THOROUGHBRED RACING : Arazi’s People Leaning Toward Tougher Race in Breeders’ Cup

A mile and a quarter, the same distance that sank Arazi in this year’s Kentucky Derby, will be the hurdle again for the French colt if he runs in the $3-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Gulfstream Park on Oct. 31.

When the pre-entry list was announced Wednesday for the seven-race, $10-million Breeders’ Cup day, Arazi was named for both the Classic on dirt and the $1-million Mile on grass. Trainer Francois Boutin and Arazi’s owners don’t have to commit until entries are taken next Wednesday.

Allen Paulson, the aerospace executive who co-owns Arazi with Sheik Mohammed al Maktoum, said that Boutin would make the decision. “I am leaning toward the Classic, but that’s not in concrete,” Paulson said.

If Arazi runs in the Classic, his handlers will once more be asking him to perform a titanic feat. A mile on grass is Arazi’s forte, and he would be favored in the shorter Breeders’ Cup race. In the Classic, facing a field that has been bolstered by a strong European contingent, he could be the sixth or seventh choice.

“We would like to prove to the world that he can run farther,” Paulson said. “We know he’s a super horse at a mile. It would be a real coup if he could win the Classic.”

In last year’s Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs, Arazi ran on dirt and around two turns for the first time in the Juvenile, a 1 1/16-mile race. He delivered the most electrifying performance in the eight-year history of the Breeders’ Cup, winning by five lengths. Arazi underwent knee surgery before returning to France, where his only prep for the Kentucky Derby was a victory at a mile against second-rate opposition in early April.

Arazi’s attempted encore at Churchill Downs became a circus for the media, which made him the most ballyhooed horse to run in the race in decades. At 9-10 odds, Arazi lagged 13 lengths behind in the early going, made a half-hearted attempt to circle the field entering the stretch and finished eighth, beaten by more than eight lengths.

All of the foreigners in the Classic will be competing on dirt for the first time. The decisions to take them off grass are based on different factors, but a common observation has been that Gulfstream’s turf course comes with sharp turns, a layout that European runners might find difficult.

Fields for all of the Breeders’ Cup races are limited to 14 starters. Here is the pre-entry list, including alternates in their order of preference:

$3-million Classic (1 1/44 miles)--A.P. Indy, Arazi, Defensive Play, Marquetry, Pleasant Tap, Rodrigo De Triano, Sea Cadet, St. Jovite, Strike The Gold, Sultry Song, Technology, Thunder Rumble, Twilight Agenda, Zoman. Alternates: Jolie’s Halo, Reign Road, Jolypha, Garden of Heaven.

$2-million Turf (1 1/2 miles on grass)--Corrupt, Daros, Defensive Play, Dr Devious, Fraise, Jolypha, Navarone, Quest For Fame, Sky Classic, Solar Splendor, Subotica, Trishyde.

$1-million Mile (on grass)--Arazi, Brief Truce, Forty Niner Days, Fourstars Allstar, Jolie’s Halo, Lotus Pool, Lure, Luthier Enchanteur, Marling, Paradise Creek, Rodrigo De Triano, Selkirk, Thunder Regent, Twilight Agenda. Alternates--Exit to Nowhere, Culture Vulture, Marquetry, Cardoun, Bistro Garden, Val des Bois, Lion Cavem, Light Of Morn, Arrowtown, Cold Hoist.

$1-million Distaff (1 1/8 miles)--Culture Vulture, Diamond Duo, Exchange, Fowda, Harbour Club, Lite Light, Magical Maiden, Marling, Meadow Star, Paseana, Saratoga Dew, Shared Interest, Sheba Dancer, Versailles Treaty. Alternates--La Favorita, Queen Of Triumph, Withallprobability, Feminine Wiles.

$1-million Juvenile (1 1/16 miles)--Caponostro, Devil’s Rock, Fight For Love, Firm Pledge, Gilded Time, It’sali’lknownfact, Living Vicariously, Mountain Cat, River Special, Sea Hero, Secret Odds, Strolling Along, Sudden Hush, Tactical Advantage. Alternates--Glorieux Dancer, Fiery Special, Alybob Connection, Rockamundo, Mr Martini.

$1-million Juvenile Fillies (1 1/16 miles)--Beal Street Blues, Booly, Boots ‘n Jackie, Creaking Board, Educated Risk, Eliza, Liberada, Love Of Silver, Set Them Free, Supah Gem, Turkstand, Zoonaqua.

$1-million Sprint (six furlongs)--Arrowtown, Cardmania, Elbio, Furiously, Gray Slewpy, King Corrie, Meafara, Mr Brooks, Rubiano, Salt Lake, Senor Speedy, Sheikh Albadou, Superstrike, Thirty Slews. Alternates--Cardoun, Light Of Morn, For Really, Groomstick, Silicon Bavaria, Canadian Silver, Kenbu.

Horse Racing Notes

Three of the four horses that have been supplemented to the Breeders’ Cup are trained by Ron McAnally. It is costing $360,000 to run Sea Cadet in the Classic, $200,000 for Paseana in the Distaff and $120,000 for Bistro Garden in the Mile. Bistro Garden must draw in off the alternates’ list . . . McAnally won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff twice with Bayakoa and she was supplemented for $200,000 each times . . . The other supplementary this year is Caponostro, whose owner has to pay $120,000 to make him eligible for the Juvenile . . .

Handicappers at New York tracks are offered different sets of past performances, one in the track-produced daily program and the other in the Daily Racing Form. Last Sunday, when Villandry won the Long Island Handicap, the Form omitted the filly’s four starts--and two wins--in France this year. Announcements were made at the track about Villandry’s correct record and she won as the second choice, paying $7.60. Off-track bettors may not have been aware, however, that she had raced since last year. Many of them were probably surprised to see that (a) she won, and (b) paid such a small price. Villandry, who is owned by Daniel Wildenstein, has been sent to trainer Bobby Frankel in California.