BISCUITS HOPES TO BAKE AT THE BREEDERS’ CUP
The good thing about a biscuit is its versatility. It can serve many culinary needs. You can split one open and throw a pork chop off in there, simply slather it in butter, or spill gravy on it. Any of these or a variety of other combinations will result in a tasty treat. Good news is, no matter what, when that bread bakes something good happens.
Mind Your Biscuits is a talented Thoroughbred that much like his namesake, is normally pretty good all the time. In 24 lifetime starts, this five-year old son of Posse has been in the money an incredible 21 times. Under the watchful eye of trainer and part owner Chad Summers, Biscuits has 8 wins, 10 second place finishes, and 3 thirds. Having run at 9 different tracks in his career including two trips to Dubai, this New York-bred has been right there no matter who’s kitchen he’s cooking in.
“Biscuits has shown up just about every time we have put the saddle on him,” says Summers. “He’s got a ton of heart and brings his lunch pail with him every day. You can’t always describe what “it” is, but he’s an athlete that has “it”. There is just something special about him.”
One of the special things about Mind Your Biscuits has been his versatility. A real race horse with tactical speed, he has been good at different distances. Twice he has won the Golden Shaheen in Dubai at 6 furlongs, emerged victorious in the 7 furlong Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita, and in his last start won the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs at a mile and an eighth. Much like that light and flaky piece of bread, he is good in a lot of different ways.
“This may sound strange, but I have always thought he would be better around two turns,” says Summers. “I know he has beaten some of the best sprinters in the world and people have thought I was crazy for saying it, but I think he can be better at longer distances. The Lukas helped validate those thoughts. The race before he ran a good second in the Whitney at Saratoga which is also a mile and an eighth race.”
The strong showing in the Lukas Classic means it is decision time for Summers and his team. How do you serve up the Biscuits at the upcoming Breeders’ Cup? In each of the past two runnings of these World Thoroughbred Championships, Mind Your Biscuits has run in the Sprint and finished second (2016 Santa Anita) and third (2017 Del Mar). With this year’s Cup being run beneath the fabled twin spires, Summers has options as the Churchill Downs dirt featured his distance score.
“So here is the really exciting thing for us,” says Summers. “We have a horse that is single digit odds in the future wagers of three different Breeders’ Cup races. He could run in the Sprint, the Dirt Mile, or the Classic. We are going to keep working and try and figure out where we think he has the best chance to win. We just want him to be in a fair fight. If a horse gets loose on the lead it is not good for us. We need a contested pace so he can come running at the end.”
The Breeders’ Cup always brings excitement as the best of the best come together in every division. Being a candidate for top honors in three different races is a big deal. But for Summers there is a little something else that makes it better than a bowl of gravy with his Biscuits.
“We grew up at the track with our dad,” says Summers. “Most people just dream of going to the Breeders’ Cup to see the event. Here we are with a horse that we are running in the Cup for the third time and we could have a choice of which race to run in. Talk about a dream come true for our family, this is almost unreal. We’ve got a real competitive horse that loves his job, which is kind of the same as us. It’s a family affair and that makes all this very special.”
The Breeders’ Cup will be run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on November 2 and 3.
Recent Comments