The fields for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships actually start to return into focus in summer time and fall. This common characteristic will supply a snapshot profile of one of many earlier weekend’s standout stars, often a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Problem Collection winner, and whether or not I’m shopping for or promoting their possibilities to win Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar.
Let’s take a more in-depth look this week at Carl Spackler, winner of the $500,000 FanDuel Fourstardave Handicap Aug. 11 at Saratoga Race Course to earn an expenses-paid berth within the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Introduced by PDJF.
Accomplishments: Carl Spackler seemed a bit overmatched in his stakes debut in Might 2023 within the Grade 2 American Turf Stakes Introduced by BMW on the Kentucky Derby Introduced by Woodford Reserve undercard. Since that eighth-place end, he’s emerged as a beast on the turf. No, the colt named after the unforgettable greenskeeper character performed by Invoice Murray in “Caddyshack” is just not destroying sod looking for damaging gophers, as an alternative he’s imposing his will on the turf male division in U.S. Thoroughbred racing.
Carl Spackler has 5 wins in six subsequent begins, all in stakes races, with a 3-for-4 file in 2024 for high turf coach Chad Brown. The 4-year-old Lope de Vega colt made quick work of 5 opponents to win the Fourstardave by 3 ½ lengths and safe the primary Grade 1 win of his profession.
He additionally received a pair of graded stakes final summer time at Saratoga and prepped for the Fourstardave with a half-length win within the Grade 3 Kelso Stakes at Saratoga July 13.
His lone defeat in six tries since that stakes debut within the 2023 American Turf was a fifth-place end on this 12 months’s Belmont Stakes Introduced by NYRA Bets undercard within the Grade 3 Poker Stakes.
Carl Spackler is 5-for-6 at one mile on turf and has victories at that distance at Gulfstream Park, Churchill Downs, and Saratoga.
Most significantly, Carl Spackler has the tactical velocity to trace inside couple of lengths of the tempo and nonetheless end powerfully as evidenced by his remaining quarter-mile in :22.38 within the Kelso and :22.83 within the Fourstardave after racing in second in each races. That kind of ending kick is important to be aggressive within the Breeders’ Cup Mile in opposition to high European invaders, who’ve received 4 straight editions of that race and 5 of the final six.
Velocity Figures: Carl Spackler earned a career-best 114 Equibase Velocity Determine for his Kelso Stakes victory in July and duplicated that quantity within the Fourstardave. His Beyer Velocity Determine for the Fourstardave was a brand new six-point profession high of 104, enhancing upon a 98 he had earned thrice beforehand, most just lately within the aforementioned Kelso.
The profitable Equibase Velocity Determine for the Breeders’ Cup Mile has ranged from a 115 to a 128 within the final 10 editions whereas the Beyer vary has been 101 to 110, so Carl Spackler would almost definitely must take a small-to-moderate step ahead to be a first-rate win candidate.
Wanting Forward: It takes a particular U.S.-based turf miler to finest the Europeans within the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Pacesetters traditionally are at a drawback within the race, however definitely a stalker that pairs tactical velocity with elite ending means, like Carl Spackler, matches the mould. I consider he might want to proceed to enhance – not a ton, however an incremental step ahead – to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile, however he seems like one of the best of the U.S. runners proper now for an elite stateside turf coach.
“I’ve the horse in a superb rhythm now to kind of do what I need with him. You go to a race just like the Breeders’ Cup Mile, I’ve had some success in that race, you actually bought to go in there prepared,” mentioned Brown, who received the Mile in 2019 with the mare Uni. “I don’t know if a protracted layoff could be the correct factor, so I’ll search for a race for him.”
I’m undoubtedly shopping for Carl Spackler for a top-three end within the race, however worldwide stars have proved robust to beat, particularly these from the barn of Charles Appleby, who has received the final three editions of the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
