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OZONE PARK, N.Y. - They were only morning workouts, but trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. was so pleased with what he saw from several of his Breeders' Cup hopefuls Tuesday at Aqueduct, he felt like doing a little celebrating.
Dutrow's dynamic duo of Big Brown and Kip Deville both breezed smartly over Aqueduct's turf course on Tuesday morning in preparation for starts in Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita on Oct. 25. Big Brown, pointing to the $5 million Classic, went six furlongs in 1:14.64 while tracking Salute the Count, a Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint candidate. Meanwhile, Kip Deville, working alone, went six furlongs in 1:12.97 as he aims for a repeat of his BC Mile victory from a year ago.
"I'm happy enough with the way things are," Dutrow said. "[Big Brown is] very good, we're very, very happy this morning. If there was a bar that had Cakebread [wine] right now we'd be going there right now and pop open a bottle."
Dutrow watched the works along with Michael Iavarone, co-president of the International Equine Acquisitions Holdings Stable, the majority owner of Big Brown and Kip Deville.
"I'm ready to roll, are you kidding me? This is beautiful," Iavarone said when asked about Big Brown. "We got our horse going the right way. We got two more works, ship on the 21st. I can't wait to get there."
Big Brown's drill was his second since he defeated older horses in the $500,000 Monmouth Stakes on Sept. 13. On Sept. 30, Big Brown went five furlongs in 1:04.21 on the dirt. On Tuesday, he got a bit more serious on the turf, with the traffic cones out about 12 feet to protect the inside part of the course.
Though Dutrow would not call the move an in-company work, he did have Salute the Count, under exercise rider Gerry Ryan, break off about six lengths ahead of Big Brown as the work started on the middle of the clubhouse turn. Under regular exercise rider Michelle Nevin, Big Brown remained several lengths behind Salute the Count while going an opening quarter-mile in 25.01 seconds down the backside.
Big Brown gradually gained on Salute the Count, pulling on even terms with him in upper stretch before finishing a head in front at the wire. After going a half-mile in 50.79 seconds, Big Brown got his last quarter-mile in 23.85 seconds. He galloped out seven furlongs in 1:29.26. Officially, the turf was labeled good, though Nevin said it was "on the soft side."
Watching Big Brown train the last week, Dutrow said he's getting excited about running in the Classic. Dutrow said he's happy to take on defending Classic winner and reigning Horse of the Year Curlin if that matchup comes to pass.
"If it happens, we're ready right now if our horse stays the way he is," Dutrow said. "We're not going to be ducking any horses. We're not going to scratch because Curlin loads in the gate. We got a lot to do to get there. He's got to fly out there, he's got to like that track, he's got to train good up to that point. But right now we're very, very happy with things."
Kip Deville 'will show up'
Prior to Big Brown's work, Kip Deville went a sharp six furlongs in 1:12.97 under jockey Cornelio Velasquez. Kip Deville went in fractions of 12.74 seconds, 24.58, 37.13, 49.96, and 1:01.49 and he galloped out seven furlongs in 1:26.60.
Kip Deville has run only three times since winning last year's Breeders' Cup Mile. He won the Maker's Mark at Keeneland in April and the Poker Handicap at Belmont in July. He is coming off a fifth-place finish in the Woodbine Mile last month.
"Kip will show up," Dutrow said. "We're just hoping he didn't like that grass course up there; it rained all night. Maybe by sending him up there with [Frost Giant] that might not have been a good move; he got Kip upset on the van. I'm under the impression that he didn't like grass course that day, which is no problem. He come out of it great. As you can see he's doing good. He likes that grass course out there, so we're very confident as long as he stays the way he is now."
Kip Deville is 2 for 2 over Santa Anita's turf course.
Speaking of Frost Giant, the Grade 1 Suburban winner worked six furlongs on dirt in 1:12.21. He was on the muscle, dragging Nevin through early fractions of 11.75 seconds, 22.88, 34.58, and 46.83 before tiring in the final quarter, which was timed in 25.38 seconds.
Frost Giant, also owned by IEAH, is pointing to the $500,000 Breeders' Cup Marathon at 1 1/2 miles on Pro-Ride.
Court Vision may run in BC Turf
Iavarone said that Court Vision, winner of last weekend's Grade 2 Jamaica Handicap, is "very much under consideration" for a start in the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf.
"To me, he looked awesome," said Iavarone, whose IEAH Stable owns Court Vision in partnership with WinStar Farm.
"He was in [Ramon] Dominguez's hands the whole way. In previous races he needed to be nudged along. I don't see any downside. If he doesn't run his race then we can bring him back for the Hollywood Derby a month later. He could be one of the top grass horses in North America next year."
Court Vision is now 1 for 3 on turf. He earned a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure for his victory in the Jamaica.
The first of three pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager begins its three-day run on Friday and the bet's opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999.
It's first time that Classic will be broadcast in primetime on Nov. 3.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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