High-Rise Takes a Pass on Breeders’ Cup Turf

The $2-million Breeders’ Cup Turf, which figures to be dominated by European horses, lost a top contender Friday when it was announced that High-Rise would be sent to Dubai instead of Churchill Downs.

Trainer Luca Cumani, who won the English Derby in June with High-Rise, was caught by surprise. The day before, Cumani had named Olivier Peslier, one of France’s premier jockeys, to ride the 3-year-old Irish-bred in Kentucky on Nov. 7.

“I knew the horse was expected to keep running as a 4-year-old, but I didn’t know it would be with someone other than me,” Cumani said.

Sheik Mohammed of the powerful, Dubai-based Godolphin racing outfit has taken over the management of High-Rise from one of his brothers and will try to win next year’s Dubai World Cup with him. The Dubai race and the Breeders’ Cup Classic, at $4 million apiece, are the world’s richest races, but trainer Bob Baffert, who won in Dubai this year with Silver Charm, has heard that the sheiks will be raising their purse to $5 million next year.

The English Derby was the fourth straight victory for High-Rise, who fell from the unbeaten ranks in July when he ran second to Godolphin’s Swain in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. In his last start, High-Rise ran seventh in the roughly run Arc de Triomphe.

Swain, who lost the Dubai World Cup by a nose to Silver Charm, would be the favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but he is being groomed for the Classic instead. All of Swain’s races have been on grass except for the one in Dubai. The 6-year-old, who could become the oldest winner of the Classic, is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs today.

The Santa Anita shipper Military, originally penciled in for the Turf, will run in the other Breeders’ Cup grass race, the Mile, because his owner, Ahmed bin Salman, will be trying to win the Turf with Royal Anthem. Both horses arrive at Churchill off recent victories, Military having won the Oak Tree Turf Championship and Royal Anthem finishing first in the Canadian International at Woodbine.

Gary Stevens, who rode Royal Anthem for the first time in Canada, is expected to retain the mount in Kentucky. Stevens also has picked up the mount on Escena, a contender in the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and he rides Silver Charm in the Classic. Escena, third in last year’s Distaff, was to have been ridden by Jerry Bailey, but Bill Mott, who trains the mare, excused Bailey so he could ride Banshee Breeze.

Bailey, who will ride Skip Away in the Classic, is locked in a tight battle with Stevens for the national money title. Last weekend, Stevens won three races totaling almost $2 million in purses, pulling within about $13,000 of Bailey, who has won the title three years in a row. Each is approaching the $15-million mark in purses.

Horse Racing Notes

Trainer Neil Drysdale will start three horses, among them Single Empire, the Italian Derby winner, in Sunday’s $125,000 Carleton F. Burke Handicap at Santa Anita. Drysdale’s other entrants for the 1 1/2-mile turf race are Legend Of Russia and Senor Senor. The co-high weights in the nine-horse field, at 118 pounds apiece, are Amerique and Crystal Hearted. . . . Drysdale and jockey Kent Desormeaux, who have combined to win 11 stakes at Santa Anita this year, will be represented by Diamond On The Run in today’s Harold C. Ramser Sr. Handicap.