Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Mile

The Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Mile anchors the Friday card for this year’s event. The purse is $3,000,000 and it has attracted a full field of fourteen. While typically these championship races pit three year olds versus four year olds with a couple of older runners in the mix this year it is the older horses who are looking to school their younger peers. There are two six year olds in the race including the favorite as well as four five year olds. Still those three and four year olds are hoping to upend the results and start a dynasty of their own that can go on for a year or two or three. Let’s take a look at the field.

#1 Take the Cannolis 18/1

A horse who has not run a flat mile since his two year old season is the four year old Take the Cannolis. Of his last nine races eight have come going a mile and an eighth with the other coming a furlong longer. He is also entering with an unconventional prep – a turf allowance where he finished third. It was his only try on the lawn and we’ll have to see if the surface switch angle benefits him. He’ll need a bit of a boost as has had not hit the board in his two previous races, both grade ones. Prior to that he was a dominant winner of the Grade One Charles Town Classic. That race saw him prompt the early pacesetter before taking over down the stretch and drawing off while running a 120 speed. That was his second stakes win on the year as he debuted in a listed where he lead wire to wire with a 116 speed. Sandwiched between those two races saw him try a mile and a quarter in the Grade One California Handicap and after prompting the early lead he took over at the top of the stretch but he tired late and finished third with a 115 speed. He’s a son of Tapit and the first foal for the graded placed, stakes winning Candy Ride x Deputy Minister mare Candar.

#2 The Time Traveler 33/1

The first three year old in this field is The Time Traveler a scratchbred son of Not This Time x Seattle Slew x Danzig. Not This Time is an up and coming sire who has been strong for several years and this year especially his son turf sprint son Cogburn and his dirt long son Next have shown off his versatility. I am not surprised to see a three year old son of his on the big stage; he likely was given a boost in the last year or two. The Time Traveler is facing older horses for the first time in this spot but he’s been very consistent in his races against his contemporaries. He’s got five wins from thirteen starts and another five on the board efforts. His biggest win came in the one mile Grade Three Bluegrass Derby Trial back in April. He sat just off the early leaders that day before storming home a winner. He followed that up with a second place finish – losing only by a length – in the Grade Two Trial By Night, also at a mile. He was third in a grade two going a sixteenth further over a good track and most recently was fourth in another grade two mile where he completely missed the break but still closed almost three lengths down the stretch. His last three speeds have been 112 – 110 – 109 so he’ll need to improve off of those numbers to factor here but it is certainly possible for a three year old at this time of the year.

#3 Guild de Guild 9/1

Guild de Guild is the only horse in this field looking for his first graded stakes win. He’s a four year old who has shown promise since changing hands in the auction midway through his two year old season. He hit the board in three listeds as a three year old but this year has really blossomed into a nice colt. He’s got a win and three seconds in his last four starts in which he has averaged 118.25 speeds. The highest number came in a June listed going a mile and a sixteenth where he sat just off the early lead before easing up to win by a length with a 121. That gave his connections the confidence to move him up to the Grade Two San Dimas at the same distance. He sat the same trip but was run down late by a closer, losing by a length and a half. Most recently he tried a mile and an eighth in the Grade One GoodyGood and again got his preferred trip before being run down, losing by a heartbreaking quarter of a length. Considering the short beat going longer it is worth noting that he hasn’t run a mile since his two year old season. With a bit more seasoning he may have proven better going a mile and a quarter and see him in the Classic but as with many of these the Dirt Mile is the next best option. On the plus side both of those graded races came over this course so there’s no question that he likes the track. He’s a son of Exaggerator out of the graded placed, stakes winning Tapit x Giant’s Causeway mare Nektar. Nektar produced a grade two winner from her first foal and and her fourth, a three year old is a grade one winning daughter of Nyquist.

#4 Mischief In House 52/1

The longest shot in the field is this three year old scratchbred son of Into Mischief x Street Cry x A.P. Indy. He’s another young horse making his first start against his elders and interestingly of his last six starts five of them have come in routes longer than a mile with his most recent run coming at seven furlongs. He’s had hit or miss success with a win in the Grade Two Sleepy Fan at a mile and a sixteenth back in February his biggest win. After a fourth in a Derby Lock Prep he returned in the Grade One Middle Jewel going a furlong longer and was third after leading from the start while running a 105 speed. Of note the two horses who finished ahead of him there are both entered in the Classic. Mischief In House has failed to hit the board in his last two starts, both grade ones with the first coming routing and the most recent one at seven furlongs. His lifetime best speed is a 109 earned in the Sleepy Fan but since then they have regressed significantly.

