Cutlass Reality’s Options Open : He Is Still Eligible for Mile and Classic in Breeders’ Cup

Cutlass Reality’s owners supplied one of the few surprises at the Breeders’ Cup pre-entry deadline Tuesday when they made their 6-year-old horse eligible for the Mile on the turf as well as the Classic, which is run on dirt.

Only 4 of Cutlass Reality’s 63 races have been on grass, and although he is 1 for 3 on the turf this year, all of his important victories have been on dirt.

Otherwise, owners followed form, putting up $1.2 million as the next-to-last payments to keep 87 horses eligible for the 7-race, $10-million card Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs.

Pre-entry and entry fees cost 2% of the purse a horse is running for, and final payments for the 87--which will total about $1.5 million--are due a week from today, when entries will be drawn for the races at Louisville, Ky.

For owners running in the 5 races worth $1 million apiece, it costs $20,000 to start. The fee is $40,000 for the $2-million Turf and it’s $60,000 for the $3-million Classic. Two horses--Cutlass Reality and Waquoit--weren’t nominated for a $500 fee when they were foaled--and their owners will pay a supplementary fee of $360,000 to run in the Classic.

It would cost Cutlass Reality’s owners $120,000--12% of the purse--to run in the Mile, but a lower supplementary fee was probably not a consideration. It is good to have another option besides the Classic, which with Alysheba, Forty Niner, Waquoit and Seeking the Gold has more talent than any of the other races.

Also, if there’s rain, it’s possible that Cutlass Reality would rather run on soft turf than a muddy main track. The horse hasn’t run a good off-track race in more than 2 years.

Alysheba, who can clinch horse-of-the-year honors with a win in the Classic, lost by a nose in the race last year, and the horse who beat him, Ferdinand, will not be in the field this time. With no wins in 6 tries since last year’s Classic, it was decided not to pre-enter Ferdinand, which in effect served as the 5-year-old’s retirement announcement. He will start a stud career next year at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky.

The loss of Ferdinand deprives Churchill Downs of three returning Kentucky Derby winners, but they will still have two in Alysheba and Winning Colors. Both will be running at Churchill Downs for the first time since their Derby victories. Winning Colors has a tough assignment, going in the Distaff against Personal Ensign, who is 12 for 12 in her career and also a candidate for horse of the year.

There were six horses, besides Cutlass Reality, that were pre-entered for two races. Precisionist is eligible for the Classic and the Sprint, which he won in 1985; Ruhlmann and Afleet can run in either the Sprint or the Mile; Bet Twice, like Cutlass Reality, was named for the Classic and the Mile; Master Christopher has the option of the Mile or the Sprint, and Niccolo Polo is listed for the Mile and the Turf.

Trainer Wayne Lukas pre-entered 12 horses, which would give him 2 fewer starters than the record 14 that he ran last year at Hollywood Park. Lukas, however, will need to spring some surprises to have a big day at Churchill, whereas Shug McGaughey, with six horses, is almost expected to win more than one race.

McGaughey will have three favorites running--Personal Ensign in the Distaff, Easy Goer in the Juvenile and Mining in the Sprint. He will also saddle Personal Flag--Personal Ensign’s brother--and Seeking the Gold in the Classic and may run Fast Play in the Juvenile, although that colt was named mainly as a precaution, should something happen to Easy Goer between now and race day.

Besides Precisionst, three other horses will be trying to win a Breeders’ Cup race for an unprecedented second time--Very Subtle in the Sprint, Epitome in the Distaff and Miesque in the Mile.

Epitome, however, could be doubtful for the Breeders’ Cup after a dull performance at Keeneland Tuesday. She went off at 3-10 odds but lost an early lead and finished second in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race. Stoneleigh’s Hope was a 2-length winner.

The Sprint, with 19 horses pre-entered, and the Mile, with 18, were over-subscribed. A maximum field is 14, so a point system based on high finishes in 1988 races will determine nine of the starters. The five others will be selected by a committee of racing secretaries.

Here are the horses that were pre-entered:

$1-million Juvenile, 2-year-old colts and geldings, 1 1/16 miles (12 horses)--Fast Play, Easy Goer, Leading Prospect, Music Merci, Mountain Ghost, Winners Laugh, Is It True, Double Quick, Dr. Bizarre, Into Bucks, Maharesred, Tagel.

$1-million Juvenile Fillies, 2-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles (12)--Seattle Meteor, Some Romance, Lea Lucinda, Stocks Up, Approved To Fly, One of a Klein, Seaquay, Darby Shuffle, Open Mind, Affirmed Classic, Coax Chelsie, Eloquent Minister.

$1-million Sprint, 3 year-olds and up, 6 furlongs (19)--Gulch, High Brite, Afleet, Very Subtle, Ruhlmann, Olympic Prospect, Sylvan Express, Mining, Ready Jet Go, Claramount, Once Wild, Master Christopher, Mawsuff, Precisionist, Play the King, Calestoga, Exclusive Enough, Synastry, Your No Bargain.

$1-million Distaff, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 1 1/8 miles (9)--Personal Ensign, Goodbye Halo, Winning Colors, Willa on the Move, Classic Crown, Integra, Sham Say, Hail a Cab, Epitome.

$1-million Mile, 3-year-olds and up, 1 mile on turf (18)--Cutlass Reality, Steinlen, Posen, Bet Twice, Afleet, Simply Majestic, Ruhlmann, Short Sleeves, Mill Native, Mohamed Abdu, Master Christopher, Niccolo Polo, Blushing John, Carewent, Media Starguest, Miesque, Ravinella, Warning.

$2-million Turf--3-year-olds and up, 1 1/2 miles on turf (13)--Sunshine Forever, Great Communicator, Milesius, El Senor, Infamy, Frankly Perfect, Niccolo Polo, Undercut, Fijar Tango, Indian Skimmer, Saint Andrews, Sarhoob, Triptych.

$3-million Classic, 3-year-olds and up, 1 miles (11)--Alysheba, Forty Niner, Seeking the Gold, Personal Flag, Cutlass Reality, Waquoit, Cryptoclearance, Bet Twice, Lively One, Slew City Slew, Precisionist.