Warrior's Club Breezes Half-Mile Bullet in :48.60 in Preparation for Grade I, $2 Million Breeders' Cup TwinSpires Sprint

Oct 23, 2018 Kevin Kerstein

On a relatively quiet Tuesday morning on the Churchill Downs backstretch, the Churchill Downs Racing Club’s multiple stakes-winning sprinter Warrior’s Club took a major step towards a start in the $2 million TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint (Grade I) on Nov. 3 with a half-mile breeze in :48.60 – the fastest of 43 horses at the distance.

“He’s quite the horse,” Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said with a smile. “This horse is just so special and has touched so many lives.”

The gutsy Warrior’s Club sports a consistent record of 28-5-6-5—$704,104 including stakes victories in the 2018 Commonwealth (GIII) and 2016 Spendthrift Stallion Stakes.

Inaugurated in 2016, the club gives fans a chance to go behind the scenes in Thoroughbred ownership with exclusive club events for morning training, access to the paddock area for the horse’s races and complimentary admission to Churchill Downs. More than 50 people have joined other ownership groups, according to Churchill Downs Racing Club Manager Gary Palmisano.

Lukas’ other Breeders’ Cup contender, 3-year-old Risen Star (GII) winner Bravazo, could breeze Wednesday and is targeting either the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) or Dirt Mile (GI).

“It was a fun morning today,” Lukas’ longtime assistant Sebastian (Bas) Nicholl said. “We had the Churchill Downs Racing Club set after the (7:30 a.m.) break with the Warrior and She’s Got It All. I thought they both went well. It’s been fun to have them around the barn.”

One of Warrior’s Club’s main competitors for the Sprint is Vosburgh Stakes (GI) winner Imperial Hint, who arrived at Churchill Downs’ Barn 18 on Monday afternoon.

“We’re really happy to be here,” said trainer Luis Carvajal Jr., who is based at Parx Racing and Monmouth Park. “He shipped in well and we’re getting ready to go.”

A 12-time winner from 18 starts, Imperial Hint is affectionately known as the “little rocket ship” by Carvajal due to his smaller stature.

“He may not be the tallest but he’s a very powerful horse,” Carvajal said. “This horse has given me a lot of publicity which can be really important to people in this game.”

Tuesday also marked the first day of turf training at Churchill Downs and trainer Ian Wilkes’ Breeders’ Cup Turf (Grade I) contender Quarteto de Cordas (BRZ), a Group I winner in his native Brazil, was the lone Breeders’ Cup horse to work with a five-furlong move in 1:03.80.

“I got him into the barn in early October and this is the first time he’s been on the turf since I’ve had him,” Wilkes said. “I’m excited to have him and we’ll see what we can do in the Turf.”

Quarteto de Cordas, a 4-year-old son of Rock of Gibraltar (IRE), worked with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard in company with unraced 3-year-old Always Cool through splits of :13.20, :26.40 and :40, before galloping out six furlongs in 1:18.40, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols.

“I went back and watched some of his races from Brazil and he was pretty impressive over there,” said Hernandez, who has the call to ride in the Turf. “He’s a multiple-stakes winner over there.”

Pre-entries for all 14 Breeders’ Cup races were taken Monday and the public pre-entry announcement will take place Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. A live stream of the announcement will be hosted by Caton Bredar and Churchill Downs’ Joe Kristufek, and 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.

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
Luis Carvajal Jr.	Imperial Hint	Sprint	18	Oct. 21; 4F :46.20
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
Jeremiah Englehart	Forty Under	Juvenile Turf	43	Oct. 19; 4F :50.60
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. 23; 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	Oct. 23, 5F 1:03.80

DOWN THE STRETCH – Trainer Mike McCarthy’s Breeders’ Cup contingent, which is likely to include Axelrod (Classic) City of Light (Dirt Mile) and Liam the Charmer (Turf), was scheduled to arrive from California on Tuesday at approximately 1:30 p.m. ET. McCarthy’s horses will be stabled in Barn 43, according to Churchill Downs Director of the Stable Area Steve Hargrave. … Trainer Jeremiah Englehart’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (GI) contender Forty Under, the winner of the Sept. 29 Pilgrim Stakes (GIII) at Belmont Park, arrived at Churchill Downs Monday and is stabled in Barn 43. … In local racing news, trainer Wes Hawley breezed Alysheba (GII) runner-up Hawaakom a half-mile in :49.20. The 8-year-old chestnut could run in the Clark Handicap (GI) on Nov. 23, according to Hawley.

TRAINING SCHEDULE – Tuesday marked the first day of training for any horses that were pre-entered to run in the Breeders’ Cup. Below is the training schedule through Nov. 3.

Wednesday, Oct. 24 through Friday, Oct. 26:

• Dirt Training: 5:30-10 a.m.

• First renovation break: 7-7:30 a.m.

• Second renovation break: 8:30-9 a.m.

• Extended Paddock Schooling: 10-10:45 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 27:

• Dirt Training: 5:15-10 a.m.

• First renovation break: 7-7:30 a.m.

• Breeders’ Cup Only: 7:30-7:45 a.m.

• Second renovation break: 8:30-9 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 28 through Thursday, Nov. 1:

• Dirt Training: 5:15-9:30 a.m.

• First renovation break: 7-7:30 a.m.

• Breeders’ Cup Only: 7:30-7:45 a.m.

• Second renovation break: 8:30-9 a.m.

• Turf Training: 9:35-10 a.m.

Friday, Nov. 2:

• Dirt Training: 5:15-9:25 a.m.

• First renovation break: 7-7:30 a.m.

• Breeders’ Cup Only: 7:30-7:45 a.m.

• No renovation second break

• Turf Training: 9:30-9:45 a.m.

Saturday, Nov. 3:

• Dirt Training: 5:15-7:30 a.m. (no renovation break)

• Breeders’ Cup Only: 5:15-5:30 a.m.

• No Gate Schooling