In preparation for the Breeders’ Cup races, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) creates weekly polls reflecting the standings of the top thoroughbred racehorses in the United States of America. These polls shift rapidly, but on any given week the poll’s results show who the leaders of each division appear to be.
Both the Saratoga and Del Mar summer meets have come to a close, and while several key prep races have yet to be run, the leaders in most divisions (the exceptions being the two-year-olds) are fairly well-established. While some surprises will likely sprout up between now and November 3rd, each of these horses is poised to stake a claim for year-end championship.
As of September 5th, 2023, here are a few of the horses whose Breeders’ Cup performances could realistically push their reputation to the next level!
Echo Zulu
This year may feel like deja vu for the connections of Echo Zulu, who is one of the favorites in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Odds 2023.
There was no question who the greatest two-year-old filly of 2021 was. Echo Zulu powered through her season, winning all five of her starts, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in commanding fashion. She carried her winning ways into her first start at three, but although she was subsequently favored in the 2022 Kentucky Oaks, she failed to get the distance and finished fourth.
Her human connections got the message, and after some time to rest, Echo Zulu returned to sprint races. Since that time, her only defeat has been at the hands of older sprint champion Goodnight Olive in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
Both Echo Zulu and Goodnight Olive returned to training after the race, and as such, they were able to renew their rivalry in 2023. They met in the Grade I Ballerina Stakes, and this time, Echo Zulu pushed past Goodnight Olive to win by nearly three lengths. Another win over her would firmly place Echo Zulu as the fastest female sprinter of her time.
Pretty Mischievous
In what appears to be a rather weak crop of three-year-old fillies, there is one shining star who could redeem her cohort.
A daughter of Into Mischief, Pretty Mischievous has already all but secured her year-end championship with three straight Grade I victories- the Kentucky Oaks, the Acorn Stakes, and the Test Stakes. These victories underscore her versatility as well; the first-named is at the Breeders’ Cup Distaff distance of 1 ⅛ miles, while the latter two are at a sprint and a mile.
In some years, this could lead connections to consider the Filly and Mare Sprint over the Distaff. Not so this year, with the aforementioned Echo Zulu and Goodnight Olive heating up the track. In spite of such older mare star power as Secret Oath and Clariere, Pretty Mischievous looks poised to answer all questions about her quality- and thus the quality of the fillies she has left in her wake- in the Distaff.
Arcangelo
Arcangelo has spent much of his life being overlooked- until now.
Coming up to the Belmont Stakes, many said that Arcangelo did not have the class to win- even though he had taken New York’s traditional prep race for the Test of the Champion, the Grade III Peter Pan Stakes.
Others thought that he would not care for the distance of the race- in spite of the fact that Arcangelo is a son of the mare Modeling, whose sire, Tapit, has produced four Belmont winners, and whose dam, Teeming, is a sister to two additional Belmont winners.
Could it be that those naysayers had a superstition against gray horses- or small-time female trainers?
Whatever the reason, Arcangelo’s Belmont Stakes win was quickly dismissed as a fluke. Surely, the people thought, Forte or Mage would put the colt in his place in the Grade I Travers Stakes.
Arcangelo did, in fact, get put in his place: the winners’ circle.
Although the racing opinions have, perhaps grudgingly, admitted that Arcangelo is the current leader of his crop, in order to cement his status, he would need a Classic victory over older horses. And while he needed to tap into his mom’s side of the family tree to get Belmont Stakes stamina, his dad- Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arrogate- would be happy to supply the brilliance to push him to yet another victory.