Breeders’ Cup spots on the line this weekend, top trainers hold keys to 2-year-old tests

Todd Pletcher has won the Champagne Stakes a record-setting six times since 2004. Chad Brown has been the winning trainer 8 times in the 14 runnings of the Miss Grillo since 2008.

This weekend's racing features the Champagne Stakes and the Miss Grillo Stake. Todd Pletcher has won the champagne six times and Chad Brown has been the winning trainer 8 times in the 14 runnings of the race since 2008. Four 2-year-old fillies have won Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf since the first running of that race in 2008: Maram, Lady Eli, New Money Honey and Newspaperofrecord. The coverage begins on NBC at 4 pm ET on Saturday. The winner of both races is usually trained by a high-quality and expensive barn.

Todd Pletcher has won the Champagne Stakes record-setting six times since 2004. Chad Brown has been the winning trainer 8 times in the 14 runnings of the Miss Grillo since 2008.

The Champagne Stakes is one of the two "Win and You're In" races for the 2022 Breeders' Cup. Brad Cox is the trainer of Verifying, who won at Saratoga. Steve Asmussen is closing in on 10,000 career wins. Chad Brown has won the Champ champagne in 3 of last 6 years. Blazing Sevens is a son of Good Magic, the 2017 Breeder's Cup Juvenile winner. Todd Pletcher will not enter Forte in the race, because he plans to enter him in BreedERS' Futurity next Saturday at Keeneland.

2021 Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox is likely to start Verifying. Steve Asmussen will send out Gulfport, a very impressive son of Uncle Mo. Chad Brown has won the Champagne in 3 of the last 6 runnings. Blazing Sevens is a son from Good Magic, the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner. Forte, trained by Todd Pletcher, will not enter in the race. He will enter the horse in Breeder”s Futurity next Saturday at Keeneland.

Two 2-year-olds are running in the Miss Grillo Stakes on Saturday. Chad Brown is likely to enter Free Look, a daughter of the leading sire Tapit. Be Your Best and Pleasant Passage are undefeated in two starts for trainer Horacio DePaz. Pleasant passage is from the barn of legendary trainer Shug McGaughey. The winner of both races will earn a spot in Breeders’ Cup.

Gulfstream Park announced the schedule for the 2022-23 Championship Meet. The Pegasus World Cup Invitational is on Jan. 28. Gulfstream’s top Kentucky Derby prep race, the $1 million Florida Derby, will be run on April 1. Stradivarius has been retired to stud. The owner of Straddivius feels it would be unfair to make him come back next season as a 9-year-old after time away with a bruised foot. He won 20 of his 35 races and earned almost 3.5 million pounds. His owner Bjorn Nielsen feels he should not come out as an old horse.