Although the Breeders' Cup Classic remains 24 hours away, the event featured plenty of exciting action on Friday at Santa Anita Park.Jockeys vied for a total of $5,000,000 in purse money over the four races throughout the afternoon. The stakes were high, and with so many quality horses interspersed throughout, fans in attendance and watching at home received more than their money's worth.Friday was the perfect warmup for tomorrow, which features nine races and concludes with the massive $5,000,000 Classic.Juvenile TurfFifteen horses were scheduled to win in Friday's Juvenile Turf race, but only 14 took part afterAktabantay was scratched on Thursday. Trainer Hugo Palmer had the reasoning behind the decision:The two-year-old had 12-to-1 odds to win, according to Odds Shark, so he was one of the outside favorites.It's doubtful that anybody would've been able to stop eventual winner Hootenanny, however. He didn't get out to a great start but waited in the middle of the pack before making his move down the final stretch. Hootenanny's close was a beauty to behold:Trainer Wesley Ward was likely ecstatic with the victory, which was his first-ever Breeders' Cup win, per Ray Paulick:Luck of the Kitten will be disappointed with the result. He got out to a fantastic start, and despite slowing as the race neared its conclusion, Luck of the Kitten remained in the lead. Eventually, Hootenanny overtook him and won the race."I thought I was going to steal," said jockey Mike Smith, per Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times. "The other horse overpowered me but my horse showed a lot of heart."Dirt MileThe Dirt Mile race was all about Goldencents. The four-year-old colt entered as a heavy favorite, and his strength was there for all to see. Goldencents went out on top in his final race, bringing home the Dirt Mile title for the second year in a row. His final times were nearly identical, per Eric Mitchell of BloodHorse.com:Goldencents started brilliantly out of the gate and had some stiff competition from Vicar's in Trouble after about a half-mile. The colt brushed aside Vicar's in Trouble, who wound up in last place and was vanned off the track.Daily Racing Form provided updates on the colt:Vicar's in Trouble's health cast a somewhat sad light on what was an otherwise great performance from Goldencents.After the race, trainer Leandro Mora said the result was never in doubt:"When Tapiture started coming up, I started to sweat cold again, but then it was all over," Mora added, per Frank Angst of BloodHorse.com. "But I had so much confidence in this horse this whole week. He's been so kind, so great, so grateful to everything."Juvenile Fillies TurfLanfranco Dettori already had one win to his name on Friday, but he couldn't made it two in the Juvenile Fillies Turf race. He and Osaila settled for third place, with Lady Eli coming on strong toward the end and picking up the win.The two-year-old filly put together the most impressive performance on the day. Andy Serling of NYRA.com felt that the other horses weren't even in the same race:Trainer Chad Brown said that he knew Lady Eli was capable of pulling off such a breathless race, per At The Races:With such a commanding victory, some likely wondered what the future might hold for Lady Eli. Former jockey and current analyst Jerry Bailey said he doesn't see the filly taking part in the Kentucky Oaks next year, per Matt Hegarty of Daily Racing Form:Longines DistaffRosie Napravnik walked away from horse racing on top, taking home the Longines Distaff before announcing her retirement, per the Racing Post:Napravnik became the first female jockey in history to win two races at the Breeders' Cup, per Jennie Rees of The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky:After three somewhat anticlimactic races at Santa Anita Park, Friday's final event was arguably the closest of the day. The field was very compact throughout, and Untapable had to fight her way to the finish line. It wasn't until the final few hundred yards or so that she managed to get out in front.Once in the lead, Untapable didn't falter, and Napravnik got her storybook ending, collecting the lion's share of the $2,000,000 purse.Note: All payouts and purses are courtesy of the Breeders' Cup official website.
Click here to read full news..
