Breeders' Cup Classic Contender Yoshida Works Five Furlongs in 1:00.80 at Churchill Downs

Oct 22, 2018

On a blustery Monday morning beneath the historic Twin Spires, Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade I) hopeful Yoshida (JPN) worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 in preparation for the 1 ¼-mile race on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.

Yoshida, the two-length winner of the Woodward Stakes (GI) on Sept. 1 at Saratoga, began his work at the five-furlong pole in company with 2017 Kentucky Downs maiden special weight winner Morocco through eighth-mile splits of :13.20, :25.60, :37 and :49 prior to galloping out six furlongs in 1:14 and seven furlongs in 1:28, according to Churchill Downs’ clocker John Nichols. Morocco completed his breeze after a half-mile in :50.

“He’s just doing great,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “We’ve been really happy with him since we got to Churchill last Thursday. Even though he’s a Grade I winner on the grass (in the May 5 Old Forester Turf Classic), we thought the Classic is the best route.”

Yoshida has won five starts in his 11-race career with purse earnings of $1,289,770 for owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, SF Racing and Head of Plains Partners.

“We’re just very fortunate to be in the spot we are,” WinStar Farm’s President and Racing Manager Elliott Walden said. “It was a great work this morning. We were all so thrilled on Derby Day to get his first Grade I win in the Old Forester and then return over the summer to win the Woodward on the dirt was very special as well.”

Mott has won the Breeders’ Cup Classic twice before with Cigar (1995) and WinStar Farm’s Drosselmeyer (2011).

“I think going into this year’s Classic Yoshida has a better chance than Drosselmeyer did,” Walden said.

In the barn adjacent to Mott on the Churchill Downs backstretch is fellow Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Mind Your Biscuits, who was pre-entered to run in the Classic as his first option but could also pre-enter in either the Dirt Mile or the Sprint as a second option, according to trainer Chad Summers.

Pre-entries for all 14 Breeders’ Cup races were due at noon (all times Eastern) Monday. The pre-entry announcement will take place on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

The stream of the pre-entry announcement, which will be hosted by Caton Bredar and Churchill Downs’ Joe Kristufek will be available on the Breeders’ Cup website, Official Mobile App and Facebook page.

The Official Breeders’ Cup mobile app can be downloaded via the links below:

iTunes App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/breeders-cup-mobile/id1297424320?ls=1&mt=8

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yinzcam.venues.breederscup

Locally, the event will take place in The Parlay’s Media Briefing Room at Churchill Downs and media are welcome to attend. Breeders’ Cup Limited President and CEO Craig Fravel and Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery will be on hand to answer media questions following the Pre-Entry announcement.

Other Breeders’ Cup hopefuls on the Churchill Downs work tab Monday included Longines Distaff (GI) contender Midnight Bisou, who worked five furlongs in 1:00 outside of two-time winning 3-year-old colt Principe Guilherme, and Sprint candidate Switzerland, who breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60.

Training hours at Churchill Downs will remain 5:30-10 a.m. daily until Saturday when the track will open at 5:15 a.m. There will be turf training available Tuesday from 9:45-10 a.m. and daily beginning Sunday, Oct. 28. For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/2PeXuHY.

ARRIVALS/BARN LIST – All Breeders’ Cup contenders must be on the grounds 72 hours prior to their race. Many of the contenders will begin arriving between 7-10 days from the event, according to Churchill Downs director of the stable area Steve Hargrave. Stay tuned for updates regarding arrivals following the pre-entry announcement on Wednesday.

Below are the current Breeders’ Cup contenders that are currently stabled at Churchill Downs:

Trainer	Horse	Race	Barn	Last Work
Tom Amoss	Lone Sailor	Classic/Dirt Mile	29	Oct. 17; 4F :49.60
Tom Amoss	Serengeti Empress	Juvenile Fillies	29	Oct. 18; 5F 1:00
Steve Asmussen	Chanteline	Turf Sprint	38	Oct. 3; 5F 1:02.20
Steve Asmussen	Mia Mischief	Filly and Mare Sprint	38	Oct. 20; 5F 1:00.80
Steve Asmussen	Midnight Bisou	Distaff	38	Oct. 22; 5F 1:00
Steve Asmussen	Switzerland	Sprint	38	Oct. 22; 5F 1:00.60
Steve Asmussen	Tight Ten	Juvenile	38	Oct. 21; 5F :59.60
Juan Avila	Trophy Chaser	Juvenile	34	Oct. 21; 5F 1:01.40
Bret Calhoun	Finley'sluckycharm	Filly and Mare Sprint	23	Oct. 18; 5F 1:00.20
Mark Casse	Wonder Gadot	Distaff	36	Oct. 19; 5F 1:00
Brad Cox	Arklow	Turf	22	Oct. 12; 4F :49.80
Brad Cox	Golden Mischief	Filly and Mare Sprint	22	Oct. 20; 4F :50.60
Brad Cox	Monomoy Girl	Distaff	22	Oct. 20; 5F 1:00.20
Brad Cox	Will Call	Turf Sprint	22	Oct. 20; 4F :49.80
Keith Desormeaux	Reflect	Juvenile Fillies	25	Oct. 20, 4F :48.40
Tim Glyshaw	Bucchero	Turf Sprint	3	Oct. 20; 4F :48.60
D. Wayne Lukas	Bravazo	Classic	44	Oct. 17; 5F 1:00
D. Wayne Lukas	Warrior's Club	Sprint	44	Oct. 16; 4F :48.60
Ron Moquett	Whitmore	Sprint/Dirt Mile	10	Oct. 19; 4F :47
Bill Mott	Channel Maker	Turf	19	Oct. 21; 4F :49.20
Bill Mott	Yoshida (JPN)	Classic	19	Oct. 22; 5F 1:00.80
Dale Romans	Promises Fulfilled	Sprint/Dirt Mile	4	Oct. 20; 4F :48.60
Dale Romans	Seven Trumpets	Dirt Mile	4	Oct. 20; 5F 1:00.20
Dallas Stewart	Seeking the Soul	Classic	37	Oct. 19; 5F 1:01
Chad Summers	Mind Your Biscuits	Classic/Dirt Mile/Sprint	18	Oct. 19; 6F 1:15
Saeed bin Suroor	Thunder Snow	Classic	17	Oct. 19; one mile 1:42.20
Jonathan Thomas	Catholic Boy	Classic	41	Oct. 14; 4F 1:01.20
Ian Wilkes	Quarteto de Cordas (BRZ)	Turf	26	N/A

DOWN THE STRETCH – Imperial Hint, one of the likely favorites for the TwinSpires Sprint (GI), left Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., around 6:30 a.m. Monday and is expected to arrive in Louisville around 6 p.m., according to trainer Luis Carvajal Jr.