Breeders' Cup Classic favorites to be 3-year-olds

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Arcadia, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Santa Anita is reporting that the top four favorites in the Breeders' Cup Classic will all be 3-year-olds.

In Sunday's Stable Notes section the track has Shared Belief, Tonalist, Bayern and California Chrome listed as the likely morning line favorites for the $5 million Classic to be run on Saturday, Nov. 1. Earlier the track had its track handicapper Jon White putting Shared Belief as the 6-5 program favorite for the 1 1/4-mile race.

"If I had to do it today, I'd make Shared Belief a 6-5 favorite for the Classic," White stated in early October. "Again, if I had to do it today, I would make Bayern, California Chrome and Tonalist co-second choices at 6-1."

Sunday morning at Santa Anita, trainer Steve Asmussen sent out leading 3-year- old filly Untapable for a five-furlong workout along with West Virginia Derby winner Tapiture. The filly, winner of last month's Cotillion at Parx Racing, covered the distance in 1:00.40 for the Distaff and the colt went the five furlongs in 59.20 seconds for the Dirt Mile.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert had 3-year-old Midnight Hawk work six furlongs in 1:11.80.

Leading jockey Javier Castellano will replace Junior Alvarado aboard Moreno for the Classic, according to the 4-year-old's trainer Eric Guillot. Alvarado has been aboard the gelding in his last four starts, including winning the Whitney at Saratoga and a fourth-place finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 27.