2008 Breeders' Cup Classic
| Breeders' Cup Classic | |
| Location | Santa Anita Park |
|---|---|
| Date | October 25, 2008 |
| Winning horse | Raven's Pass |
| Jockey | Lanfranco Dettori |
| Trainer | John Gosden |
| Owner | Princess Haya of Jordan and Darley Stable |
| Conditions | Fast |
| Surface | Synthetic dirt |
| Attendance | 51,331 |
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The 2008 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 25th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2008 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on October 25, 2008 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California over a synthetic dirt surface.
Defending Horse of the Year Curlin was the odds-on favourite after winning several major races including the Dubai World Cup. However, he did not handle the track well and finished fourth, behind the American-bred but English-trained longshot Raven's Pass.
The Classic is run on dirt at one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m) with a purse of $5,000,000. It is run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights:
Curlin won the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic on his way to Horse of the Year honors and started his 2008 campaign by taking the Dubai World Cup, followed by wins in Stephen Foster, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup. His only loss in 2008 came in his first attempt on the turf in the Man o' War Stakes, at a time when his owner was considering an attempt at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Despite his excellent form throughout the year, Curlin had never raced on a synthetic dirt surface and was only entered in the race after a successful workout on October 14.
The field for the Classic was weakened when Big Brown, winner of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Haskell, was retired shortly before entries were taken due to injury. That left Colonel John, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, as the leading three-year-old contender from North America in the race.
In part because of the synthetic dirt surface, a large European contingent shipped to California for the Breeders' Cup events, including three entries in the Classic. With five Group I wins, Duke of Marmalade was the most highly regarded by the North American bettors at odds of over 9-1, followed by Raven's Pass at over 13-1. Henrythenavigator had defeated Raven's Pass in three of their four meetings, all at a mile, but was largely dismissed at 19-1 in the U.S. In England though, his odds were as short as 4-1. Raven's Pass had been regularly ridden by Jimmy Fortune in his European races but Fortune gave up the mount for the Breeders' Cup after incurring a suspension which prevented him riding for 11 days before the race. After discussing the ride with trainer Gosden, Fortune stepped down and Frankie Dettori took over.
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