CLASSIC

Drosselmeyer, To Honor and Serve – Trainer Bill Mott sent To Honor and Serve out for “an open gallop through the stretch, a little light blowout” over the muddy track at Churchill Downs Friday morning, one day ahead of his start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

His Classic stablemate Drosselmeyer galloped 1m, and Mott pronounced both runners ready and fit.

“Just naturally I think To Honor and Serve has probably a higher cruising speed than what Drosselmeyer would,” said Mott, who won the 1995 Classic with Cigar.  “He’s not necessarily a front-runner, but he’s a horse that’s probably going to be somewhere up in the race. He could be in a stalking position. I think Drosselmeyer is a horse that’s going to drop back to mid-pack or even farther back. If we have a wicked pace up front, maybe Drosselmeyer could get a piece of it.”

To Honor and Serve was considered a need-the-lead type as a 2yo, but has matured, according to Mott.

“The good thing about him is that it seems as though he’s learned to rate a little bit on his own,” Mott said. “With a good, clean break, I don’t think he’s going to be (far) out of the race.”

To Honor and Serve was a pre-Triple Crown favorite, but two poor preps in Florida preceded the discovery of a minor leg injury that sidelined him nearly four months.

“I would have loved to have had this kind of momentum going into the Derby,” Mott said.  “I think his last two races are excellent. I don’t think those two races could be much better. I think they give him some momentum coming into this race. I’m relieved that he’s come back as good as he has.”      


Flat Out – Jockey Alex Solis was in the saddle Friday morning aboard the Classic contender, and sent the 5yo Flat Out through a leg-stretching gallop down the lane.

“He did like we always have before, galloped him around and kind of let him stretch out down the lane,” trainer Scooter Dickey said.

What did Solis have to say about how the Jockey Club Gold Cup winner felt?

“ ‘Awesome.’ That’s all he told me,” Dickey said, noting that Flat Out will walk the shedrow Saturday morning.

“My work’s done, pretty much,” Dickey said. “Come Sunday morning, all you reporters better be still coming around the barn to talk to me.”


Game On Dude – Game On Dude went to the track under exercise rider George Alvarez around 8:30 Friday morning, galloping 1m in preparation for a start in Saturday’s Classic.

“He looks great out there, he’s happy,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said. “He’s a fast horse, he gets out there.”

The Goodwood Stakes-winning son of Awesome Again will wear blinkers as usual breaking from post 8 in the Classic under jockey Chantal Sutherland, and looks to be an active part of what could be a contentious early pace.

“He’s going to have a lot of company up front,” Baffert remarked. “The hard thing about this race is, you don’t know what Uncle Mo’s going to do. I think he’ll be out there, though. They can’t hold him. Yeah, he’ll be out there winging it. If they go too fast, that’s going to hurt my horse, because there are a lot of good closers in there.”

Although Game On Dude has been relaxed and comfortable during his morning routine at Churchill Downs, Baffert said come raceday he’s a different horse.

“Once he has the blinkers on and he hooks up with another horse, he goes,” he said.


Havre de Grace – Trainer Larry Jones changed things up a little Friday morning and took his multiple Grade 1 winner to the track at 6 o’clock rather than waiting until after the renovation break at 8:30. The Saint Liam filly visited the paddock and then galloped 5f.

“We wanted to get out there when we thought the track would be the best and to also give her experience under the lights,” said Jones. “She handled things just fine. We’re ready.”


Headache – With three wins from his last four starts, including two Graded stakes, Ken and Sarah K. Ramsey’s Classic contender is in the best form of his career at age 5, and trainer Mike Maker is interested to see how it translates against the top handicap horses in the division.

“He’s doing great, and we expect another solid effort,” Maker said. “He’ll sit where he’s comfortable, which is probably mid-pack early on. He’ll finish well, and we think he can get a piece of it.”

Paco Lopez, who was aboard for the Hawthorne Gold Cup win on Oct. 8, will guide the son of Tapit from post 11.
 

