Breeders’ Cup Classic Notebook: Baeza Walks After Friday Work at Santa Anita

Horse: Antiquarian
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: TBD

Morning Activity: Walked Saturday at Saratoga following 4f breeze in 48.67 Friday at Saratoga
Planned Activity: Will ship to Del Mar Sunday.

The Quote: “I don’t think he’s a particularly difficult horse to ride. I think he needs a strong rider. He’s tactical enough. He can use his speed to get a good position in the race and but he can be one that you kind of got to pedal on a little bit, too.

“If you saw his races in the Suburban and the Blame he was getting there. He just sort of ran out of time. It looked like in both of those races at the 16th pole that he was going to be beaten by several lengths, and then really accelerated the last 100 yards to almost get there. I think as he’s physically matured and mentally matured, he’s gotten better and better and perhaps a little easier to ride as well.” – Todd Pletcher.

Horse: Baeza
Trainer: John Shirreffs
Morning activity: Worked 5f in 1:01.60 at Santa Anita Park

Horse: Fierceness

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: John Velazquez

Set: None

Morning Activity: Walked Saturday following 4f breeze in 48 Friday at Saratoga

Activity: Scheduled to ship to Del Mar Sunday.

The Quote: On his victory in the Pacific Classic: “I thought it was extremely impressive and he’s done that a few times in his career. He’s had races like the Florida Derby, where he ran a phenomenal race there. The Travers wasn’t as big a margin, but a super-big win there. Set a track record at Churchill. His resume has been sometimes a little bit inconsistent, but at the same time brilliant on many occasions.” — Todd Pletcher

Horse: Forever Young (JPN)

Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi

Jockey: Ryusei Sakai

Set: 8 a.m.

Morning Activity: One and a half lap canter

The Quote: “He has recovered well from his travel to Del Mar. He is in good form both mentally and physically. We appreciate all the support we are getting here as Yahagi Stable.” – a stable representative, Yukihiko Araki

Horse: Journalism

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Set: 6:30 a.m.

Morning Activity: Galloped 1m under Luis Cacares.

Activity: Scheduled to breeze at approximately 6:30 a.m. with his new jockey, Jose Ortiz. Trainer Mike McCarthy said Saturday that the breeze time is fluid and that he might send the colt out earlier than 6:30 a.m.

The Quote: “It seems like he’s training as well as we could be asking for. Plenty of spacing between the Pacific Classic and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Thought he had a very good summer here at Del Mar. Seems to be enjoying his time down here.” – Michael McCarthy

Horse: Mindframe

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Set: None

Morning Activity: Walked following 4f work in 49.88 Friday at Saratoga

Activity: Scheduled to ship to Del Mar on Sunday.

The Quote: “We accomplished our first goal of the year, which was to win a Grade 1 and to show his versatility, He was able to do that going seven furlongs, and then come back and do it again, going a mile and an eighth. That, in itself, is pretty impressive. Now, hopefully, he can prove himself at a mile and a quarter. The one real chance he had at it before, he finished second in the Belmont and only the third start of his life. That gives us confidence that he’s capable.” – Todd Pletcher

Horse: Nevada Beach

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Mike Smith

Morning Activity: Worked 6f in 1:12 1/5 at Santa Anita

Activity: Ships to Del Mar Sunday or Monday

The Quote: “He went nice, he is not a great work horse, but he went well. He has never run against this kind of competition, but I have always been very high on him. I don’t think the distance is going to be a problem for him.” – Bob Baffert

Horse: Sierra Leone

Trainer: Chad Brown

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Morning Activity: Worked 4f in 48 3/5, the 16th-fastest of 49 moves over Saratoga’s Oklahoma dirt

The Quote: “It was exceptional. He’s doing great and this work was as good or better than he’s worked all year. He’s coming into the race like last year—very well—and he’s been working great over the past few weeks. I didn’t think it was possible to build off the last two works, but he somehow managed to even work a touch better today. He’s really in good form.”  –  Chad Brown

Horse: Sovereignty

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

Set: 7 a.m.

Morning Activity: Galloped 1 1/2m with exercise rider Jimmy Quispe

Activity: Will gallop or work at 7 a.m. Sunday

The Quote: “He is good. He was a little anxious the first day or two (after arriving from Saratoga Springs), wanting to get to the track. They get a little anxious early in the morning, wanting to go. Other than that, he is fine and he’s doing good around the barn. He will work Sunday or Monday. He was a little stronger today. He was pretty strong the second time by. He probably needed one of those.” – Bill Mott