Aktabantay, one of Britain’s challengers for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf here on Friday, will miss the race after being found to be sore behind after exercising on the track on Thursday morning. He will be replaced in the field by Brian Meehan’s Faithful Creek, who will be ridden by the six-time British champion jockey, Kieren Fallon.
Aktabantay gave his trainer, Hugo Palmer, his first success in a Group race when he took the Solario Stakes at Sandown two months ago and would have been attempting to cap what is already a breakthrough season for his trainer with a first victory at the highest level.
“He has a sore hind foot and can’t run which is very disappointing, but he will be back in the spring,” Palmer said. “He had caught the eye of all the work-watchers and people were really talking about him today. The Breeders’ Cup vets are very meticulous in checking all the health and welfare of the horses and when they checked him between 9am and 10am they weren’t happy with him.”
Faithful Creek, who now receives a last-minute chance to race for a first prize of £331,000, is a 25-1 outsider to win, but will be ridden by an in-form jockey in Fallon, who had a winner at Santa Anita on Wednesday at 46-1. Faithful Creek has won only one of his six races to date, a maiden event at Epsom, and finished third behind Aidan O’Brien’s John F Kennedy, a leading contender for next season’s Classics, in a Group Three race at Leopardstown last time out.
The absence of Aktabantay is a definite blow to Europe’s challenge for the Juvenile Turf, though the visiting team still field several with chances including O’Brien’s War Envoy and Wet Sail, who represents Charlie Fellowes, who is, like Palmer, another young Newmarket trainer on the rise. Commemorative, whose trainer, Charlie Hills, was a winner in the Juvenile Fillies Turf last year with Chrisellium, is another with a squeak.
The Americans are led by Hootenanny, who is back on home turf after winning the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot and then running second in the Prix Morny at Deauville. He looks the likely favourite, but started his career over four and a half furlongs and has yet to run beyond six, making his stamina for this mile a significant question mark.
Frankie Dettori has been booked to ride Hootenanny and will be able to sit close to the pace from a draw in stall five, but the stamina doubts make him impossible to back at around 7-2. Instead, Imperia (9.25pm) could be the one to back to follow up a Grade Three win at Belmont Park last month.
European stables have at least one runner in three of Friday’s four Breeders’ Cup events but Steve Asmussen’s Untapable (11.35pm) will take all the beating under Rosie Napravnik in the Distaff.
The Juvenile Fillies’ Turf is another race with some depth to the European challenge and Osaila (10.50pm) can give Richard Hannon a Breeders’ Cup winner at the first attempt. Sunset Glow, who was second for Wesley Ward in the Albany Stakes at Ascot in June, sets a good standard but, like Hootenanny, may have a little too much speed for this test.
It is American runners only in the Dirt Mile and it is hard to see past Goldencents (10.05pm), assuming that he gets a fair start, as there is nothing in the field with the speed to trouble him.
