Trainer Chad Brown had been vacillating between the Breeders’ Cup Mile and the Turf for Horse of the Year candidate Bricks and Mortar, and made his decision after the 5-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway put in his final workout on Saturday. After an easy half-mile at Belmont in 49.11 seconds, Brown told drf.com that the 1 1/2-mile Turf would be the best choice for Bricks and Mortar.
“Potentially, post position wouldn’t be quite as important at a mile and a half as a mile, and trip,” Brown said. “Those things matter, but it seems like they’re not as crucial as they are in a quick mile race. Additionally, after running in back-to-back mile-and-a-quarter races cutting him all the way back to a mile, I’m not sure that he’d have the explosiveness now that he would have had before I stretched him out.”
This year Bricks and Mortar is undefeated in five starts, with wins in the G1 Pegasus World Cup, G2 Muniz Memorial, G1 Turf Classic, G1 Manhattan, and G1 Arlington Million. The horse is scheduled to begin his stallion career in Japan in 2020.
Read more at drf.com.
Bricks and Mortar (outside) & Without Parole worked 4F in :49.11 at Belmont Park on October 26th for trainer Chad Brown. Bricks and Mortar will likely start in the @BreedersCup Turf, while Without Parole is likely to start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. #BC19 pic.twitter.com/J8XbNZQWin
— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) October 26, 2019
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