Vicki Gibbins is out at Del Mar as the Trackside Live team go global and she's providing an update from the backstretch all week.
“I’ve come to visit the bear.”
The Sporting Life have kindly given me the gig of on-the-spot reporter for the week with the express instruction to keep this Euro-centric, so my first job was to roam through the American stable lines in search of the weird and the wonderful.
First on the list: Breeders’ Cup Distaff hopeful Dorth Vader and her teddy bear.
Say what you will, but I’m fully engaged with a mare’s bid for Breeders’ Cup glory if she needs to bring her two-foot-high teddy bear, who sits at the back of the stable like an oversized furry cheerleader.
“He’s called Ewok.”
Of course he is.
Five doors down, former Breeders Cup Classic hero White Abarrio relaxes with his goat Brownie.
“It’s the first time we’ve brought a goat to the Breeders Cup,” his lad explains.
“The boss [Saffie Joseph, trainer] decided to put them together in early August – they’re pretty close friends and a help to each other.”
The Jockey Club social media team would have a field day with this.
There will be people reading – hardened, experienced punters – who think they aren’t affected by a mare with a teddy bear or a six-year-old with a companion goat.
But next time they have a few pounds left or need a horse to complete their exacta: they’ll remember. It’s human nature and good for the game.
To my knowledge, Minnie Hauk doesn’t have a teddy bear but Aidan O’Brien is a nice man – if she asked, I’m sure she would be allowed.
It would have been an unsettled night for the O’Brien barn in the aftermath of the post-position draw, which left Gstaad and Precise in the widest stall for the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf and the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Christophe Soumillon will be the man in charge aboard both.
“He has a long flight and a lot of time to think about the whole thing!” joked O’Brien.
“Draws are draws, you don’t know whether they’re going to be good or bad. That’s the way it goes.
“It's so competitive, there are so many variables you can't control. The draw is one of them. It's a tough place to have winners.
“I haven’t spoken to him [Soumillon] yet. Gstaad has been a very unlucky horse. He was a horse we had two or three Group 1s pencilled down for and none of them went his way.
“Christophe is going to need all of his experience, strength and brilliance.”
The draw drama would have passed Minnie Hauk by, given her perfectly adequate starting position of stall eight for the Breeders Cup Turf.
She steps onto the Californian dirt with the grace of a ballerina, dwarfed by some of her younger compatriots in the extended O’Brien battalion, but with the self-assured air of a Champion Three-Year-Old Filly elect.
“Minnie came out of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe well,” added O’Brien.
“She seems in good form, she has lost a bit of weight travelling over – it’ll be interesting. We always felt that Del Mar could suit her: a mile-and-a-half, fast ground. All the aspects look like they could fall into place.”
It’s always nice to see a familiar face when you’re a long way from home and Rishi Persad shows no signs of jetlag as he beams hello.
Adrian Murray is equally buoyant, turning away from watching Bucanero Fuerte and Valiant Force having their first spin round the Del Mar turns.
The County Westmeath-based trainer may have flown under the radar in the excitement of post-position draws, Californian sun and companion goats but he holds strong claims in the Turf Sprint with Arizona Blaze and Bucanero Fuerte, first and third in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes for owners Amo Racing.
“It’s unbelievable to have three very exciting horses,” smiled Murray.
“They look great, they’re fresh and well. They’ve come over, eating and drinking - I couldn’t be happier.
“I’m delighted to be here, everything is going well.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Free bets
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.