Harold Queen's 4-year-old Florida homebred colt Big Drama breezed five furlongs in 1:02 1/5 Sunday morning at Calder Casino & Race Course for trainer David Fawkes as the winner of more than $1.5 million is kept on edge for his next start while being targeted for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) to be run on Sat., Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs.
The workout was the first for Big Drama since he finished a game second in the $250,000 A.G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G2) at Saratoga on Aug. 8 as his connections consider options for his Breeders' Cup prep, including the $350,000 Vosburgh Stakes (G1) going six furlongs at Belmont Park on Oct. 2.
Two years ago, Big Drama was in the midst of his sweep of the three ‘open' divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes series. The son of Montbrook obviously likes racing and training over the Calder track where he has won his last six starts after a third-place career debut. Prior to the A.G. Vanderbilt this summer, he won the $65,000 Ponche Handicap and $350,000 Smile Sprint Handicap (G2).
Fawkes has another 4-year-old colt that that could go in a Breeders' Cup race at Churchill on Nov. 6 in Duke of Mischief, a 2 ¼ lengths winner of the $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Handicap (G3) at Monmouth Park last Saturday (Aug. 21). He finished fourth at Calder in his only start as a 2-year-old and a 12-length allowance victory here the next spring led to his first stakes victory in the $250,000 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows.
Duke of Mischief has won six of 15 career starts for earnings of over $900,000 for a partnership of JoAnn and Alex Lieblong, breeder Marilyn McMaster and Fawkes Racing. Earlier this season the chestnut son of Graeme Hall won the ‘off-the-turf' Ft. Lauderdale Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park in January and the $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) in early April.
Fawkes has indicated he will point Duke of Mischief to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) with a possible tune-up in the $300,000 Monmouth Cup Stakes (G2), formerly known as the Meadowlands Cup, on Oct. 9 at Monmouth Park, where he has been stabled all summer. Fawkes has done well this summer with his full stable at Calder and a smaller string at Monmouth.
If Duke of Mischief makes it to the gate for the Dirt Mile, his rivals may include another Calder connection in Quantum Racing Team #1's 5-year-old gelding Mambo Meister, who finished sixth in the A.G. Vanderbilt in his last start for trainer Phil Gleaves in a race that went wrong from the start when he was bumped and raced far too close to the early pace for his style.
Gleaves left Mambo Meister at Saratoga to train for his next start and has posted two workouts there since then as his connections consider options for his next start. The trainer has indicated they include the $250,000 Forego Handicap (G1) going seven furlongs over the track on Sept. 4 and the $250,000 Presque Isle Mile (G3) on Sept. 10 run over the Tapeta artificial surface at the track near Erie, Pa.
Mambo Meister finished a good fifth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) last fall at Santa Anita run on the Pro-Ride artificial surface, beaten only two lengths for it all after encountering traffic trouble in the stretch. The son of King Cugat won the Spend a Buck Handicap (G3) here on Festival of the Sun day last year to earn a guaranteed berth in the Breeders' Cup Mile and could do the same this year, although he may already have earned a sufficient number of points to qualify if the field overfills.
The highly-versatile Mambo Meister made his three starts prior to the A.G. Vanderbilt, winning the $100,000 Miami Mile Handicap (G3) on turf in late April and the $100,000 Memorial Day Handicap (G3) on the main track, both run around two turns, and ran very well to finish second behind Big Drama in the Smile Sprint on Summit day prior to shipping to Saratoga.
The potential Calder-connected Breeders' Cup team grew by at least one on Saturday after Jacks or Better Farm's homebred 2-year-old filly Awesome Feather extended her unbeaten record to four-for-four winning the $100,000 Susan's Girl Division of the Florida Stallion Stakes by four lengths.
Jacks or Better owner Fred Brei said afterwards that a good effort by the filly in the $375,000 My Dear Girl Division finale of the FSS series going 1 1/16 miles here on Festival day, Sat., Oct. 16 would earn her a chance in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) three weeks later on Fri., Nov. 5
Calder connections have done well in Breeders' Cup events run at Churchill Downs in the past, most recently the last run there in 2006 when trainer Marty Wolfson sent out Live Oak Plantation's turf star Miesque's Approval to capture the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) to seal an Eclipse Award campaign.
Two-year-old fillies developed at Calder finished third and fourth in the 1998 Juvenile Fillies and another was second in the 2000 editions at Churchill Downs. Barry Schwartz' Three Ring and W.E. Johnston's Extended Applause finished third and fourth, respectively, in 1998 behind Silverbulletday for trainers Eddie Plesa, Jr. and Manny Azpurua.
In 2000, M375 Thoroughbreds' Platinum Tiara finished a game second in the Juvenile Fillies for trainer Joe Waunsch, beaten only a half-length by 47-to-1 longshot Caressing. A roan/gray daughter of Cozzene, Platinum Tiara made the first four starts of her career at Calder, winning three, and had a rough trip finishing fifth in the Alcibiades Stakes (G2) at Keeneland before her good try at Churchill.