BREEDERS' CUP AWAITS GREATNESS (2024)

Who will be the star of 1994?

It could be Flanders, the exciting, undefeated 2-year-old filly, who would establish herself as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby if she wins the Juvenile Fillies impressively.

It could be Lure, one of the best American grass runners of all time, who will attempt to score an unprecedented third straight victory in the Mile.

It could be Paradise Creek, the winner in eight of nine starts this year, who could stake a claim to the horse of the year title if he wins the Turf.

There is no obvious focus to the 11th Breeders' Cup because the probable horse of the year, Holy Bull, is finished for the season. In his absence, the nominal main event, the $3 million Classic, has no championship implications and isn't a particularly compelling attraction. The morning-line favorite, Tabasco Cat, lost by 17 lengths to Holy Bull in their most recent meeting. Other leading contenders -- Devil His Due, Best Pal and Bertrando -- are in no better form now than they were when they lost last year's Classic to the 133-to-1 French horse Arcangues.

The logical candidate to deliver the most impressive performance of the day is Flanders, who left New Yorkers agog when she won her last start, the Frizette Stakes at Belmont, by 21 lengths. She ran faster than Timber Country (the colt who is favored in the Juvenile) did on the same day, and she appeared to have plenty of energy left in reserve. Flanders will be pushed harder on Saturday -- the field for the Juvenile Fillies is loaded with speed -- but none of her 12 rivals has credentials to beat her.

Neither Lure nor Paradise Creek will have such an easy time beating their respective fields. Although Lure trounced Europe's best horses in the Mile in each of the past two years, he has not been nearly as dominant this season. He may not even be the best U.S. horse in the field; Megan's Interco has been performing brilliantly in California. And the foreign contingent -- led this year by Bigstone, Barathea and Distant View -- figures to be much more effective than it was in past Breeders' Cups. Shug McGaughey, Lure's trainer, observed, "One of the differences this year, from when {the Breeders' Cup} was run at Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, is that the European horses have adapted to the weather much better."

Paradise Creek has displaced Lure as America's top turf horse, beating him in two of three meetings this season. He won his previous start, the Washington, D.C. International at Laurel, in overpowering fashion. Nevertheless, he is untested at the 1 1/2-mile distance; he will be hampered by Post Position 13; and he faces some formidable opponents, notably Hernando, second-place finisher in Europe's premier race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Another intriguing entrant on the Breeders' Cup card is Lochsong, the English filly making her first start on dirt in the Sprint. Although European horses are rarely known for their raw speed, Lochsong was the talk of Churchill Downs Thursday after she worked three furlongs in 33 2/5 seconds. Clocker Kenny Ransom said, "I was in awe." Even so, most Europeans here doubt that Lochsong, a five-furlong specialist, will be able to carry her speed for six.

One of the most competitive races of the day will surely be the Distaff, which has drawn three exceptional fillies: Heavenly Prize, a smashing winner in three straight Grade I Stakes; Hollywood Wildcat, winner of this race last year; and Sky Beauty, winner of all five of her starts in New York.

While it is uncertain who will be the equine star of the day, the human star is almost foreordained: Pat Day. His agent, Fred Aime, boasted that no jockey has ever had so many good mounts on a single card, and he is probably correct. Day rides the two heaviest favorites of the Breeders' Cup, Flanders and Paradise Creek, and his other mounts include Heavenly Prize, Timber Country and Tabasco Cat.