BC Classic (Grade 1)- $6,000.000 Purse
CD- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
November 3, 2018

This is the race that everyone looks forward to, and the one we all dream of winning. The very best horses are here at CD and ready to contest the 16th edition of the BC Classic. Any horse that wins this race automatically becomes a great of the game, and those who have won in the past are names we can instantly remember. One horse as won this race twice, the great Whats Up for Australia Wide in both 2009 and 2011. The only one that could stop that streak was another Australia Wide horse, Madhouse, in 2010. That does made him the most successful trainer in this race with three wins, but he could have company soon. Mb Stables is now at two victories after winning with Black Mojo in 2017. He also won with a horse in 2013 who is known just as well for his breeding prowess, in Commanding. It is a spectacular list, and one that awaits its next great champion.

As mentioned, Black Mojo was the winner of the Classic last year. While he remains active, he is not part of BC weekend. Even more interesting is that we do not have a single repeat runner in the Classic this year that ran last year. Not one. The field is evenly split between seven three year olds and seven older horses, so we can’t blame that on the younger generation taking over. Both the winner of the KYD, Pretty Ferro, and the PRK, Indistinguishable are here, but the winner of BEL, Dream Controlled, is not. The time is now to for these horses to step up and run the biggest and best race of their career. Now, let’s meet the participants.

#1- Air Show (Mb Stables, ridden by L Saez)- This veteran five year old gelding has run in 32 races, but until this year, he had not been going long on a regular basis. He had mainly sprinted, and did a good of it. So much so, that he qualified for the BC Sprint last season. He finished near the back there, and would not return to a stake for his prior trainer, Our Athletes. Mb Stables picked him up in a $75.000 optional claimer, then sent him to running long. It started well, quite well, as he was thrust directly into Grade 1 Foster Handicap, and he got the win. He has not won since, though, and comes into this running fourth in a four horse open allowance. Maybe he’s just inconsistent.

#2- Zombie City (Eastern Equine, ridden by L H Colon)- He was considered one of the early favorites for the KYD before Pretty Ferro started hitting his best stride at running long. Zombie City always did run well, and finished third here six months ago in the KYD. Later on, he would finish second in the Grade 2 Dandy at SAR, and had a tough luck fifth place showing at the Travers a month later. That was the time that Pan Farms decided it was time to sell, and he got a nice price for him, getting $1,150.000 from Eastern Equine. In his new silks, he’s had one start, and it was a runner up at the PA Derby. Zombie City might be overlooked a little in this field, but if he does win, he will do so without regular rider A A Gallardo, who is riding Laffin Parrot (who he also has been a regular with) in this race.

#3- Simple Request (Saratoga Stud, ridden by P Lopez)- As a two year old, Simple Request was seen racing mainly in NY-bred stakes, and while he didn’t win any of them, he hit the board in all of them. So, the potential was there, and in March of this year, he was the subject of a $130.000 private sale from Barcelona Farms to Saratoga Stud. The new trainer changed up some adds, and got a second place showing in the Grade 2 Rebel at OP right away. A few weeks later, he was winning the BG Stakes, and off to the KYD. He ran mid-pack there, but is currently on good form with a second at the Dandy, and a win at the BC Derby, a Grade 3 at HST. He is showing progress, so its interesting to see him take on the best once again.

#4- Combat Wombat (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by B J Hernandez Jr)- Most of the horses in this field have plenty of history in their past performances to go back and reflect on. Combat Wombat is not one of them, as the BC Classic is only the sixth start of his career. Took a while before he hit the race track, and then he had an ugly debut. After that, it’s been all roses for this one, winning the Grade 3 Dominion Day at WO in July, but even then he was just getting started. In August, he pulled off a win at the Grade 1 Pacific Classic out at DMR. That is why he is here. Not too shabby for a $20.000 auction purchase this March. I like how he does not seem phased by the level of competition he goes up against.

#5- Centerpiece (Mb Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- After a thrilling two year old campaign that saw him finish second in the BC Juvenile last year, there were high hopes for Centerpiece going into this season. It’s not all the time that you can say that lofty expectations were met, but with Centerpiece, that is the case. Six months ago right here at CD, he would run second to Pretty Ferro at the KYD, and a couple weeks later, he was fourth at the BEL. After that, you had the feeling that he was going to win a big three year old race at some point, and that came to fruition at the Spa, winning the Midsummer Derby. After that Travers victory, he’s raced just once in preparation for this race. Surrounding the Travers, on recent form, there are a couple of duds in his past performances, so I’m not as sure about him here as I would like to be.

#6- Splash Mountain (John Henry, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- Smokey Stover sold this one off pretty cheaply in June as he looked to downsize his stable, but don’t worry too much about him as he still has a very good one in the next spot over in the gate. Three of his four victories came while a two year old, but he has continued to be a consistent horse this year. His biggest race his season was a third place finish at the BEL. That would be his last race Smokey Stover as well. Since the private sale, he has raced four times, and ran second to Centerpiece at the Travers. He followed that up nicely by winning the BC Derby at HST. He won’t be one of the first choices of many in this field, but he is plenty capable of getting the job done.

