 1:50.32.

Saturday's upsets continued in the $750,000 Fitz Dixon Cotillion at Philadelphia Park. Todd Pletcher again had the odds-on favorite in the 1 1/16 mile race for three-year-old fillies.

Pletcher's Octave, winner of the Coaching Club American Oaks, was made the 3-10 favorite in the seven filly field. She finished two lengths behind the front running Bear Now in the Cotillion.

Bear Now ran the 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.21 as she won for the sixth time in 12 lifetime starts. The filly has won four of her last five races, this time at odds of 8-1. Of her four stakes victories in 2007, this was her first in the United States. She claimed three stakes wins at Woodbine in Canada.

Coming up Saturday, Turfway Park will feature the match-up of Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense versus Derby runner-up Hard Spun in the Kentucky Cup Classic. The two colts have not met since the Preakness Stakes when Street Sense was second and Hard Spun was third to Curlin.