Ice Box – The 2010 Kentucky Derby runner-up schooled in the paddock before galloping 1 1/2m under Carlos Correa Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Nick Zito expressed pleasure with the manner in which Ice Box has trained up to the Classic.

“He looks terrific to me. He’s been attacking the ground. He looks amazing out there galloping. Everyone is commenting on him. They know the horse from the Derby. They can’t believe how he’s attacking the ground,” the Hall of Fame trainer said. “He looks fantastic.”
 

Rattlesnake Bridge – The 3yo son of Pulpit galloped an easy 1 1/4m over the sloppy Churchill Downs track Friday morning.

Rattlesnake Bridge was unraced as a 2yo and has steadily developed during his 3yo campaign.

“We had stopped on him and gave him a little time off last fall,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “Once we got him going in February, he won his first start and finished second to Uncle Mo, so he was forced to develop quickly.  He’s a really nice horse and has been a little bit unlucky not to win a big one.”

Calvin Borel will ride Rattlesnake Bridge for the first time Saturday.

 
Ruler On Ice – The 2011 Belmont Stakes winner went out Friday morning and after seeing how well he was handling the muddy track, trainer Kelly Breen was thinking of ways to keep it wet for Saturday. Two of the colt’s three career wins have come on an off track.

“I ran into (racing secretary) Ben Huffman this morning and I joked with him about who I needed to pay off to have the water trucks keep the track just like this,” said Breen.

Although he wouldn’t be disappointed if the forecast for drying out conditions were wrong, Breen thinks his colt is coming into the race in peak condition regardless of the type of track.

“Everyone keeps talking about how he won the Belmont at a mile and a half, but I really think one of his best races was his last in the Pennsylvania Derby,” he said.  “He was giving 10 pounds to To Honor and Serve and was the only one that closed that day. Garrett (Gomez) liked him enough to stay on him for the Classic and he won the race last year. There’s good karma there.”


So You Think – So You Think took to the Churchill Downs track for the first time Friday morning. The Aidan O’Brien trained son of High Chaparral walked with the other seven Ballydoyle stablemates before breaking into a steady canter and going 1m on the main track.


Stay Thirsty, Uncle Mo – Trainer Todd Pletcher’s two 3yo colts galloped 1 1/4m on the muddy main track Friday morning and were both pronounced fit and ready for the biggest race of their lives.

Uncle Mo missed the Triple Crown campaign with a liver ailment before coming back at Saratoga in August – not Pletcher’s ideal scenario for getting to the Classic.

“Since July 11 when he came back, everything went according to plan,” Pletcher said. “I think we’ve gotten as much foundation as we could get. The only decision we wrestled with a little bit was possibly going to the Pennsylvania Derby and getting a mile and an eighth race under his belt.

“We just felt like staying at home at Belmont and eliminating the X-factor in Philadelphia. I don’t think we’d ever gone into the spring with a horse who seemed like he was as qualified for the Derby as we felt Uncle Mo was. We’re pretty fortunate to be where we are.”

Pletcher said his confidence in Uncle Mo hasn’t waned.

“He got beat going seven (furlongs) in the King’s Bishop,” Pletcher said. “I didn’t think that could happen, but it did. But the way this horse has trained, if you watch him gallop, he gets into a rhythm. He’s got a tremendous stride, great rhythm. I think if he can fall into that rhythm and get comfortable, I think he stays a mile and a quarter. There’s only one way to find out.”

Owner Mike Repole, who had an entourage of friends and family in the Churchill Downs backstretch Friday, said he wouldn’t trade places with any owner.

“The way ‘Mo’ ran in the Kelso it looked like he could go two miles, and it didn’t look like anybody could catch him,” said Repole. “We have a horse in my opinion that’s brilliant. I think Stay Thirsty is doing as well now as he did when he was pointing to the Jim Dandy and the Travers. I’ve never won a Classic; (Todd) has never won a Classic. I think we have two great chances of winning this race.”