The hottest horse heading into the Breeders Cup Classic on Saturday, October 27th at Monmouth Park is probably Any Given Saturday.
He has won his last three races and will be one of the top betting choices in the Breeders Cup Classic.
Any Given Saturday was one of the hot horses entering the Kentucky Derby but did not run well finishing 8th and came out of the race with a foot bruise and did not run in the Preakness or the Belmont. He won the Dwyer Stakes, the Haskell Invitational and the Brooklyn Handicap in his last three starts heading into the Breeders Cup Classic.
Any Given Saturday has already beaten Curlin and Hard Spun over the same Monmouth track in which the Breeders Cup Classic will be run. The only question for Any Given Saturday is stamina. His pedigree has him the son of Distored Humor who produced Funny Cide and Flower Alley. He is the maternal grandson of A.P. Indy. Winning the Haskell not worked out very well in the past for winning the Breeders Cup Classic. Horses like War Emblem, Cornonado’s Quest, Touch Gold, Kissin Kris, Technology and Forty Niner all lost in the Breeders Cup Classic after winning the Haskell. There is no doubt that Any Given Saturday will be one of the betting favorites in the Breeders Cup Classic. He has arguably the best trainer in Pletcher and the best jockey in Gomez. The question in the Breeders Cup Classic will be whether or not he can go the distance.
Probable Betting Odds: 4-1
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Garret Gomez
Dosage Index 2.67
2007 Record: Four wins, one 2nd place finish and one 3rd place finish. (7-4-1-1)
2007 Key Races:
1st in the Haskell Invitational – Dominated both Curlin and Hard Spun winning by over four lengths.
1st in the Brooklyn Breeders Cup Handicap – Any Given Saturday rallied for a 2.5 length win despite getting tangled up with several horses early on. This was his final prep race for the Breeders Cup Classic.
1st in the Dwyer Stakes – Won by over four lengths.
8th in the Kentucky Derby – Had trouble including a foot bruise that may have affected him.