Horses Coming From Across the Pond Have Fallen Short : Breeders’ Cup: English horses have made dismal showings.

The British are coming, the British are coming. This has frequently been the cry in the Breeders’ Cup, but it has largely been a study in frustration for them. Riders such as Jose Santos and Ray Sibille, rather than Paul Revere, are now getting there ahead of the British.

Oh, Pebbles, that stout-swilling filly, won a Breeders’ Cup race once, at Aqueduct in 1985, but Santos beat Dancing Brave, England’s 1-2 favorite, with Manila at Santa Anita in 1986, and Sibille rode Great Communicator to victory last year at Churchill Downs, where Indian Skimmer, at 6-5, finished third. And the crowning blow to Britain’s hopes came in 1987 and 1988, when that French filly, Miesque, beat two of their highly regarded milers in the Breeders’ Cup.

These demoralizing losses have made the English understandably gun-shy as they go into the sixth Breeders’ Cup Saturday at Gulfstream Park, even though they have Zilzal, an undefeated 3-year-old colt, running as the favorite in the Turf Mile. In the other grass race, the 1 1/2-mile Turf, the British are running three horses, the best of which is Ile de Chypre.

“With the sole, unforgettable exception of Pebbles . . . the British record at the (Breeders’ Cup) meeting has been a catalogue of flops,” English reporter Greg Wood wrote. “Dancing Brave, Indian Skimmer and Warning have all failed to live up to their hype, to the poorly disguised glee of the Americans.”

Warning, now a 4-year-old, was a 19-10 favorite when he finished ahead of only one horse at Churchill Downs last year, as Miesque won the Mile for the second consecutive year.

Trainer Guy Harwood has Warning entered in the Mile again Saturday, but the presence of Zilzal, Warning’s poor recent form and the colt’s unsettling trip here compromise his victory chances severely. In fact, there was a good chance Wednesday that Warning would be scratched, but after looking at the horse after his release from quarantine Thursday, Harwood said he would not make a decision until today.

Harwood was not happy with the pilot who flew seven horses from England into Miami International Airport Tuesday.

“He revved up the engines just as they were landing,” he said. “He must have thought he was flying a passenger plane instead of a load of horses.”

Warning was jolted, and his legs wound up going over the front of his stall. With little balance, he badly skinned his right foreleg, which was bruised and swollen. The injury improved Thursday and the lameness was gone.

Harwood is running Ile de Chypre, another 4-year-old colt, in the Turf. Ile de Chypre, who has two wins, three seconds and a third in his last six starts, lost a race under mysterious circumstances last year at Royal Ascot. With the lead about 100 yards from home, he suddenly veered to the left and threw his jockey, Greville Starkey.

Tony Clark, who rode Ile de Chypre to victory in the Juddmonte International, a major 1 5/16-mile race in England in late August, has the mount Saturday.

In testimony this week in London, a car dealer was said to have used an ultrasonic gun, which looked like a pair of binoculars, to send a high-pitched sound from the grandstand, causing Ile de Chypre to duck in and unseat Starkey. Betting on the race was alleged to have been part of a million-dollar scheme to launder drug money at racetracks.

Thursday, Harwood was reluctant to discuss the strange Royal Ascot race, because it is not relevant to the Breeders’ Cup. He did say, however, that Starkey couldn’t explain Ile de Chypre’s behavior, and a post-race examination of the horse showed nothing physically wrong.

Harwood epitomizes Britain’s failures in the Breeders’ Cup. Besides Dancing Brave and Warning, he has started three other horses in the rich races, and that trio’s best finish has been a fifth.

“We’re on a learning curve as far as the Breeders’ Cup is concerned,” Harwood said. “What I’ve learned, for one thing, is to bring horses over here closer to the race. In Florida, for instance, there was no hurry to get them here, because they’re going to be subjected to enough heat as it is.”

When the English horses left home, the temperature was in the 50s, but when they arrived in Miami, it was a humid 80 degrees.

“Timing has everything to do with winning a Breeders’ Cup race,” Harwood said. “Miesque was at the height of her game both times here. One of the differences between our racing and the American game is that the horses here run faster earlier. A lot of times, the first two quarter-miles will be run faster than the last two. Our horses lose a lot of the races here coming out of the gate.”

Harwood thought Warning did badly at Churchill Downs because of the soft turf. “That was terrible ground,” Harwood said. “It was diabolical.”

Zilzal, trained by Michael Stoute, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the Mile, but he has these negatives to overcome--the heat, an outside post position (No. 10 in a 13-horse field), a grass course with no banked turns, and a tendency to lather up before his races, even in temperate weather.

Stoute has had seven Breeders’ Cup starters, with only a pair of thirds to show for his efforts.

“Yes, this horse washes out, but I take no notice of it,” Stoute said of Zilzal. “He’s just a free-sweating horse, and it hasn’t affected his races. Rather than say he’s sweating, I’d like to say that he’s just leaking. I know the atmosphere will be electric, and we’ve got the humidity, too. And our horse has only trained, but never run, on a course with left-handed turns. So there are a lot of things against him, but we’re still going to give it a go.”

None of the European trainers are mentioning it, but their horses usually run without medication, which is banned over there but partially legal in Florida, where analgesics and diuretics are permitted.

The English press might be apologetic about the way their horses run here, but they wear their medication policy on their sleeves. “Many of the American horses,” Wood wrote, “will have enough drugs coursing through their veins to arouse the attention of the Miami Vice, a situation that casts a cheapening light on what should be a glorious celebration of racing.”

Horse Racing Notes

Robyn Dancer, 20-1 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, will run for new owners Saturday, and there’s been a trainer switch from Jerry Robb to Darrell Vienna. . . . Only three jockeys--Laffit Pincay, Angel Cordero and Gary Stevens--will have mounts in all seven Breeders’ Cup races. . . . France’s Lashkari paid $108.80 to win in the 1984 Breeders’ Cup Turf, which is still a record mutuel for the series.

The favorite has won only one of the five races in the Mile and the Sprint. Favorites have won all but one of the five Distaffs. Favorites have won twice each in the Classic, the Turf, the Juvenile and the Juvenile Fillies. . . . There was no rain Thursday, and after a 30% chance of showers today, the forecast for Saturday is partly cloudy, with temperatures in the mid-80s.

Zilzal will be ridden by Walter Swinburn. . . . Michael Stoute, Zilzal’s trainer, said he would like to switch post positions with trainer Wayne Lukas, whose Steinlen is No. 2. Steinlen finished second to Miesque last year. . . . Pat Eddery, who won with Pebbles, has the mount on Warning. . . . Steve Cauthen, who has a commitment to ride in England Saturday, was supposed to ride Green Line Express in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, but now the assignment goes to Craig Perret. Cauthen is winless in seven Breeders’ Cup races.