ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Two superstar colts from both sides of the Atlantic are poised to jolt this Saturday’s subpar Breeders’ Cup World Championships into one of the great unforgettables of the 19-year history of the series.
In the European corner is Rock Of Gibraltar, perhaps the best foreign horse ever to compete in the Cup, a stunning achiever who has annihilated the best in England, France and Ireland, winning seven straight Grade 1 races.
They don’t come much better than this dazzler.
Waiting for him in the American corner is War Emblem, a shaky vessel, but still the most charismatic horse in the land after his heart-pounding triumphs in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Haskell. Not even his defeats in the Belmont and the Travers can rob him of his glamour.
Asked to sum up the Breeders’ Cup, a waitress at Arlington Park said yesterday, “I can’t wait to see War Emblem.” That’s how he affects people.
With a bit of luck, the Rock and the Emblem will go to war in the Cup’s centerpiece, the mile-and-a-quarter Classic on dirt. If they do, they’ll have the customers on their feet screaming for the whole trip.
War Emblem will set the pace, daring the world to catch him, because that is his only chance. Rock of Gibraltar will sit five lengths behind, waiting to pounce in the last 100 yards.
It’s not yet a done deal. The Rock’s trainer, Aidan O’Brien, has pre-entered him in the Mile on the grass as well as the Classic. If he opts for the Mile, the Rock will kill ’em at 1-2 and prove nothing. A yawner.
But if he goes in the Classic and beats the Americans at their own game, Rock of Gibraltar won’t be just Horse of the Year – he’ll be King of the Universe.
O’Brien would love to win the Classic. He missed by a nostril with Giant’s Causeway two years ago, then was crushed when Galileo finished off the board last year as the 3-1 second choice.
Still, O’Brien’s decision with Rock of Gibraltar is not easy. His reputation is on the line after his disastrous dip into this year’s Kentucky Derby. He brought Johannesburg, a star on the rise, to the Derby off a seven-month layoff with just one seven-furlong grass sprint as a tune-up.
It was an incomprehensible training regimen for a serious Derby prospect. It ended up one of the most inept training blunders in the history of big league racing as Jo’burg, underdone and overhyped, dribbled home eighth.
O’Brien cannot afford another serious miscalculation. The problem is that Rock of Gibraltar has never raced beyond a mile, has never raced on dirt and has not raced since Sept. 8, a seven-week gap.
He’s asking a lot of his horse to go in the Classic, but for racing fans a Rock of Gibraltar-War Emblem showdown would be a spectacular Cup climax, matching the showcase that is Arlington, the most gorgeous racetrack in America.
But will War Emblem do his part? You can count on it, at least for eight or nine furlongs. Trainer Bob Baffert has him wound up for his last race before the colt goes to stud in Japan.
The camp has nothing to lose, everything to gain. They’ll send him like a rocket from the gate and it will be a case of hang on to your hats.
This Classic may be totally bereft of older handicap stars, but it could end up something to remember.