Week of September 27, 2010

By Dana Byerly, Hello Race Fans Co-founder

September 27, 2010 Leave a comment

It was split down the middle between favorites and upsets last weekend as the Breeders’ Cup preps started to pick up steam. Winning favorites included international Buzz Baby Frankel, who gained even more buzz by easily winning the Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot by an eye popping 10 lengths. Another impressive juvenile, White Moonstone, won the Meon Valley Stud Filliesâ€™ Mile at Ascot. Rose Catherine in the Turf Amazon at Parx and Grand Rapport in the Kent Stakes at Delaware Park also got the job done.

On the other hand, Morning Line in the Pennsylvania Derby at Parx and Apart in the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs were mild upsets while the first and second place finishers of My Jen and Moontune Missy in the Gallant Bloom at Belmont Park were a total surprise. The $2 Gallant Bloom exacta paid $378.50. Poet’s Voice in QEII at Ascot was also a mild upset over Makfi, who finished off the board, and Rip Van Winkle.

Frankel, White Moonstone, Poet’s Voice and My Jen all stamped their tickets to the Breeders’ Cup by winning Breeders’ Cup Challenge races. This coming weekend is huge prep weekend with nine Breeders’ Cup Challenge races and 20 graded stakes races in total! The fields are beginning to take shape for Belmont Park’s “Super Saturday” while Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and Lookin at Lucky have all put in their final works for their respective races. And, as always, we have plenty of workout pictures in our Flickr Gallery!

This week at the site, we wrap-up what we hope was a fun and informative Figs Gone Wild Month with a Q & A about DIY figs with Derek Simon. We’ll also profile the Jockey Club Gold Cup for this week’s Ten Things You Should Know. And be sure to keep up with all the impending news and commentary this week at Raceday 360 Wire. We’ve even created a tag for Super Saturday to you keep track of all the commentary around the upcoming weekend!

Last Week’s Races