#5 You Get Tapit 4/1

One of the two six year olds in this field is our favorite You Get Tapit. I have to commend the connections for a clever name as he is a son of Tapit out of the grade one winning War Front x Mr. Prospector mare You Get Nothing. I can hear Gene Wilder screaming that on tv just reading it. You Get Tapit is her first foal, her second is a grade one winner and the third is a grade two winner with her three year old already a graded placed stakes winner. You Get Nothing started as the favorite in the 2019 Breeders’ Bowl Distaff. She failed to hit the board that day but You Get Tapit restored the family honor when he won this race last year. Since that race he has run five times, four this year with one win. That came in his prep for this spot, the Grade Three Long Acres which he took wire to wire with a 121 speed. Prior to that he was fourth in the Equinics, a sixteen horse field and third in both the Cosmopolitan Handicap and the February Stakes, both grade ones. All of hose races came at a mile and very much parallel his 2023 campaign where he ran four times before this race including a second in the Cosmopolitan Handicap and a win in th Long Acres.

#6 Medaglia Quality 51/1

Medaglia Quality has made five starts going a mile and a sixteenth with four wins and a third there. The three year old has gone longer twice – both in graded stakes – and failed miserably. That includes his last race, the Grade One Travelers at a mile and a quarter. All of that said he hasn’t run a mile since he was a two year old and then only once. For those looking for value if you think he can win over the distance and like an improving three year old his speeds in his two starts prior to the Travelers look promising. In May he won the Grade Three Grunt by sitting midpack and closing well to win by a quarter length with a 110 speed. He followed that up with a win in the Grade Two Liar using similar tactics but drawing off at the end while running a 114 speed. Again he’ll have to move that number up but he’s been off since August so a maturity bump would not be a surprise. He’s a son of Medaglia D’oro out of the graded placed stakes winning Quality Road x Tapit mare Lady on the Road. He is the first foal for that mare who was based on a grade two winning hemare. She did her best running at a mile although her hemare was a pure sprinter.

#7 Kepler Djurgarn 8/1

Kepler Djurgarn is the other six year old in the field. He’s a son of Fastnet Rock and is the best foal so far for his Smart Strike x A.P. Indy mare. He has not run this short since April of 2021. As a four year old in 2022 won two graeded stakes going a mile and an eighth and after the second one he went to the farm. Nearly two years later he returned this spring with an easy allowance win at that distance before taking a listed going a sixteenth of a mile longer. He was third in the Equinics Strike The Gold Fan Maker going a mile and a quarter and then dropped back a sixteenth and scored a big win in the Grade Three Washington Drive. In that spot he sat comfortably off the early leaders before winning by a quarter length while running a 121 speed, his career best. He was third in the mile and an eighth Grade One Bob Woodward Memorial in which he was further back in the field but closed nicely. Kepler Djurgarn was off the board in his final start which is why he was rerouted to this spot versus the Classic.

#8 Meda Fresh Prince 47/1

Even though he has two graded stakes wins on the year, Meda Fresh Prince remains a bit of a longshot. In February the three year old took the Grade Three Risen Star Stakes and then in June he won the Grade Two Flat Land Derby. Both of those races came against fellow sophomores and both were run at a mile and a sixteenth. But for each good graded run he’s had there has been a poor one. He was off the board in a Derby Lock Prep in March and most recently was off the board in a grade two, also run at a mile and a sixteenth. If you believe in patterns that means that Meda Fresh Prince is due for a big race. His lifetime best speed of 112 was set in the Flat Land Derby and while he needs to make a big move forward from that number it would not be unheard of. He is a need the lead kinda horse which may be the bigger worry. Meda Fresh Prince is a scratchbred son of Medaglia D’oro x A.P. Indy x Forty Niner.

#9 Fillin’ My Cup 5/1

Fillin’ My Cup has had this race in his sites for some time. His last race came on June 15^th when he was second in the Equinics Authentic Stakes at a mile. He entered that race with two grade one wins on the year under his belt and both were ultra impressive. He started the year with a win in the February Stakes where he ran a 122 speed. Fillin’ My Cup followed that up with a smashing win in the Cosmopolitan Handicap which, aside from this race, is probably the premier dirt mile race in the game. The five year old gelding is a deep, deep closer and threading his way through a sixteen horse field in the Equinics may have been too much for him. He’s obviously one of the top achievers in the field but that layoff may have adverse consequences. Or it could work to his advantage. Hes a son of War Front based on a Frankel x Awesome Again hemare.

