ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Super Bowl may be the biggest betting event of the year, but any horseplayer knows it doesn’t hold a candle to the Breeders’ Cup – the “Super Bowl of racing” – eight World Thoroughbred Championship races with a full menu of exotic bets that can turn your $2 investment into a life-changing score.
Tomorrow, the Breeders’ Cup (NBC, 1-6 p.m. EST) will be run for the first time in its 19 years at Arlington Park outside Chicago, before a sold-out crowd of 45,000. From the moment the gates spring open for the first race, the Distaff, until they cross the wire for the Classic, the action will make your head spin.
The weather could play a big role. It will be chilly (52 degrees), and after several days of steady drizzle there’s a 30-percent chance of rain. The main track should be damp, and the turf course will have plenty of give to it.
If the earth were made of chalk, then morning-line favorites Azeri (Distaff), Storm Flag Flying (Juvenile Fillies), Rock Of Gibraltar (Mile), Orientate (Sprint), Golden Apples (Filly & Mare Turf), Sky Mesa (Juvenile), High Chaparral (Turf) and War Emblem (Classic) would all parade home.
But that’s never happened and never will. Although Storm Flag Flying and Rock Of Gibraltar look like death and taxes, this Breeders’ Cup, like all the rest, is sure to produce some momentous upsets. So sit back before each race, take a deep breath and study the tote board for overlays.
Here are some candidates:
DISTAFF: Summer Colony could kick off a big payday for jockey John Velazquez, whose agent, Hall-of-Famer Angel Cordero Jr. (48-4-7-7 in the Cup before he retired), told The Post Johnny V has a big shot here, along with Storm Flag Flying, Starine (Filly & Mare Turf) and Harlan’s Holiday (Classic).
Summer Colony beat Azeri the one time they met, but she’ll be a nice price after finishing third as the favorite in the Beldame. That race was run around one turn, however, and Summer Colony will appreciate the return to two turns, where she’s 9-for-11.
MILE: Some think Irish superstar Rock Of Gibraltar, winner of a record seven Group 1 races in a row, is vulnerable. Think again. As one of the Ballydoyle crew who accompanied “The Rock” to America told The Post, “You can bet your knickers on him.”
But Rock Of Gibraltar will be a short price. How to make money with him? First, single him in the $3-million guaranteed Pick 6 and key him in Pick 3s. Then play him on top in exactas over Aldebaran (second in 10-of-15 starts) and the longshot Irish filly Dress To Thrill.
SPRINT: The lightning-fast Cal-bred Disturbingthepeace probably won’t be the ridiculous 15-1 he’s listed on the morning line after winning six straight on the West Coast, including three Grade 2 stakes. But he’ll still be a decent price, can sit just off a blazing pace and has a quick workout over the Arlington strip.
California horses have dominated the Sprint recently, winning eight of the last 10.
FILLY & MARE TURF: The 3-year-old Euro-filly Gossamer, good enough to finish within two lengths of “The Rock” in her last start, will be a huge price. She never has raced beyond a mile, but neither did Banks Hill before she romped in this race last year.
“If she’s ever to get a mile-and-a-quarter, she’ll get it here,” trainer Luca Cumani said.
JUVENILE: Trainer Patrick Biancone made his bones when Bob Baffert was still dating cheerleaders, winning back-to-back Arc de Triomphes nearly 20 years ago. Biancone is one of the sharpest horsemen in the world, so if he says Zavata can get the mile-and-an-eighth, believe him.
Winner of the Tremont and Saratoga Special, Zavata was 1-5, 1-2, 2-5 and 2-5 in his last four starts. But just because he finished third last out in the Hopeful under a flawed ride by Jerry Bailey, he’ll be 20-1 here.
CLASSIC: Harlan’s Holiday was America’s top 3-year-old last spring, scoring runaway victories in the Florida Derby and Blue Grass, but was over the top when he ran sixth in the Kentucky Derby.
Given a much-needed rest over the summer by new trainer Todd Pletcher, Harlan’s Holiday returned to romp in the Pennsylvania Derby.
Pletcher thinks he’ll improve big-time off that prep, and the colt loves an off-track – as does Gold Cup winner Evening Attire, which makes them an attractive exacta box.