ARCADIA, Calif. – One of the most rewarding pointers to winning a bet at the Breeders’ Cup is to follow the big brokers and powerhouses in the event, and nobody is more potent than jockeys Jerry Bailey and Pat Day.
They dominate it. Between them, they have ridden 25 Cup winners, often at juicy odds, and it may be the same story again today. Both believe they’re loaded.
Ron Anderson, who books rides for Bailey and is considered the sharpest jockey agent in the business, said yesterday, “I’ve been to the Breeders’ Cup for 10 years with Gary Stevens and the last four with Jerry, but I don’t believe I’ve ever had a hand as good as this year.
“I have seven calls in the eight races and every one is live with a chance to hit the board – and four or five of them could win.”
Anderson said Cuvee had a bad post position but was the best horse in the Juvenile. Victory U.S.A. had a “decent chance” in the Juvenile Fillies while Alderbaran was the best in the sprint but needs “to get the trip” coming from behind.
He said the Niarchos stable loves French shipper Six Perfections, despite the outer post, in the Mile while Heat Haze in the Filly and Mare Turf and Medaglia d’Oro in the Classic were “right there.”
But the best, said Anderson, could be Sightseek in the Distaff.
“I’ll be shocked if she gets beat,” he said. “In the past three months she has put on 150 pounds and trained better and better. If you saw her in the early part of the year [when Got Koko beat her], you wouldn’t recognize her today as the same horse.”
Day has won four BC Classics (the same as Bailey) and he’s got a hot number again today with Ten Most Wanted.
He’s also riding some longshots, all of them worth consideration in Day’s view.
“It would be a mistake to throw any of them out,” the 50-year-old evergreen rider said. “Lady Tak is training brilliantly for the Distaff. A mile-and-an-eighth might be stretching her a bit, but we’re very optimistic.
“Tiger Hunt, in the Juvenile, has already had two races around two turns and that will help him. His last race, a second in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland was a big, big race.
“Zosima, in the Juvenile Fillies, is a quality filly, consistent and tries hard. I’ve got Posse in the Sprint, always the roughest race on the card. He’s a come-from-behind horse, so we’ll need the breaks to get a clear shot in the stretch.
“Ten Most Wanted is doing fabulously. He’s matured and developed over the summer and now he has really come to hand. His outside post, in 10, will play in his favor.”
Day could have ridden hotshot Perfect Drift in the Classic but he is honoring a commitment on Ten Most Wanted. “If I had to make a choice, it would be a flip of the coin,” he said.
Jockey Edgar Prado, also walking the backstretch, said his best two chances were Hold That Tiger in the Classic and Peace Rules in the Mile.
Some of us are hoping to hit the jackpot with New York’s Evening Attire in the Classic. Rated a 20-1 shot, he has drawn the rail with John Velasquez, relishes a quick pace up front, and is made for the mile-and-a-quarter.
Evening Attire came from last at the three-eighths pole to get fourth in last year’s Classic at Arlington Park but trainer Pat Kelly is looking for bigger things today.
“He deserves to be here because he’s one of the top horses in the country,” said Kelly. “He only got beat a couple of lengths by Medaglia d’Oro in the Whitney at Saratoga and if Medaglia is the favorite here, we’re also right there.”
Kelly also gives his filly Riskaverse a shot in the Filly and Mare at a big price. “I’ve run her in five straight stakes, a tough schedule, but in each of them she was beat only a couple of lengths. She’s running good numbers and she’s got a chance.”