Havre de Grace Looks Locked and Loaded to Take on Boys in Breeders’ Cup Classic

Trainer Larry Jones was happy with Monday’s workout for Havre de Grace, who appears to be destined to take on the boys in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Nov. 5 with Horse of the Year honors hanging in the balance.

The filly has won four of her five starts this year, with the lone loss coming in the Delaware Handicap (G2) where she fell a nose short to her arch rival Blind Luck.

Among her victories this year was a win against males in the Woodward (G1) at Saratoga on Sept. 3.

While Jones said the filly would be pre-entered in both the Ladies’ Classic and the Classic, after Monday’s dazzling work, there seems little doubt she is going to take on the boys in the Classic.

The filly drilled five furlongs in: 58.57 at Keeneland, her first time over the synthetic polytrack surface.

With jockey Gabriel Saez aboard, the filly went 11.56 for the opening eighth, 23.28 for the quarter, 35.12 for three-eighths, and 46.83 for the half mile, and galloped out in 1:11.86.

The morning drill was the second fastest of 14 to give five furlongs.

Owner Rick Ported wrote on his blog, “(Trainer Larry Jones) was very happy with it and said she did it within herself. It was nice and easy for her.”

"Larry said we don't have to do much with her since she is so fit. She hadn't done anything but gallop since October 1 and she was ready to do something. She is a very fast work horse and Gabe couldn't do much to get her to go much slower, but she has always been a fast work horse and that time is just perfect."

Havre de Grace Monday morning workout at Keeneland

Can Havre de Grace beat the boys and become the third consecutive female to take down Horse of the Year honors?

To follow in the hoofsteps of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, she has to beat several formidable foes, but each has questions marks:

Uncle Mo: Knocked off the Triple Crown Trail with a rare liver ailment, the Todd Pletcher trainee has come back with two solid outings. Off the bench he was a game second in the King’s Bishop (G1), losing by a nose to Caleb’s Posse.

The colt then ran huge winning the Kelso (G1) at a mile at Belmont Park in the mud on Oct. 1. The wet racing strip that day was more favorable to inside speed, which may have helped to boost his lofty speed figure.

The colt figures to be no worse than second choice in the race and the main question mark is whether or not this guy is going to offer any value at the betting windows.

Tizway: This colt was supposed to run in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), but he spiked a fever, missing the race and meaning he will be coming into the Classic off a three month layoff.

The six-year-old won his last two starts, taking the Met Mile (G1) and Whitney (G1) and seems likely to be somewhere between the third and fifth choice in the race, depending on how much action the European invader So You Think takes.

Can James Bond have this guy ready off a three month break?

Flat Out:The Charles Dickey trainee is coming off a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) in the mud, his second victory of the year. His other win came in the Suburban (G2) back in July.

In between those wins came losses to Flat Out in the Whitney and Havre de Grace in the Woodward.

The five-year-old has only missed landing in the exacta once this year, and that came in a sixth place finish in the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) over the Churchill Downs surface.

In addition, Game On Dude is going to bring plenty of early zip to the Classic off his win in the Goodwood (G1) at Santa Anita, and we have to figure out how So You Think fits into the equation as he makes his first career start on dirt and his third start in five weeks.

Hall of fame trainer Bill Mott will bring in a couple of runners that will fly under the radar in Drosselmeyer and To Honor and Serve, and despite a third place finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup when facing older for the first time, we may not want to dismiss Uncle Mo’s stablemate Stay Thirsty, who won the Travers (G1) at 1 ¼ miles.

The Classic is just one of 15 mysteries we need to unravel over the next week, and we can start on Wednesday as the pre-entries will be announced and we can start our handicapping for the big two-day event.

Michael Dempsey provides his full card report for Belmont Park and Keeneland each racing day. Mike’s full card report includes his selections, analysis, fair odds line, and wagering recommendations. Mike’s Breeders’ Cup Reports will be available on Thursday, Nov. 3.

Michael Dempsey provides his full card report for Belmont Park and Keeneland each racing day. Mike’s full card report includes his selections, analysis, fair odds line, and wagering recommendations. Mike’s Breeders’ Cup Reports will be available on Thursday, Nov. 3.