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No Excuses For Street Sense In Classic

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 28, 2007

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Kentucky Derby and Tampa Bay Derby winner Street Sense closed out his career Saturday with a disappointing fourth in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Monmouth Park.

Jockey Calvin Borel had the colt perfectly positioned for a rail-skimming victory, just like his win last year in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Street Sense, the 5-2 favorite, had a wide opening in the lane but lacked a finishing kick.

'I couldn't have had a better trip,' Borel said. 'He tried hard with me. When I got to the quarter pole, I really thought it was going to come down to me and Curlin, but we couldn't go with him.'

Curlin pulled away to a 4 1/2 -length win on the sloppy track.

Trainer Carl Nafzger exuded confidence all week as he watched Street Sense prepare for his final race before retirement. Nafzger was philosophical in defeat.

'That's horse racing,' he said. 'Everybody ran on the same track. It was a great race. We got outrun. Curlin ran a great race, a fantastic race. I don't have any excuses. I didn't have any going in, and don't have any after the race.'

DISMAL CUP: Breeders' Cup Saturday turned into one of the worst days in the career of Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien.

One race after O'Brien's favorite Dylan Thomas was a tiring fifth in the $3 million Turf, George Washington suffered a fatal injury in the Classic.

Dylan Thomas, widely regarded as the top turf horse in Europe, was the shortest-priced favorite of the day at 4-5. He had won four Group 1 races this year, including the prestigious Prix de'l Arc de Triomphe.
Dylan Thomas lost all chance when the Jersey Shore was hit with several days of rain. The 4-year-old prefers firm ground, but got a very soft course.

'He was just spinning his wheels out there,' said jockey John Murtagh. 'He even hated the warm-up, and this is a horse who loves his racing and everything about it. We had no chance.'

The one bright spot for O'Brien was a second-place effort by Excellent Art in the Mile on the turf. All My Loving, his other BC runner, was fifth in the Filly & Mare Turf.

FINE FORM: Friday's three Breeders' Cup winners were all in good shape Saturday morning.

Nownownow rallied from last in the 12-horse field to win the Juvenile Turf, a trip that 'played out just the way we planned it,' said trainer Francois Parisel. 'Lay back and come with one big run.'

No plans have been made for the colt's next start.

Maryfield, who captured the Filly & Mare Sprint, is headed to the sales ring. She is catalogued as a broodmare prospect in the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Selected Fall Mixed Sale at Lexington on Nov. 4.

Trainer Doug O'Neill will miss the former claimer-turned-Breeders' Cup winner.

'It seems like from a racing perspective, she is doing so well right now,' O'Neill said. 'The sale is part of the plan. The owners made the business decision months ago.'

It was a big day for Elvis Trujillo, Maryfield's jockey, who picked up the victory in his first Breeders' Cup appearance. Trujillo was back riding at his home base Saturday, Calder Race Course in Florida.

Corinthian, winner of the Dirt Mile in his final start, was back in his Belmont Park stall on Saturday. He'll soon ship to Gainesway Farm in Lexington to start a new career as a stallion.

ONE FOR MERV: Cobalt Blue, owned by the estate of the late entertainer and television executive Merv Griffin, won the $200,000 Select Stakes for 3-year-olds on the Breeders' Cup undercard.

Trainer Doug O'Neill was overwhelmed by the win.

'I'm a little emotional winning this for Merv,' O'Neill said.

Cobalt Blue was a Triple Crown contender until he ran poorly in the Illinois Derby in April. At that point, Griffin abandoned the quest for the Kentucky Derby - the race the TV impresario desperately wanted to win

Griffin died in August of prostate cancer.

FINAL NUMBERS: The crowd of 41,781 was the eighth-largest in Monmouth Park history, but the second-lowest for a Breeders' Cup. The lowest came at the 1995 Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park, which drew 37,246. The Monmouth record is 53,638 for the 2003 Haskell Invitational. ... With the win by English Channel in the Turf, trainer Todd Pletcher is 3-for-51 in the BC. ... Joe Talamo at 17 became the youngest rider in BC history when he guided Nashoba's Key to a fourth-place finish in the Filly & Mare Turf.

The Associated Press

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