by Ryan D. Jaeger
One of the most anticipated Breeders' Cup races is Saturday's $2 million
Breeders Cup Mile (Gr 1) which will be contested over turf by 11 three-year-olds
and up at Santa Anita Park. Take a look at our Breeders Cup Mile Betting Preview
before you place your bets.
The race favorite will be Irish-bred 4-year-old filly Goldikova (8/5) who
romped home first in this race last year. She's had a good season under the
guidance of her trainer F Head with a couple of notable wins, and so should be a
big threat. Will be ridden by O Peslier.
Although Delegator (3/1) has had a pretty good season, fans of the 3-
year-old colt will have noticed that his form is slowly declining.
That said, his trainer S bin Suroor seems to have confidence in the Godolphin
thoroughbred. He'll be ridden by L Dettori on Saturday.
Cowboy Cal (6/1), a 4-year-old colt trained by T A Pletcher, is currently in
top form which should make him one of the Breeders Cup Mile's biggest threats.
Also won a prep race leading up to Saturday's outing to back up his impressive
form. Will have J R Velazquez up.
Bred in Great Britain, Zacinto (8/1) could pose the biggest danger of all the
European entrants in the Breeders Cup Mile. Trained by S R Stoute, the
3-year-old colt is nothing but consistent and is known for running on well. Will
be ridden by R L Moore in the big race.
Justenuffhumor (10/1) is a Kentucky-bred 4-year-old colt that has a love/hate
relationship with turf. Doesn't mind it as long as it's not too soft. But if
there's an American runner that can cause an upset, it's probably him. Trained
by K P McLaughlin, he'll have A Garcia up.
In October this year Court Vision (12/1) poked his nose ahead of Karelian to
win the $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland, and just might be up for the
challenge on Saturday. He is trained by R E Dutrow, Jr and will be ridden by
superb jockey R Albarado.
Despite coming third in this race last year, Whatsthescript (15/1) has not
had a very good 2009, which suggests that his career may be winding down. He's a
5-year-old horse trained by J W Sadler. On Saturday he'll have champion jockey K
J Desormeaux aboard.
As a 7-year-old gelding, some people feel that Karelian (20/1) is past his
prime. That said, anything can happen which means that perhaps he has at least
one good run left in him. His trainer is G R Arnold and he'll be ridden in
Saturday's Breeders Cup Mile by R Maragh.
Courageous Cat (20/1), who is trained by W I Mott, has not run as well as
many expected this year. He'll have G K Gomez aboard. Irish-bred Ferneley (20/1)
is a 5-year-old horse who has run his best in his last two races. Trained by B D
Cecil, he'll be ridden by R Bejarano.
And finally, there's Kentucky-bred 4-year-old colt Gladiatorus (20/1) from
Godolphin. Despite reportedly being back in form, it's unlikely he'll be any
kind of match against the favorites on Saturday. He is trained by S bin Suroor
and will be ridden by A Ajtebi.
According to our Breeders Cup Mile Betting Preview reviewers, these are the
three horses you should add to your pick list: Goldikova, Cowboy Cal and
Zacinto.
UK punters can bet on all the Breeders Cup races tonight and tomorrow at
Bet365.
