There are few bigger horse racing events on the calendar than the Breeders’ Cup, as the champions are crowned at the two-day event staged in North America.
This year’s event promises to be one of the most unpredictable in recent seasons, as there are wide-open feels to some of the big Grade 1s that will be staged at Santa Anita. You can read more about how important this race is in the calendar.
However, who are some of the most likely contenders to side with when making picks for the Breeders’ Cup in 2023?
White Abarrio
The Breeders’ Cup Classic wasn’t much of a contest in 2022, as Flightline enhanced his reputation with a career-ending Grade 1 at Keeneland. However, there is an unpredictable feel to the race this year, with no shortage of contenders among the likely runners.
Forte, Arcangelo, and Mage represent this year’s Classic contenders, but all three could be taken on at their current prices. Four-year-olds have won two of the previous four editions of the race, and a horse that looks to have finally rediscovered his potential is White Abarrio. Irad Ortiz took the ride on the Richard Dutrow Jr runner for the first time in the G1 Whitney in early August and produced a sensational ride on the four-year-old.
That piece of form looks incredibly solid on paper, as he finished over six lengths clear of Zandon and nearly ten lengths ahead of one-time Classic favorite Cody’s Wish. White Abarrio has always been a horse with plenty of ability, and he finally pieced together all that potential on his previous start. There are certainly worse plays at 12/1.
Westover
The Breeders’ Cup Turf has been dominated by European raiders in recent history, and it looks like a race that will be going back to the continent this year. Hukum and Mostahdaf both make very compelling cases, but it could be worth siding with a runner with plenty of experience at the highest level.
Westover has finished in the first two in each of his four efforts in Grade 1 company this season and was unfortunate not to have beat Hukum at Ascot in the G1 King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in late July. The four-year-old for Ralph Beckett has already won over the Turf distance in impressive fashion this year in France and has been an excellent performer overseas after finishing second in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic and sixth in the G1 Arc.
He’s one of the horses that is massively overpriced in the betting, and a run at Santa Anita could be likely if connections overlook a second run in the Arc in October.
Casa Creed
The Breeders’ Cup Mile has been dominated by Modern Games in each of the last two years, but the retirement of the Godolphin runner has created a wide-open betting heat for the race at Santa Anita this year. Paddington heads the betting, but it appears incredibly unlikely that the Aidan O’Brien runner will travel to the United States. This could be one of the turf races that is landed by an American trainer, and there is certainly value in siding with Casa Creed.
The seven-year-old was ninth in the Sprint last year but has looked incredibly impressive over a mile this season. He has won each of his previous two over the distance, which includes a healthy success over Annapolis at Saratoga in the G1 Fourstardave Handicap.
Will Mott certainly has the Mile on his mind when it comes to this runner at the Breeders’ Cup, and he looks perfectly tailored to a quickly run race over this distance instead of another effort in the Sprint.
