NEWS
Indian Blessing to bypass Breeders’ Cup
Posted: Sunday, October 25, 2009 3:19 PM
by Mike Curry
The Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be short a champion after Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Sunday that Indian Blessing will not be pre-entered for the Filly and Mare Sprint (G1).
Indian Blessing finished second last year in the seven-furlong race, but Baffert said she just does not move on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita Park as well as she does on dirt. Baffert said it was clear from her previous two workouts—a five-furlong move in 1:00.20 handily on October 19 and a six-furlong drill in 1:12.80 handily on Sunday—that she was not at her best on the surface.
“The last two works here have just been very average for her. She’s a great work horse, and my rider said she is just totally different on synthetics,” Baffert said. "She’s not the same filly and she travels totally different on it. She’s always fought it. Coming into Breeders’ Cup, she’s running against great competition, and I just don’t feel comfortable running her against synthetic specialists.”
A homebred of Hal and Patti Earnhardt, Indian Blessing was voted champion two-year-old filly after an unbeaten campaign that was capped by a victory in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Monmouth Park. The Indian Charlie filly was voted champion female sprinter last year after winning six of nine starts, including three Grade 1s.
This year, she finished second against males in the Gulf News Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1) and won the Gallant Bloom Handicap (G2) on September 26 at Belmont Park in her most recent start.
“When I lead her out there, she’s been so good to us, and I don’t want to embarrass her. I know if I lead her up there [for the Filly and Mare Sprint], I don’t feel confident about her winning the race, and if I don’t feel confident, I don’t want to put her through that," Baffert said. “She’s not only been great to us, but she’s also been like a pet--we just love her so much. If she’s not 100%, I’m not going to run her.”
Baffert said he is not sure about a future target for Indian Blessing, who is out of the stakes-winning Flying Chevron mare Shameful. He said that in hindsight he wishes he had left her in New York and pointed for the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes (G1), which was won by Vineyard Haven on Saturday at Laurel Park.
“I talked briefly with Hal Earnhardt—the toughest part is we’re going through a process of letting go, because she’s been so much fun and she’s taken us so many places,” Baffert said. “I’ve been looking through every condition book all over the place to see where I can run her on dirt and there’s nothing really out there.
“Hal and I are just trying to figure out if we run her next year or we breed her. To me, I would think that she will go to the breeding shed.”
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