#7- State Police (Smokey Stover, ridden by R J Albrado)- While the trainer did let ones like Splash Mountain go this summer, he was still buying horses, though this large purchase may have been just before his decision to downsize. It came in late May, buying this one from Team 7 Illusions for $1,000.770. The four year old Cherokee Sunset colt has won eight of eighteen over the course of his career, though they have not all been at this level. His biggest win was also his most recent race, coming in the JC Gold Cup at BEL, where he defeated Edwin Drood and Laffin Parrot, among others. There are actually eight in this field that ran in that race. Pretty impressive, and definitely is a good sign for him.

#8- Out On A Limb (Estero Farms, ridden by R Chirinos)- This is also one of the eight that is coming out of the JC Gold Cup, but for Out On A Limb, it is a race to forget. A lot has changed for him, starting right on the top as he is now running for Estero Farms. On the 6th of October, Estero added him to his arsenal from Jader Stable for $400.000. He was not there for too long either, as he was also sold to Jader from Smokey Stover as a part of that downsizing. Makes you wonder how many horses Smokey could have had in here. This is his debut for Estero, and he is not one of my top choices in this field. More then likely there’s one in this field who the trainer thinks has a prettier chance to win.

#9- Stranger (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- While the trainer has plenty to be excited about in the two year old division, it might be a slight surprise that this is his only entry for the Classic. He was purchased by D J C in early May from the Sanny Village barn for $300.000 in private sales. Since then, there has been five races, three of which were very good, and two of them duds. There is one win there, coming in the Grade 1 Woodward at the Spa, but he was an afterthought in his most recent, which was the JC Gold Cup. He could turn the tables on them here, but those who read my previews often know I shy away from those who look too inconsistent for my liking.

#10- Pretty Ferro (Estero Farms, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The last time he was seen here at CD, he was winning the KYD and was being seen as one of the best contenders for the TC that we have had in the game since Five Fives. That would not play out, as he was beaten in an agonizingly close photo in the PRK by Indistinguishable. The BEL would see him struggle, by his standards, in a fifth place showing. However, if there was anyone thinking out there that Pretty Ferro had peaked, he has bounced back nicely, and scored back to back wins in the Haskell, and the PA Derby. Now, he gets a chance to do what Commanding did and become a KYD winner and a BC Classic winner in the same year. If that happens, we can lock him in as horse of the year. That should probably be the case regardless, but it’d be nice to leave no doubt. Historically, horses like him show up and take care of business well in the BC Classic, and I make him my pick to win here.

#11- On Deck (Night Rider Stables, ridden by Ro Maragh)- Pretty interesting in how he got here, especially since there had been no sign that he would be anywhere near the BC as late as August. While others were running in the Travers, Haskell, or other big name Grade 1, On Deck was making his second career stake appearance, in the four-horse $100.000 Elgin Stakes for ON-breds at WO. He won the race, and off of that, the trainer went on to try the Grade 1 Awesome Again. This seemed like a monumental task, but the 21/1 longshot that day came through with the stunning win, and now the six year old is here, with all of the other big names, in the BC Classic. He’s won four in a row, and will be a longshot here again. Will he remain hot?

#12- Laffin Parrot (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by A A Gallardo)- When I first saw him in post 12, I thought that it looked familiar, and sure enough this will be the third time in five races that he will start from that very post. The other two have seen him start in post 1 and post 2, so evidently it’s all about 1’s and 2’s. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for recent race results, but he is still doing quite alright His lone win of 2018 came in July at BEL at the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap. While that is just the one win, he has been pretty consistent, and you have to like his third place effort at the JC Gold Cup specifically since there are so many in this field that come out of that race. That, and the Suburban were when he got to start on the inside, and not from post 12, however.

#13- Edwin Drood (Night Rider Stables, ridden by J J Castellano)- Well, the trainer did not have any luck with the post draw for his two entries, but the contrast between the two of them is pretty interesting. You have On Deck, who came out of no where in the Awesome Again to get into this field, and then you have the well-accomplished Edwin Drood, a winner of over $3,000.00 for his career. When you think about his career, he just seems like a natural to be a part of BC Classic champions list. And wouldn’t it be fitting, in a year where we sadly lost of one our greats in Sanny Village, that the BC Classic champion would be a horse that was a mainstay of that barn? It’s a story for a recap that I would love to be able to write. In four races with Night Rider Stables, he has had a couple close seconds, one coming in the Metropolitan Handicap, and the other in the, wait for it, the JC Gold Cup. Here’s another with no luck in recent post draws. His last three are 11, 10, and 14. And now a 13.

#14- Indistinguishable (Mb Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- The horse that will be remembered for breaking the TC dreams of Pretty Ferro. That was no fluke, though, as a strong two year old season included winning the final running of the DED Jackpot, with continued success into the prep race season. He’d win the AR Derby, but then opt to sit out the KYD (he would have qualified), in order to run the PRK. Due to the restrictions on the amount of entries Mb could have in the Derby, this was a great way for him to work it out. In the PRK, the fresh Indistinguishable got the job done and captured the second jewel. In the BEL, he missed by a neck of winning that race as well.. His schedule has been light since, though he did place third in the Dandy, but most recently was 12th in, there’s that race again, the JC Gold Cup. Interesting factoid: In the PRK photo, it would be Pennington on Pretty Ferro and Velazquez on Indistinguishable. In the BC Classic, Velazquez is on Pretty Ferro and now Pennington gets aboard Indistinguishable.

Prediction: 10-13-14-7 (Yes, I believe outside posts can get it done)

— NS

Categories: BC 2018-20, Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, THE BREEDERS CUP