© Benoit Photo
Last year, the $2,00,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) turned out to be a very strong race–the winner, Nyquist, went on to win the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), while fourth-place finisher Exaggerator eventually won the Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Only time will tell if the 2016 renewal of the Juvenile will be as strong, but judging from the accomplishments of the eleven horses that have been entered in the 8.5-furlong race, it certainly could be.
Leading the way is Gormley, an unbeaten son of Malibu Moon trained by John Shirreffs. Gormley is 2-for-2 so far, with a three-length win in the FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita stamping himself as one of the main contenders in the Juvenile. Not This Time, who was sensational winning the Iroquois Stakes (gr. III) by 8 3/4 lengths, is another logical contender, along with Breeders’ Futurity (gr. I) winner Classic Empire and the two-time grade I winner Practical Joke, who enters off a narrow win in the Champagne Stakes (gr. I).
The Juvenile will be held at Santa Anita on November 5th. The complete field is as follows:
1 Klimt, Rafael Bejarano
2 Syndergaard, John Velazquez
3 Term of Art, Joe Talamo
4 Theory, Javier Castellano
5 Classic Empire, Julien Leparoux
6 Three Rules, Cornelio Velasquez
7 Gormley, Victor Espinoza
8 Star Empire, Tyler Gafflione
9 Practical Joke, Joel Rosario
10 Not This Time, Robby Albarado
11 Lookin at Lee, Ricardo Santana, Jr.
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