It looks like Breeders' Cup fans will get another chance to support in November Current games the stallion who won the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) while his frustrated supporters settled for refunds as he only ran for the money.
The home-bred colt by Godolphin, a son of Dubai earned his way back to the World Championships with a dominant win on September 17 at the Ricoh Woodbine Mile (G1T). The CA$1,017,200 race was a Breeders' Cup Challenge event for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) on November 5 Keeneland Grass November 4th.
Current Games was no surprise honeysucklewas sent off as the clear favorite as he finished second in the Qatar Sussex Stakes (G1) at Goodwood in England, behind only the all-time greats Baeed . At the start of the season he won the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas, G1) in ParisLongchamp.
At the start of the Woodbine Mile, it seemed as if jockey William Buick would have to work a little magic to bring the favorite house to the top. With a good lead in the 11-horse field and two more horses, Current Games took a long swing into the home straight to find daylight. He was then pushed even further out by a rally Finest sound .
Buick said it wasn't concerned.
“He felt very comfortable the whole time. He was making good progress and the pace was good. Actually I just had to think of a route. But I had enough horses and he was brave when he had to be,” said the jockey.
William Buick hoists the Woodbine Mile trophy
Once it had daylight, Current Games was pretty bold indeed. He quickly built distance on the field and sprinted away to win by 5 1/4 lengths, winning for the sixth time in 11 career starts.
Current games, from the Recent approach mare Current ideals finished the Woodbine Mile with a time of 1:32.77 over target speed, just over a second off the course record. He wasn't asked to do his best in the final sixteenth.
Ivar I also found the speed at which I could get up for the second moment slow Finest sound third. Shirls Speight came fourth. City tour who stole the race last year with the lead, was prominent at the start of this year's edition, but was unable to finish the performance and registered for fifth place with fractions of :23.08 and :45.79.
Ivar, third in the 2021 Breeders' Cup Mile and fourth a year earlier, remains a viable candidate for a third attempt, and trainer Paolo Lobo lamented that his schedule was thrown into disarray this year, resulting in a detour Horseshoe Indianapoliswhere he won a 1 1/16 mile grass stakes in track record time, and then the trip to Canada for a Breeders' Cup prep race.
“Unfortunately, he was ready to run at Churchill Downs earlier this year,” Lobo said. “But he had a little problem with a hoof. That was a setback for us.”
The Indiana assignment, he added, “went well for us. They left very quickly. It was perfect.”
Despite its European successes, Current Games remains in American memory for the controversial mix-up behind the starting gate sea. The colt was first scratched, then “unscratched,” but not before he was removed from the betting pools.
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As a result, his supporters received refunds or substitutions for exotic bets and watched in frustration as he emerged victorious by a length and a half.
When Current Games travels to Keeneland in November, fans will find an improved horse there, Buick said.
“He’s gotten bigger. It has become fuller. He is very sturdy, a very sturdy horse. He was last year, but this year he's gotten bigger and stronger. He retains all the skills in the world.”
“He’s a really swift horse,” Buick said. “The faster, the better for him. As you saw there, he's very quick when he changes gears. So yes. He’s a really swift mile runner.”
The victory capped a perfect afternoon at the suburban Toronto track for Godolphin, Buick and trainer Charlie Appleby, even though the trainer was not present.
With two runners on the day, they secured two wins and two win and you're in spots in the Breeders' Cup Mysterious night was equally impressive when he posted a score of 5 3/4 lengths in the Pattison Summer Stakes (G1T).
