I decided to start one topic for all these races, and write in more detail about the Classic. The event was created as a year-end championship for North American Thoroughbred racing, and also attracts top horses from other parts of the world. In real life it’s just a few days later than in Final Furlong.
Past Breeders’ Cup Classic winners in Final Furlong:
2019 - [color=blue]NCh. Franco Classico, Track: Good Time: 2:02.865 SF: 225. Won two Eclipse Awards that year: 3 Year Old Colt and Classic Horse. Looks like he is stud qualified.
2020 - [color=red]NCh. Best Wishes,Track: Good Time: 1:46.050 SF: 273. Won three 2020 Eclipse Awards: Classic Horse, Horse of the Year, Older Mare. Still a racehorse, but unraced this year. My stallion NCh. Space Chips finished 4th in that race.
I currently have plans for 2 of mine: [color=red]Ch. Towering Clover for the Dirt Mile, and [color=red]Ch. Fractal for the Distaff. Towering Clover won the Mother Goose Stakes this year and placed in the Saratoga Breeders’ Cup. Fractal has won, placed, and showed in 3 GR1 races so far this year (1st in the Acorn Stakes, 2nd in the Go For Wand Stakes, and 3rd in the Travers Stakes).
Provided they both stay on the qualifier list, this will be my first time competing in any of the Breeders’ Cup races, so I’m pretty excited. XD
I usually have a mass lineup for the Juvenile races, but not this year. Tentatively I have about 10 aimed for the BC with most in SC races. Definitely planning for Beratis to run in the BC SC Endurance, Flaming Key in the BC Distaff, Chortle in the BC Mile, Marchioness in the BC Filly/Mare Turf, and Foolish Whispers in the BC Juvenile Turf Fillies. Others had a not-so-great last outing so I’m on the fence and just watching the Qualifier list for now.
I actually have one for the BC this year! So exciting! Gifted Detail he’s won the Del Mar Futurity and the Blue Diamond Stakes both G1 and he placed in the Futurity Stakes yesterday. I was hoping for a better outing for his last run before the BC Juvenile but it’s better than nothing.
Question (I should know this); how exactly are the qualifiers determined? I’m asking because I have a filly, Lioness finalfurlong.org/viewhorse.php?horse=32226 , who I would like to run in the Filly & Mare Turf. She is nominated with 2 stakes wins and a stakes place in the 7-10f turf range. She isn’t qualified yet there are horses who have never won or placed in a stakes qualified. Thoughts?
My filly for the Distaff, Ch. Satin on Steel isn’t on the list either, although she should be 20th I think. Not that I’m expecting to win any of these, anyway but the records of horses that are 1st on the lists seem off too.
I just noticed that there are no SC Breeder’s Cup races in real life, but there is a Juvenile Turf Sprint which isn’t in the game.
The BC qualifiers list is currently really buggy. Some horses are getting 3 or more times the points than they should actually have, and the system isn’t recognizing any updates. I’m pretty sure Shanthi is aware of the issue but hasn’t had time to take care of it yet.
There actually is a Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase (called the G1 Breeders’ Cup Grand National), but it’s always at Far Hills in New Jersey and I THINK it goes off a few weeks before the actual BC. So it’s sort of an unofficial BC race. I’m fine with not having all the RL BC races (I feel there’s too many nowadays. Make it harder again! And not a marathon to watch 2 days of races). That being said, I do miss the RL BC Marathon and would totally welcome it in FF, haha.
I have plans to run a number of horses but it is difficult to decide who to run in which race because of the questionable lists. It is also difficult to decide whether to Supplement any others for the same reason (I supplemented Fuzzy Square for the Juvenile earlier today but he still isn’t showing up on the Qualifiers List - I don’t know if it is because of the “buggy” lists or if it is because none of his wins have been over more than 6 furlongs - or both!!!)
Entries are now open and Juvenile Fillies has seven entries already! Including number 1 qualified Ch. Wild Fool, bred and owned by Darkwood Stables. Juvenile Turf Fillies is starting to look crowded as well. Number 1 on Qualifiers list for this race is Ch. Frau Holle bred and owned by Cricket Hill, but she isn’t entered yet. Looks like we really have many superstar fillies this year; and the only Grand Champion 2yo colt, GCh. Palermo (Cricket Hill), is number 1 for Juvenile Turf - not entered yet but there are three other colts in this race at the moment.
As for real life Juvenile Fillies - here is Cookie Dough being cute at the barn:
Two days later, Juvenile Turf Fillies and Juvenile Fillies are still most crowded (9 horses in both), but now Filly & Mare Turf also has 9 entries, including number 1 qualified Ch. Blackwind (owned by Littlefield). She won this year’s Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup but finished 3rd in her most recent race. There are also 9 horses entered in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, including number 1 qualified GCh. Gett Bold (owned by Starfish Stables).
The most experienced horse at the moment is 6yo NCh. The Voyage Home with 56 lifetime starts. She is entered in Breeders’ Cup SC Distaff. There is also 5yo GCh. Chunky’s Dream with 41 starts entered in Breeders’ Cup Mile, and 5yo GCh. Unbreakable Vow with 42 starts, in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. All three are owned by Starfish Stables.
There are also horses with only two lifetime starts: 4yo Gutsy Sugar in the SC Endurance (owner: Gintara Lodge), 2yo Foolish Phili in Juvenile Turf Fillies and Magic Icon in Juvenile Fillies (both bred and owned by Littlefield).
Last day to enter your horses in a Breeders’ Cup race! The least popular is now SC Distaff Endurance with only two mares entered; number 1 and 3 on qualifiers list are entered in the Breeders’ Cup SC Distaff. SC Sprint has only three horses entered, including number 1 qualified Ch. Star Shine (Littlefield). All five horses entered in these two races are owned by Littlefield and Coleman Branch.
We have 11 horses entered in Juvenile Fillies, including my filly Ch. Wiry Feeling. I also own her dam and a homebred half sister, by Al Mundhir. Wiry Feeling’s achievements so far gave her dam a Reine-de-Course (I) status and a Silver breeding ranking.
There is a documentary series about this year’s Breeders’ Cup challenge, which you can see as Facebook videos: ALL IN: The Road to the Classic.
We have an insane 11 BC entries total, with 5 in the SC races. Our biggest hopefuls are Ch. Beratis (SC Endurance), who has won all 3 of his stakes races this year, Ch. Chortle (Mile) who won the G1 Epsom Derby and hit the board in the other English TC races, Ch. Marchioness (F&M Turf) coming off a 3 month break after running 2nd in the G1 Coronation Stakes, G1 winners Cabaret (Distaff) and Ch. Flaming Key (Distaff), and G2-placed Ch. Unimpeded (SC Distaff). We have just one 2yo entry with Foolish Whispers who will have to tackle a huge field in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, but she’s had almost a 4 month break after running 3rd in the G1 Racing Post Trophy.
We only have 1 entry, Ch. Gifted Detail, he hasn’t been off the board in 4 stakes races this year, all G1. I’m just thankful he prefers dirt so we don’t have to race against Palermo.
Clicker Lab also has two homebred colts entered, Insenso in Juvenile and ¡A ver! in Juvenile Turf. Insenso only won a maiden but he’s always in the money both on dirt and turf. A Ver is actually better than I expected him to be, he won three races including Gr. 3 Graduation Stakes. Seems like he hates dirt. Both are not as good as my filly but they seemed to deserve a chance.
but the records of horses that are 1st on the lists seem off too.