The Breeder's Cup
It will be a late night for the Sporting Index racing traders on Saturday 7th November, as the curtain closes on the 2009 flat season with the Breeders' Cup from Santa Anita. Goldikova is one of the star attractions of this year's event and bids to become the first horse since Lure in 1993 to win back-to-back runnings of the Breeders' Cup Mile. Followers of her on the spreads will be hoping her trainer Freddy Head can mastermind an astonishing double-double, as he also posted a famous double as a jockey in this race, on board star filly Miesque in 1988. Those spread bettors following the flying French filly will encouraged to know that French trained horses have won three of the last seven runnings of the Mile. Meanwhile, Delegator and Zacinto are bidding to become the first British trained winners of this race since Barathea landed the spoils for Luca Cumani in 1994.
Three favourites have won in the last ten runnings of the Mile, the shortest of those being at 2/1. Six winners have been priced at 5/1 or shorter, which will please sellers of SP's on the spreads. Buyers meanwhile can take heart from the fact that two out of those ten winners were sent off at odds of 25/1 or greater. One of those outsiders, Miesque's Approval, won by a stunning four lengths, with which a replication would obviously be great news for those buying Sporting Index's winning distance spread, but the 10-year average is just a length.
Godolphin seemingly hold a big chance in the Breeders' Cup Marathon in the form of St. Leger winner Mastery. The distance of the race has just been extended to one and three quarter miles, and was won by 10/1 outsider Muhannak last year in its inaugural running. Spread bettors buying Sporting Index's total winning distance market should bear in mind that last year's winning margin was only a head. Henry Cecil isn't well known as a Breeders' Cup raider, but he sends over Father Time for this stamina test. Owner Prince Kahlid Abdullah has a strong team at this year's Breeders Cup and last tasted success with Ventura in the 2008 Filly and Mare Sprint.
The Breeders' Cup Sprint has a longer history, and may feature Jeremy Noseda's star filly Fleeting Spirit. Horse racing spread betting enthusiasts may know that Bob Baffert holds the trainers' record of three wins in the six furlong sprint, and saddles this year's likely favourite in Zensational. He is the first three-year-old to win three consecutive Grade One races against older horses, but only six three-year-olds have won the Sprint since its inception 25 years ago.
Midnight Lute in 2007 was the only winning favourite in the last five races - two of which were surprisingly won by four lengths or more. Punters selling the winning distance market on the spreads will like the fact that eight races have been decided by a neck or less, and that the first winner, Eillo, only just held on to win by a nose in 1984.
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