#10 Petulant One 6/1

Another horse who ran lofty speed numbers earlier this year is Petulant One. He began the year with a win in the Grade Three Khartoum Challenge I which he won coming from the clouds with a 117 speed. He returned to run a 120 in the Grade Two Sand Castle Godolphin Mile but his late run fell a head short. Petulatnt One was unlucky again in his next start when he surged late in the Grade One Cosmopolitan but couldn’t hold off Fillin’ My Cup, losing by three parts of a length. Still he ran a 123 speed in that spot. That seems to have taken a lot out of Petulant One as he has been off the board in his two most recent starts although one of them came at seven furlongs instead of a mile. He’s a five year old scratchbred son of Medaglia D’oro x Danzig x A.P. Indy.

#11 Dungeon Dragon 9/2

Second choice Dungeon Dragon is coming off a strong win in the Grade Two Middle Ground Mile. In that spot he sat well back early on before coming up to win by a length with a 121 speed. It was his third win in his last four starts and he ran 120 speeds in the other two wins. One came in a one mile listed stakes and the other came in the mile and one sixteenth Grade Three Fus Gonner Handicap. This will be Dungeon Dragon’s second start in this race he made his first appearance in 2022. That year he scored the biggest victory of his career in the Grade One UAE Night of Stars at a mile and a sixteenth. The five year old is a scratchbred son of Medaglia D’oro x Danzig x Mr. Prospector.

#12 Force of the King 9/1

Whether to and when to geld a male horse is something sim trainers will argue about ad nauseum. In the case of Force of the King he was gelded after three starts as a two year old. And unlike most horses for whom that is true Force of the King was racing really well. He had two wins and a second and had run a 90 speed in August. Yet gelded he was and two starts later was switched to dirt and while he did not come into himself until this year at age four that as they say was that. He’s made five starts this year, winning three times in one mile events while averaging a 120.5 speed. The biggest win in that group came in the Grade Two Prims Memorial where he ran a career best 122 speed after sitting mid-pack early on. Force of the King bounced a bit in his most recent start where he finished third in the Grade Three Emerald Downs Mile. He got his preferred trip there but his closing kick was muted and he only ran a 114 speed. Force of the King is a four year old son of Kingman out of the stakes winning Frankel x Giant’s Causeway mare Supernatural Force. He is her first graded winner from seven foals.

#13 Empire’s Echo 7/1

Like many others in the field Empire’s Echo seems to be running outside of his preferred distance. From September of 2023 through January 2024 he won three straight graded race topped by a win in the Grade One Glenn Kegasus Tradition Killer at a mile and an eighth. In that race he sat fourth early on before pouncing to win by nearly two lengths with a 123 speed. His two prior graded wins also came at that distance as have three of his four subsequent starts. He did finish third in two of those races, all of which were grade ones. Most recently his connections tried him at a mile and a quarter where he faded badly down the stretch. The last time he ran a flat mile was in his second start as a two year old. Empire’s Echo is a five year old son of Bernardini out of the grade three winning Empire Maker x Mr. Prospector mare Ms. Maker. Ms. Maker only had three foals during her career and Empire’s Echo is the only graded winner but second stakes winner.

#14 Jamisontap Again 35/1

Jamisontap was scratched from the Breeders’ Bowl Classic in favor of this spot. The Tapit gelding Jamisontap Again scored the biggest win of his career in this season’s Middle Jewel. After winning the Grade Two Moises Alou Cap in February, Jamisontap Again tried a Derby Lock Prep but only managed fourth and thus did not have the points to get into the big show. One has to wonder what might have been had he been allowed to run in the Derby. Certainly his performance in the Middle Jewel showed that he is one of the top horses of his generation but could he have run that two weeks prior? Or did the extra rest give him an edge over the other runners who came out of the Derby? Regardless his win in the Middle Jewel was very good. In that spot he was next to last early on but stormed home to win by nearly two lengths with a 107 speed. Subsequently he failed to hit the board in three stakes but did prep for this spot with a third place finish in an allowance going a mile and an eighth where he ran a 110 speed. One of his off the board efforts came in the New Yorker which is the only time he has raced longer than a mile and three sixteenths so distance may be a question. But looking at the hemare he was based on those doubts are removed. Jamison Again (Awesome Again x Storm Cat) ran twice in the Breeders’ Bowl Classic with his best finish coming in 2021 when he was second. The multiple grade one winner banked over $5,000,000 in his career.

Good luck to all!