A hot/sunny day for the Breeders' Stakes card. Lane 1 and firm (GS 11.5) for the turf.
The $400K Breeders', the final leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, is wide open. Trainer Roger Attfield sends out Toronto Cup Stakes winner Final Copy, the 3-1 second choice on the line, and live longshots Major Eclipse and Glencairn.
Channel Maker, based at Saratoga with trainer Bill Mott, is the 5-2 favorite, but the win-shy chestnut seems vulnerable over the 12-furlong distance. Seeking Albert just beat older N1X opposition going the distance, and has trained nicely leading up to the race. He was supplemented at a cost of $12.5K, along with Prince of Wales Stakes winner Cool Catomine, who has his work cut out for him in his turf debut.
Dragon Bay and Can'thelpbelieving are the protagonists in the G2 Sky Classic. They ran one-two here July 29 in the G2 Nijinsky, and the former figures to take some catching again if allowed to set a moderate pace.
Leading rider Eurico Da Silva is beginning a suspension, and is riding in a jockey challenge next weekend in Japan, so he won't be seen here for a while.
The Jackpot Hi 5 carryover is $932K.
The changes can be found at http://pro.drf.com/entries