Breeders Cup Preview Sat, Nov 5th 2011

Another exciting Breeders Cup Horse Racing day has returned. Here we preview 4 of the best races on Saturday with a preference for value horses.

Breeders Cup Sprint - Force Freeze ran lights out in his first U.S. start at Monmouth park. Got the 6f in 107.77.  Has never missed a cash at the distance and gets John Velasquez today.

Aikenite has run twice at 6f and has 1 win and 1 second place finish. He is a closer that likes Churchill Downs. Castellano picks up the mount because J. Velasquez opts for Force Freeze. T. Pletcher is the trainer and he shines on big race days.

Giant Ryan is on a roll and has won 8 times at 6f. He won the Vosburgh off of a layoff and is in career form. He even runs better on a wet track so if we get rain his chances go up.

Breeders Cup Turf - St Nicholas Abbey is a colt by the hot European sire Montjeau. He ran a creditable 5th in the Arc De Triomphe last out. He is trained by Aidan O' Brien who knows how to win big races. He has the rail and has beaten Midday before.

Midday unleashed a huge late rally over this same turf course last year. She could run against females but opts to run here instead. T. Queally is her regular rider in Europe and comes in to ride her. She is best at today's distance and is owned and bred by the great Juddmonte Farms.

Sarafina is a 4yo filly that was the betting favorite in the Arc. She disappointed that day, but fillies have had great success this year against the males. She is trained by the great trainer Alain Royer-Dupre who has an impressive stable.

Breeders Cup Mile - We feel strongly that Goldikova is vulnerable this year, she will surely be overbet and has lost a step with age. She has been beaten in 3 of her last 4 races.

Gio Ponti is best at a mile. He didn't really seem to handle the Keeneland turf course all that well and he still won. That is the mark of a great horse. Goldikova beat him last year on this course, we think maybe its his turn this year.

Courageous Cat is an exceptional son of the great sire Storm Cat. He almost beat Goldikova in the 2009 Turf Mile. He has been pointed specifically to this race and we expect a solid effort.

ByWord comes in from France for the great trainer Andre Fabre. He beat CirrusDeAigles last out and that horse went on to a Group 1 win after that defeat. His regular rider the crafty Frenchman Maxim Guyon is in to ride.

Breeders Cup Classic - One of the richest races in the world returns to Churchill Downs this year. Havre de Grace is a fantastic filly that already beat the boys in the Woodward Stakes. R. Dominguez is riding flawlessly and has won on her in 4 of 5 starts he has ridden. She has a stalking style which should suit her well.

Flat Out was beaten by Havre de Grace in the Woodward, but since then ran lights out in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He is 1 for 1 at the distance and is lightly raced which we like.

Drosselmeyer chased home Flat Out in the Gold Cup, but that was on a sloppy track. He is also lightly raced and is by the top dirt sire Distorted Humor. Mike Smith returns to ride and the last time he rode Drosselmeyer it was to a win in the Belmont Stakes. The odds should be juicy on this one.