BC Hangover

- It's the morning after, and the Breeders Cup is not sitting well. Not at all. And it's not because I prominently mentioned three double digit winners in my final recaps, yet didn't manage to put them together in a winning way (not having the Pick 3 with Street Sense-Ouija Board-Thor's Echo was an inexcusable mistake on my part). Let's start with these reasons:

- A mixed bag at best by ESPN, which showed little in the way of innovation, and no post parades until the Classic (as well as a disappointingly inconsistent Breeders Cup debut by Trevor Denman.) C'mon man, isn't that something that a degenerate like Randy Moss would point out to the producers? It's just basic stuff!!

- A poor day for our U.S.-based stars, most notably Bernardini, but also Henny Hughes, Lava Man, and Gorella; as well as for Cacique and English Channel, those two considered to be the top American-based grass horses (the latter perhaps the victim of his own trainer's misguided and unnecessary decision to start a rabbit in the race). And speaking of Todd Pletcher, not a very good day for him either.

- A main track with a golden rail that may have skewed the results and sent hours of handicapping down the drain. All four of the dirt races prior to the Classic were won by the '1' horse.

- And, of course, the grisly death of Pine Island. The headline of the story on the front page of the Sunday Times sports section (buried far below the story of the all-important third game of the Knicks' season) reads Death Overshadow Upset of Bernardini in the Breeders Cup. There's your coverage of racing's second biggest day in the Paper of Record. And you'll be glad to know that columnist William C. Rhoden was on the scene and will most assuredly be checking in with his thoughts in tomorrow's paper.

Let's start with Bernardini for now. The way I was brought up to learn the game, there's never any disgrace in a top three-year old losing to a top older horse. In fact, at scale weights, you come to expect it. And yes, all props go to Nick Mordin - Invasor is an exceptional older horse. Affirmed lost no luster in his Triple Crown year when defeated by the four-year old Seattle Slew in the 1978 Marlboro Cup (he actually conceded Slew one pound on scale). Despite being beaten as the 1-2 favorite, he still won Horse of the Year. The next year, Spectacular Bid fell short against the four-year old Affirmed. Alysheba couldn't handle the older Ferdinand in the 1987 Classic.

But each of those defeated sophomores returned to establish (or re-establish) themselves as superstars at four; Alysheba never lost to Ferdinand again. Great horses do lose after all; Secretariat was hardly undefeated. For Bernardini, this was a whole new experience, having to actually exert himself. He must have been like "Whoa! Who are these guys? You mean I have to try?"

And it was a new experience for his jockey Castellano as well. Given the horrific spill that he took just two races earlier, it's hard for me to really get on his case too much for his ride, though the question of whether he moved too soon will haunt him for some time. But he rode the horse the way he was used to riding him; in the same fashion for the most part that produced his scintillating wins. Though with far more urging, Bernardini and Castellano basically ran the same race, disposing of the leaders on the turn and opening up a lead. If Castellano was a bit overconfident, can you really blame him?

I'm sure the rider wouldn't make the same mistake again, and that Bernardini would give Invasor all he could handle if they met again next year. But will they have the chance? It's doubtful that either will be on the track anymore; we'll likely only be able to speculate. But perhaps Bernardini's loss will change Sheikh Maktoum's mind, at least about him.

- Kiaran McLaughlin had expressed dismay at the illness that caused Invasor to miss the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but after the Classic he remarked, “There were 5 million reasons to miss. We just proved that....We won today, so it was great that we missed (the Gold Cup).” Oh man, talk about setting a sour precedent. Could be that whoever wins those Breeders Cup Challenges next year will move immediately to the sidelines to await Monmouth. We can probably expect some short fields in any October or late-September preps.

If Invasor had run in the Gold Cup, I think it's now fair to say that he could have, if not would have beaten Bernardini that day. I wonder what the Classic would have looked like if that had happened. Perhaps Discreet Cat would have run, and considering that he beat Invasor when he was barely a three-year old, I suppose he would have won. That's assuming a lot, but let's do it anyway and say: Great move to leave an Eclipse Award on the table, eh? How many times will Godolphin Guy Rick Mettee be asked about that in the run-up to Discreet Cat's scheduled appearance in the Cigar Mile? How anticlimactic and bizarre will that race be at the Chapter 11 Big A?

- Seven other races besides the Classic to discuss, and a lot more about the latter as well. Fortunately, as opposed to the mainstream press, which just cannot effectively deal with eight championship races in one day, we have all week, so we'll try and grind through them all.