Saturday night is Breeders Cup night at Belmont park, New York. The course should suit the European horses as it is the most European of the identikit American courses. Statistically, the best race for the Europeans is the turf event over 1and _ miles and this again looks a decent chance for them. Azamour would have been my choice but the torrential rain has turned the ground against him and it may now pay to follow the French colt Bago.
The problem with him is that he usually runs best in Paris but he has been in America for a few days now and he should be at home in the ground. It should be quite safe to stick with him.
Ouija Board is quite a short price for her repeat bid in the Filly and Mare turf. She is coming back to form and as long as she handles the ground she should be good enough again. I like the look of Favourable Terms at a big price but the ground may be too soft for her to show her best form. Wonder Again may be the one to capitalise if things don’t go for Ouija Board and Favourable Terms.
The Classic looks a difficult puzzle this year. Starcraft is my idea of the best horse in the race. However he has never run on dirt, let alone sloppy dirt, and he has the worst of the draw in stall 14. This may not be such a disadvantage as it could give him time to find his stride. His owners coughed up $800000 to run him and I’m sure that they will want to recoup most of that.
Rock Hard Ten looks the best of the home team. If you thought Starcraft was a big horse wait til you see the size of this boy. He is a massive beast and has an excellent record to boot. Another to consider is Barrego and don’t forget about Oratorio who may just get the race run to suit hoim.
It could pay to side with the O’Brien trained Ivan Denisovich at a big price in the Juvenile. Again he is bred for the dirt and should go well if he is not run off his feet early.
SELECTIONS
WETHERBY 3.25 GREY ABBEY
BC SPRINT LOST IN THE FOG
BC DISTAFF ASHABO
BC JUVENILE FILLIES FOLKLORE
BC MILE TURF LEROIDESANIMAUX
BC JUVENILE IVAN DENISOVICH
BC TURF BAGO
BC FILLY & MARE OUIJA BOARD
BC CLASSIC STARCRAFT
Take US pari-mutual prices on European runners especially if they are at decent odds and British prices if you fancy some of the US horses, especially in races where Europe has well fancied runners.