Breeder's Cup 2012 Preview

Wise Move - Wise Dan leads the American charge at the Breeder's Cup this weekend.

Regular readers will know I have more than keen interest in American racing so this weekend’s 29th Breeder’s Cup is like Christmas come early for me.

On Friday and Saturday the 2nd and 3rd of November the top horses in North America, and some of the best horses from around the world, will descend on the beautiful Santa Anita Park racetrack in California for the annual thoroughbred World Championships.

Over the years the Breeder’s Cup has given some fantastic, unforgettable and iconic moments and the coverage of this spectacular event really is second to none. This year’s Breeder’s Cup looks set to be another incredible instalment with some of the world’s best race horses set to battle it out round the turns of Santa Anita.

The British & Irish challenge is typically strong but with Longchamp’s Arc meeting and Champions Day so close to the American racing showpiece the transatlantic raiding party is no longer quite what it used to be. Although we have some of our best in this year’s raiding party, 2012 looks to me to be a year where the home team will dominate proceedings.

Breeder’s Cup Classic 2012 Odds

Game On - Breeder's Cup Classic prices are out and Pacific Classic 1-2 Dullahan and Game On Dude are both prominent in the market.

William Hill have become the first bookie to price up the 2012 Breeder’s Cup Classic this afternoon; and they deserve praise for doing so.

The race has lost some of it’s strength this year with so many of this year’s top US three-year-olds already in retirement and the world’s greatest horse Frankel snubbing it; but while The Breeder’s Cup may have lost some of its appeal in some quarters on these shores, especially with the introduction of Champion’s Day, it remains one of the highlights of the season for me and this year’s renewal looks like being a cracking, and open, race.

My fancy for the race has been Game On Dude for quite some time and that hasn’t wavered in spite of his ½ length loss to Dullahan in last weekend’s Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

Last year’s second must have a great chance of gaining compensation for his narrow defeat twelve months ago with the Breeder’s Cup now switched back to his backyard of Santa Anita.

Hills obviously share those sentiments as they have put him in as the 7/1 favourite, with Triple Crown chasing Camelot in just behind at 8/1 – will Ballydoyle risk their star across the Atlantic once the Triple Crown bid is put to bed? You’d have to think they’d fancy their chances in an open year but with or without the added interest of a UK or Irish runner the Breeder’s Cup Classic looks like being another great race.

Breeder’s Cup Classic 2012 – Selected Odds (William Hill):

Game On Dude 7/1

Camelot 8/1

Fort Larned 8/1

Ron The Greek 8/1

Dullahan 10/1

Wise Dan 10/1

Mucho Macho Man 12/1

Alpha 16/1

Imperial Monarch 16/1

Richards Kid 20/1

Flat Out 25/1

To Honor And Serve 25/1