Splendora's final serious work before the Breeders' Cup reinforced the strategic choice facing Bob Baffert, while a pair of Brad Cox-trained 2-year-old fillies and Sprint contender Built also put finishing touches on their Keeneland preparations Friday at Churchill Downs.
Splendora covered five furlongs in 1:00.60 with retired jockey Joe Talamo aboard, then galloped out six furlongs in 1:13 and seven furlongs in 1:25.40. The 5-year-old mare is pre-entered in both the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff and the $2 million Filly & Mare Sprint, with first preference in the Distaff. Her work was designed for stamina rather than spectacle. Talamo told Paulick Report that the objective was to keep her relaxed early and have her finish strongly, a particularly relevant test if she takes on the Distaff at 1 1/8 miles.
Splendora enters the decision in excellent form. She has won five of six starts this season, including the Grade 2 Shawnee, Molly Pitcher and Locust Grove. Her latest victory came at Churchill on Sept. 12, when she scored the Locust Grove by 5 1/4 lengths. She is also the defending Filly & Mare Sprint champion, giving Baffert a proven fallback if the Distaff spot becomes too demanding or the shorter race offers a more favorable pace scenario.
Built likewise completed his final major drill for the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Sprint, going a half-mile in :48.60 and galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.60 for Wayne Catalano. The 4-year-old has won four of seven starts this year, including consecutive victories in the Grade 2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga and the Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes at Churchill. He defeated Sprint rival Hymn by 2 1/2 lengths in the Vanderbilt before returning home to win the Louisville Thoroughbred Society by 1 1/2 lengths. Catalano described the work as exactly what he wanted from a horse who has consistently delivered, according to the Paulick Report.
Cox's Juvenile Fillies duo, Foxiest and Scarlett Begonia, worked in company over five furlongs in 1:00.80 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.80. Foxiest, owned by LNJ Foxwoods, broke her maiden by 3 3/4 lengths at Churchill on Sept. 27 in her second start. Scarlett Begonia, racing for Hat Creek Racing, Ashview Farm and Upland Flats Racing, has never finished worse than third in three starts and was most recently second to Manuka Honey in the Grade 3 Pocahontas at Churchill.
The work also offered a small but useful read on their temperaments. Cox said Foxiest was more laid-back early, while Scarlett Begonia showed more initiative before both finished strongly and galloped out with purpose. That is encouraging for a 1 1/16-mile championship race, but the trainer's assessment was appropriately measured: both fillies will need career-best efforts in the $2 million Juvenile Fillies. Their progression from maiden and graded-stakes company into a Breeders' Cup field is the central handicapping question, and Friday's strong finish answers part of it without erasing the class risk.
With the Churchill works complete, the emphasis shifts from fitness to placement and pace. Splendora offers elite recent form and a proven Breeders' Cup record, Built brings a pair of graded-stakes wins and tactical versatility into the Sprint, and Cox has two improving fillies whose shared work suggests neither is being sent to Keeneland merely to fill a stall. The final pre-entry decisions should determine which of Friday's polished workouts becomes the most consequential next weekend.