Classic

POST: 2:35 P.M. Last of eight-race Breeders’ Cup card at Santa Anita.

CONDITIONS: For 3-year-olds and up.

DISTANCE: 1 1/4 MILES on the main track.

PURSE: $4 MILLION. First place: $2,080,000. Second place: $800,000. Third place: $480,000. Fourth place: $228,000. Fifth place: $120,000.

THE FIELD

*--* PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer Owner Odds 1 EVENING ATTIRE John Velazquez 126 Pat Kelly Grant & Kelly 15-1 2 PLEASANTLY Alex Solis 126 R. Mandella Diamond Racing 10-1 PERFECT Corp. 3 VOLPONI Jose Santos 126 P.G. Johnson Amherst-Spruce Pond 15-1 4 FUNNY CIDE Julie Krone 121 Barclay Tagg Sackatoga Stable 8-1 5 HOLD THAT Edgar Prado 121 Aidan O’Brien Tabor & Magnier 12-1 TIGER 6 DYNEVER Corey Nakatani 121 Chr. Clement Willis & Karcher 15-1 7 PERFECT DRIFT Gary Stevens 126 Murray Johnson Stonecrest Farm 7-2 8 MEDAGLIA D’ORO Jerry Bailey 126 Bobby Frankel Edmund Gann 3-1 9 CONGAREE Pat Valenzuela 126 Bob Baffert Stonerside Stable 6-1 10 TEN MOST Pat Day 121 Wally Dollase Chilsom, Jarvis, 4-1 WANTED Reddam

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Note: PP (post position) number in first column will also be the horse’s saddlecloth number

HOW TIMES HANDICAPPER BOB MIESZERSKI SEES THE CLASSIC UNFOLDING

START

Three months ago, the final race of the day looked as if it would be one of the most memorable Classics, bringing together Mineshaft, Candy Ride and the two main combatants in the Triple Crown, Empire Maker and FUNNY CIDE. Only FUNNY CIDE is here among that quartet and his chances of winning the Classic are remote at best, given his recent race record and the fact he has been away since Aug. 3. CONGAREE and Patrick Valenzuela will go for the front with MEDAGLIA D’ORO certain to be his closest pursuer. PERFECT DRIFT probably won’t fall too far back along with HOLD THAT TIGER, FUNNY CIDE and defending champion VOLPONI. TEN MOST WANTED and PLEASANTLY PERFECT figure to drop back and try to save some ground.

AT THE HALF-MILE POLE

CONGAREE, who has won four of five at Santa Anita, will continue to lead with MEDAGLIA D’ORO stalking. PERFECT DRIFT will be sitting on hold, along with HOLD THAT TIGER. FUNNY CIDE will begin to wish he had stayed home and run in last weekend’s Empire Classic. At least he would have had a chance in a race restricted to New York-breds. VOLPONI might look like a threat, but he has yet to duplicate the magic of the 2002 Classic, when he was a dominant winner. TEN MOST WANTED, PLEASANTLY PERFECT, DYNEVER and EVENING ATTIRE will be at the back of the pack.

AT THE QUARTER POLE

Valenzuela and CONGAREE will try to kick away, but Jerry Bailey and MEDAGLIA D’ORO will be poised to take over and wait for the attack of PERFECT DRIFT, HOLD THAT TIGER, TEN MOST WANTED and PLEASANTLY PERFECT. The Classic should boil down to those five in the last two furlongs, although it should be noted that DYNEVER has never been worse than second in six starts on fast tracks.

FINISH

Unbeaten in four starts on dirt this year, including a victory over the retired Mineshaft in the Stephen Foster Handicap in June at Churchill Downs, PERFECT DRIFT can stay that way and make himself the leading candidate for horse of the year. MEDAGLIA D’ ORO won’t give up without a fight and he enters having won in his two previous races at Santa Anita. HOLD THAT TIGER should move forward off his last, but will this be the spot where he earns his first main track score? TEN MOST WANTED is blossoming, but he hasn’t beaten the likes of the top two and seems reluctant to run by horses in the stretch. PLEASANTLY PERFECT likes the track, but is he this good? CONGAREE may find the trip too taxing against this kind of competition.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

The First Four

1. PERFECT DRIFT 2. MEDAGLIA D’ORO 3. TEN MOST WANTED 4. HOLD THAT TIGER

The Rest

5. Congaree 6. Pleasantly Perfect 7. Dynever 8. Volponi 9. Evening Attire

10. Funny Cide

CLASSIC WINNERS

*--* Year Track Horse Jockey Win Margin $2 Payoff 1984 Hollywood WILD AGAIN Pat Day Head $64.60 Park 1985 Aqueduct PROUD TRUTH Jorge Velasquez Head $16.80 1986 Santa Anita SKYWALKER Laffit Pincay 1 1/4 lengths $22.20 1987 Hollywood FERDINAND Bill Shoemaker Nose $4.00* Park 1988 Churchill ALYSHEBA Chris McCarron 1/2 length $5.00* Downs 1989 Gulfstream SUNDAY SILENCE Chris McCarron Neck $6.00 Park 1990 Belmont UNBRIDLED Pat Day 1 length $15.20 Park 1991 Churchill BLACK TIE Affair Jerry 1 1/4 lengths $10.00 Downs Bailey 1992 Gulfstream A P INDY Eddie 2 lengths $6.20* Park Delahoussaye 1993 Santa Anita ARCANGUES Jerry Bailey 2 lengths $269.20 1994 Churchill CONCERN Jerry Bailey Neck $17.00 Downs 1995 Belmont CIGAR Jerry Bailey 2 1/2 lengths $3.40* Park 1996 Woodbine ALPHABET SOUP Chris McCarron Nose $41.70 1997 Hollywood SKIP AWAY Mike Smith 6 lengths $5.60* Park 1998 Churchill AWESOME AGAIN Pat Day 3/4 length $11.40 Downs 1999 Gulfstream CAT THIEF Pat Day 1 1/4 lengths $41.20 Park 2000 Churchill TIZNOW Chris McCarron Neck $20.40 Downs 2001 Belmont TIZNOW Chris McCarron Nose $15.80 Park 2002 Arlington VOLPONI Jose Santos 6 1/2 lengths $89.00 Park

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* As favorite

THROUGH THE YEARS

HIGHLIGHTS FROM EACH BREEDERS’ CUP

* 2001 at Belmont Park: On the verge of retirement a few months earlier and coming off a loss in the Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Santa Anita, Tiznow duplicated his Classic win of the previous year, beating another European star, Sahkee, by a nose. Bobby Frankel ended his losing streak in the Breeders’ Cup when Squirtle Squirt out-battled the filly Xtra Heat to win the Sprint. Trainer Julio Canani made it two Mile wins in three years when Val Royal scored for owner David Milch.

* 2002 at Arlington Park: The first Cup held in Illinois had some logical results -- Azeri in the Distaff, Storm Flag Flying in the Juvenile Fillies, Orientate in the Sprint and High Chaparral in the Turf -- but also some stunners. Domedriver upset Rock of Gibraltar in the Mile, Starine took the Filly and Mare Turf at 13-1 and Volponi, who has done nothing but lose since, was dominant at 43-1 in the Classic. Vindication also gave Bob Baffert his first Breeders’ Cup victory since 1998 when he made what turned out to be his final start in the Juvenile.