Horse racing’s postseason begins this weekend
All sports have a postseason in which championships are won and lost. Horse racing’s version begins this weekend with nine Grade 1 stakes leading up to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita Park on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
These Super Saturday stakes are split with five at Belmont Park and four at Santa Anita.
Belmont will race the Beldame, Flower Bowl, Vosburgh, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Santa Anita will host the Zenyatta, Frontrunner, Rodeo Drive and Awesome Again.
Stopchargingmaria (5-2) is a deserving favorite in the Beldame, but she will be facing older horses for the first time. She’s won back-to-back Grade 1 stakes in the Alabama and Coaching Club American Oaks.
Stephanie’s Kitten (5-2) is the chalk in the Flower Bowl. This is an impossible race, as nearly every starter has a chance to upset.
Meanwhile, the Vosburgh will have a strong favorite in Palace (2-1). His past two starts were Grade 1 wins in the Forego and Vanderbilt. Another win Saturday and Palace would be the likely favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
The Hirsch drew only six betting interests, led by the entry of Big Blue Kitten and Real Solution (5-2). Regardless of who wins, they will be looking up at the European horses that have dominated the Breeders’ Cup Turf in recent years.
The Jockey Club Gold Cup favorite is Wicked Strong (3-1). But the pace scenario is full of horses that prefer to race either on the lead or close to it. The race could fall apart, which would lead me to deep closers Zivo (6-1) and Prayer for Relief (15-1).
At Santa Anita, the stakes look much more clear-cut. In the Zenyatta, Beholder holds a big class edge over her overmatched foes. She has won seven of her eight starts at Santa Anita and is the defending champion of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
The Frontrunner is the most important 2-year-old stakes so far this season. One key issue is none of the 10 starters has raced as far as the mile and a sixteenth distance. American Pharoah will be favored, but there is an element of the unknown in this field.
The Rodeo Drive is the most wide open of the nine races listed here. The West Coast filly and mare turf division has been weak. Of the three East Coast shippers, I like Irish Mission to upset.
The Awesome Again could be the penultimate step for Shared Belief on his campaign to win the Horse of the Year title. He figures to be a short-priced favorite. Fed Biz looks like the only horse that could give him a fight.
A win here and in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Shared Belief would garner a lot of support for multiple Eclipse Awards. He is co-owned by media personality Jim Rome and trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer.
■ TRACK DIVA — Joanne Jones, a longtime analyst on HRTV, has launched a new website: racetrackdiva.com. Jones began her Track Diva program 15 years ago, hosting a day at the races for female newcomers. She’s looking to cater to the underserved female market in horse racing.
Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick.