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Etched, Musket Man take long road to Breeders' Cup

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November 3, 2010

Etched, Musket Man take long road to Breeders' CupBy MIKE FARRELLFor The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Zenyatta, the unbeaten mare, arrived in style at Churchill Downs on Tuesday, accompanied to the track by a police escort following her flight from California.

Two of her rivals in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday took the less-glamorous overland route.

Musket Man, 20-1 from post No. 7, was loaded on a van at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday for the 12-hour trip. He settled into Barn 41, taking the same stall he occupied when he ran third in the 2009 Kentucky Derby and third in the Churchill Downs Stakes on this year's Derby undercard.

Etched, 30-1 from post No. 10, faced an even longer journey, shipping from the Greentree Training Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He left Tuesday and was expected to arrive early Wednesday.

For trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, a long drive seemed like a better option than flying for Etched.

``It would have been a four-hour ride to Long Island, another hour at the airport and then the flight,'' McLaughlin said. ``He can be a bit difficult and he's a very large horse, so it's just better for him to head down there on a van.''

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ROMANS DECIDES: Trainer Dale Romans faced tough decisions on where to run Paddy O'Prado and First Dude in the Breeders' Cup.

After much deliberation, both 3-year-olds wound up in the $5 million Classic, the richest of the 14 championships.

Paddy O'Prado, listed at 15-1 on the morning line, emerged this summer as the top turf horse in his division with wins in the Colonial Turf Cup, the Virginia Derby and the Secretariat Stakes.

He could have run in the $3 million BC Turf, avoiding a loaded Classic field that features undefeated Zenyatta and leading handicap runner Quality Road. But Romans and owners Donegal Racing had their eyes on a bigger prize.

``We had to prove for his stud career that the Kentucky Derby wasn't a fluke,'' Romans said of Paddy O'Prado's rally to third in May.

Following the Derby, Paddy O'Prado ran sixth in the Preakness before switching to grass for his next four races.

First Dude is 1 for 9 this year with eight in-the-money finishes. He was second in the Preakness, losing to Lookin At Lucky by three-quarters of a length, and third in the Belmont Stakes.

Romans joked the decision boiled down to an allowance race for horses who have never won two races on Thursday or the Classic on Saturday.

``We chose the Classic because it's a little more money,'' he said. ``Both horses are training great, doing good. I can't wait for Saturday.''

First Dude, also 15-1 on the morning line, has post No. 4. Paddy O'Prado drew the No. 2 post.

Romans, a Louisville native, is 0 for 7 in the Breeders' Cup.

``To win one of these races in my hometown would be really huge,'' he said. ``Just running third in the Derby this year was one of the biggest days in my career.''

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CAUTHEN OUT: Doug Cauthen, a key member of the WinStar team that won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes this year with Super Saver and Drosselmeyer, respectively, said Tuesday that he is leaving the farm.

Cauthen, WinStar's president and CEO, has been with the operation since its inception in 2000.

WinStar has undergone an ownership change with Kenny Troutt buying out minority partner Bill Casner last month. Cauthen decided now was the time to step down to pursue new opportunities within the industry. Elliott Walden, previously vice president and racing manager for WinStar, will replace Cauthen.

``Helping WinStar grow and succeed on all levels has been my number one mission for the past decade,'' Cauthen said. ``WinStar gave me the experience of a lifetime, which only a limited number of horseman will ever know.''

Cauthen will continue to serve as a consultant.

He is the younger brother of Hall of Fame jockey Steve Cauthen, who guided Affirmed to the Triple Crown in 1978.

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UNDER THE WEATHER: Major Gain, winner of the Arlington Washington Futurity, was scratched Tuesday morning from the $1 million Juvenile Turf when he spiked a temperature.

``He will be fine in a few days but will not be well enough to run on Saturday,'' trainer Wayne Catalano said. ``It is disappointing, but these things happen sometimes.''

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CHILLY FORECAST: The last two Breeders' Cups were run at sunny Santa Anita, where temperatures ranged from 80 to 90 degrees without a hint of rain.

This year the event shifts to cold and windy Churchill Downs, where temperatures are expected to top out in the mid 50s on Friday and Saturday with a chance of showers on Friday.

Trainer Todd Pletcher seemed to be fighting off the sniffles as he met with reporters outside his barn on a blustery Tuesday morning.

``Not yet,'' Pletcher said when asked if he was coming down with a cold. ``Not unless you guys keep me out here much longer.''


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