Andrew Wilsher
Show Bio
Future Stars Friday provided a grand opening day to the 2020 Breeders’ Cup, but now focus shifts to the more established stars of the horse racing world with Championship Saturday!
The best horses from around the globe will descend upon Keeneland racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky to try and win some of the most coveted races in the sport. The headline race is without question the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which gets underway at 5.18 p.m ET. I’ll give my thoughts on who will win that huge contest further down.
If you’d like to find out more about the Breeders’ Cup, be sure to check out our guide to the biggest two-day event in US horse racing.
But right now, let’s focus our attention on Championship Saturday. Below are the three horses I most like the look of. Given the odds, it is worth betting on each of them individually, but you can also combine them into a three-horse parlay that pays at a mega +8300 with BetAmerica, or 83/1!
Uni (5/1) – Breeders’ Cup Mile, 3.15 p.m ET (Race 9)
The Chad Brown-trained Uni came out on top in the Breeders’ Cup Mile 12 months ago, and I think she can put in a repeat performance here. The six-year-old is the second-oldest horse in the race, but her old age has had no impact on her ability after she roared home to win the First Lady Stakes over track and trip last month. She also won that race last year prior to her Breeders’ Cup Mile victory.
She’ll break out of gate 11 which should suit her perfectly, and has a turn of foot that I fully expect to propel her to the front when coming up the home straight. Uni has taken exactly the same route to this contest this year as she did in 2019, so Brown has clearly trained her to peak in this race. In fact, that she is still racing as a six-year-old highlights that the entire season has built up to this, and the trainer has to like his chances.
I don’t think this is as strong a race as it was last year, as British raider Kameko has been very inconsistent since winning the 2,000 Guineas back in June. I expect lightning to strike twice and Uni to school her rivals.
Breeders Cup Mile (G1)
🇺🇸 Santa AnitaUni (GB)
(5m More Than Ready – Unaided , by Dansili )
J:Joel Rosario T:Chad C. Brown
B:Haras d'Etreham
O:Head of Plains Partners, LLC, Michael Dubb, Robert V. LaPenta & Bethlehem Stables, LLC pic.twitter.com/20sje4DRR2— WR1 (@WorldRacing1) November 2, 2019
Magical (5/2) – Breeders’ Cup Turf, 4.33 p.m ET (Race 11)
Magical finished a close second to superstar Enable in this race two years ago, and the time looks right for her to go one better this time.
The five-year-old mare represents leading trainer Aidan O’Brien, who has won this race in four of the last 10 years, and she has been in fantastic form across the Atlantic this season. In the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, she defeated Ghaiyyath, the highest-rated horse in the world. Not bad for a mare who was actually retired last year before O’Brien changed his mind.
What really appeals with this pick though is that she will be ridden by Ryan Moore. He is the stable jockey for O’Brien and had the pick of Magical or Mogul, another leading contender. That Moore has chosen to ride Magical speaks volumes, and I expect the mare to repay the rider’s faith.
Tiz The Law (3/1) – Breeders’ Cup Classic, 5.18 p.m ET (Race 12)
It’s the biggest race of the weekend as the Breeders’ Cup Classic acts as your main event of the day, and what a contest it is this year. Five of the 10 contenders have produced incredible efforts at some point this year, and oddsmakers are struggling to separate them.
However, the one that stands out to me, as he has done for many months, is Tiz The Law. The three-year-old was the talk of the nation through his first four starts this year, winning them by a combined total of 16 and a half lengths. Three of those were Grade 1s.
Tiz The Law blitzed the competition in the Belmont Stakes in June and was the odds-on favorite for the Kentucky Derby in September. It wasn’t to be, however, as he was beaten a length and a quarter by Authentic. Although that defeat was a bitter blow, I’m not ready to write Tiz The Law off yet, and I think he deserves another chance.
Authentic reopposes him here, as does Saudi Cup winner Maximum Security and favorite Improbable, who won by four and a half lengths last time. I’m still not sold on Improbable, however, and am willing to back Tiz The Law to bounce back in style.
Pickswise is the home of free expert horse racing picks. Head to our Horse Racing Picks page for today’s picks or to our Breeders’ Cup Picks page for all of our 2020 Breeders’ Cup Picks and coverage.
