This weekend’s Breeders’ Cup sees Claiborne’s fingerprints all over it with Claiborne connected horses running in eight different races, including new Claiborne stallion SILVER STATE in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1).
| Horse | Race | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Sumter | Juvenile Turf Sprint | By War Front, Raised at Claiborne |
| Tarabi | Juvenile Fillies | By First Samurai |
| Grafton Street | Juvenile Turf | By War Front |
| Bombard | Turf Sprint | By War Front, Raised at Claiborne |
| Silver State | Dirt Mile | 2022 Claiborne Stallion |
| Dogtag | Filly and Mare Turf | By War Front |
| Following Sea | Sprint | By Runhappy |
| Art Collector | Classic | Raised at Claiborne |
SILVER STATE comes into the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile after a season that has seen him win four of six starts – including part of a six-race win streak that started last October. He has proven to be one of the best dirt milers in the country with a win in this year’s stallion-making Metropolitan Handicap (G1) against the likes of Grade 1 winners Knicks Go and Lexitonian.
WAR FRONT has four runners entered in this year’s Breeders’ Cup with two runners on each day. That group kicks off in the first Breeders’ Cup race of the weekend when Sumter lines up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2).
The Bass Stables homebred has a pair of seconds to his name including one at Del Mar and will become the second WAR FRONT son to run in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. WAR FRONT also has Grafton Street running in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), the final race of Friday’s card. That Mark Casse trainee was second in the Summer Stakes (G1) two starts ago before breaking his maiden at Woodbine last month.
Grafton Street is out of a three-quarter sister to Liscanna, whose WAR FRONT son Hit It A Bomb won this race in 2015. Liscanna is also the dam of WAR FRONT’s European champion Brave Anna.
WAR FRONT’s Bombard is entered in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) after a third in the FanDuel Turf Sprint Stakes (G3) at Kentucky Downs last out. Owned by a group that includes Dell Hancock and Adele B. Dilschneider, Bombard has made three starts in 2021 with those also including a Daytona Stakes (G3) win two starts ago.
His other runner on Saturday is the multiple stakes winner Dogtag in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1). Dogtag has been a consistent runner throughout 2021 with four seconds and a third in her five starts this year – with three at Grade 2 and one at Grade 1 level.
The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) is all about FIRST SAMURAI, who is represented by Tarabi. Breaking her maiden by 5 ½ lengths on debut, Tarabi returned in September to finish second in the Spinaway Stakes (G1). The field also includes Alcibiades Stakes (G1) winner Juju’s Map, who is out of FLATTER daughter and Claiborne-bred Nagambie.
RUNHAPPY wasn’t a stranger to the Breeders’ Cup during his racing career with a Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) win under his belt and this year his son Following Sea tries to follow in his footsteps. The Spendthrift-bred 3-year-old has proven to be a versatile runner with placings in both the Haskell Stakes (G1) and H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) this year. Racing against his elders in the Vosburgh Stakes (G2) in October, the colt stamped his ticket to California with a 4 ¾ length win.
Claiborne isn’t only known for its stallions but its talent at raising racehorses and Claiborne-raised ART COLLECTOR has proven that over the past three seasons. The 4-year-old rose to new heights this year with a win in the Woodward Stakes (G1) in October against a tough field as his final prep before running in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).