Lone Star Rising as Breeders’ Cup Nears

Two weeks from today, the Breeders’ Cup will be run for the first time at Lone Star Park, the Dallas-area track that has never had a Grade I race before.

On Oct. 30, Lone Star will have eight Grade I races -- worth $14 million -- on the same day. Lone Star, which opened in 1997 and was bought by Santa Anita’s Frank Stronach for $99 million in 2002, has been described as a Santa Anita in miniature, as far as its racing surfaces are concerned.

The one-mile main track, which consisted of a reddish-looking dirt early on, is now a combination of silt, sand and organic fibers. Much of the time, horses don’t come from far back to win there. The grass on the turf course is short as Santa Anita’s is, with sharp turns, and will not favor European horses accustomed to softer going. The main-track stretch is 930 feet, slightly longer than Santa Anita, which at 900 feet is the shortest stretch ever used for a Breeders’ Cup.

Temperatures in Dallas the next 10 days are expected to range from highs in the 80s to lows in the 50s. On the average, Dallas gets 3 1/2 inches of rain in October. Heat is supposed to concern Europeans, but last year at Santa Anita, where it was 99 degrees, Six Perfections and Islington won two of the three grass races, and High Chaparral missed a complete across-the-ocean sweep when he finished in a dead heat for the victory with the Santa Anita-based Johar in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Here’s a look at what to expect at Lone Star:

* Classic. Pleasantly Perfect, the winner last year, is back, with his trainer, Richard Mandella, attempting a repeat off a 68-day layoff. Ghostzapper will probably go off the second betting choice. The field is expected to include Roses In May, Birdstone, Funny Cide, Perfect Drift, Dynever, Newfoundland, Bowman’s Band, Fantasticat, Freefourinternet, Domestic Dispute and Personal Rush, a 3-year-old who has beaten older horses in Japan. Azeri’s owner, Michael Paulson, will decide between the Classic and the Distaff for his mare.

* Distaff. Azeri won this race in 2002, en route to a horse-of-the-year title, and belongs here rather than in the Classic. Without Azeri, the big money would flow to Storm Flag Flying, Society Selection and Ashado.

* Juvenile. Rebuttal, U.S.-owned and English-trained, is expected to be pre-entered on Monday, when preliminary payments are due to keep horses eligible. Johannesburg (2001) and Arazi (1991) crossed the Atlantic, ran on dirt for the first time, and won. This is not a particularly inspiring group. The mild favorite could be Roman Ruler, who has been known to heat up before a race.

* Juvenile Fillies. Sweet Catomine, winner of the Oak Leaf at Santa Anita, could be the start of a big day for trainer Julio Canani, who’s loaded for the Mile. The challengers include Sense Of Style, Ready’s Gal, Balletto and Sharp Lisa, who will be ridden by Frankie Dettori.

* Sprint. Cajun Beat won last year but has gone downhill since. With Pico Central sitting this one out, Speightstown and Midas Eyes move up. Steve Asmussen, who has won at a clip of almost 25% with his Lone Star string in the last six years, may run Lady Tak, a filly, and Cuvee.

* Turf. If the Europeans’ five-year hold on this race is to be broken, the spoiler is likely to be Kitten’s Joy, a 3-year-old. His job gets tougher if Ouija Board, winner of the English and Irish Oaks and third-place finisher in the Arc de Triomphe, runs in this race instead of the Filly and Mare Turf.

* Mile. Canani, who has won this race twice, will bring Special Ring and Blackdoun from California. Corals, the British bookmaking concern, has made Six Perfections the 4-1 favorite to win the race a second time. Nothing To Lose, who has won at Saratoga and Keeneland in his last two starts, is peaking at the right time. France’s Cacique will be dangerous if he runs.

* Filly and Mare Turf. Because of Lone Star’s configuration, this becomes a 1 3/8 -mile race, around three turns and an eighth of a mile shorter than the three previous runnings. Ouija Board may opt for the 1 1/2 -mile Turf. Light Jig, at Santa Anita, and Crimson Palace, at Arlington Park, are at the top of the division with Grade I victories. Kentucky-based Team Valor announced Friday that Super Brand, a South African-bred with two U.S. starts, would be supplemented into the race at a cost of $200,000.