Jockey Club Gold Cup to Go With Field of 5

The defection of Empire Maker, the Belmont Stakes winner, brought out only two extra horses for Saturday’s $1-million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in New York. Mineshaft is in such top form that he will be a heavy favorite in the 1 1/4-mile race no matter who runs against him.

With Robby Albarado riding, Mineshaft drew the middle post Thursday in a five-horse field. Evening Attire, longshot winner of the Gold Cup last year, is also entered, along with Moon Ballad, a pace factor in his first start on dirt since winning the Dubai World Cup in March. Added runners are Quest and State Shinto.

“My horse has a lot of constitution,” trainer Neil Howard said of Mineshaft, whose sire, A.P. Indy, ran third in the Gold Cup before winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1992. “He never spends himself unnecessarily. I think that’s what’s helped him stay on edge for a long period of time.”

Mineshaft, who would be expected to move on to the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 25, was given a breather after winning three of four starts from April to July. He showed no rustiness in his return, winning the Woodward at Belmont by 4 1/4 lengths on Sept. 6. Only four other horses challenged him that day.

Mineshaft’s eight U.S. victories have come over five tracks, but none west of New Orleans.

“Going out to Santa Anita would add to the difficulty,” Howard said. “There’s always a question when you ship a horse that far.”

The Gold Cup is one of four Saturday races at Belmont that have Breeders’ Cup implications. The track is also running two $750,000 races, the Turf Classic and the Flower Bowl, and the $500,000 Vosburgh. The Turf Classic could set up some horses for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita; the Flower Bowl is a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf; and the Vosburgh has sometimes provided the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, most recently Squirtle Squirt in 2001.

In the Turf Classic, Sulamani, who won the Arlington Million after the stewards’ disqualification of Storming Home, faces six rivals. Storming Home, instead of going to Belmont, will stay home to run at Santa Anita in Sunday’s Clement Hirsch Handicap as the Oak Tree Racing Assn. launches its Breeders’ Cup meet.

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Jockey Pat Valenzuela has asked the Los Angeles Superior Court to grant him a stay that would enable him to appeal a five-day suspension to an administrative law judge. The stewards’ suspension, which resulted from the disqualification of a horse Valenzuela was riding Sept. 8 at Del Mar, is scheduled to run from Oct. 1-5, an important time for the rider because Santa Anita is running five Breeders’ Cup prep races on Oct. 4-5. A decision on the stay is expected before Wednesday.

Jockeys are frequently allowed to ride in designated stakes races during a suspension, but the stewards, citing that Valenzuela totaled three suspensions during the Del Mar meet, excluded the designated-race provision from the Oct. 1-5 suspension.

Valenzuela has yet to serve five suspensions -- three from Del Mar and two at Hollywood Park -- that total 21 days. The Hollywood Park suspensions and the first two suspensions from Del Mar are going through the appeal process.

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Trainer Bobby Frankel told the Daily Racing Form that he thinks Empire Maker will be retired rather than run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Empire Maker is missing the Jockey Club Gold Cup because of a bruised foot.... Sky Mesa, whose comeback was marred by injuries and three consecutive losses, has been retired to stud. The 3-year-old colt was undefeated last year when an ankle injury knocked him out of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.