Notebook

Azeri's gamble doesn't pay off in Classic

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) -- Maybe Azeri should've run in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, not the Classic.

Handlers of the 2002 Horse of the Year opted this week to take on the boys in the Classic, hoping to get another Horse of the Year award and collect a chunk of the $4 million purse. She finished fifth, raising questions of whether she would have been better off in the $2 million Distaff, where she would've been the favorite.

Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day said Azeri overcame some early trouble and still had a shot at making a move -- but couldn't.

"When they took off at the three-eighths pole, she wasn't able to track them down," he said. "It was a good effort. There was no disgrace."

He's right, as Azeri finished ahead of Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone (seventh) and last year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide (10th).

"I thought she ran well," trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. "We took our shot, she ran hard and beat a lot of them."

Azeri fell to 0-for-2 against boys. She was eighth in the Met Mile at Belmont Park.

Fillies are 0-for-3 in the 21-year history of the Classic.

The folks behind Distaff winner Ashado were split about beating an Azeri-less field. Co-owner Jack Wolf and trainer Todd Pletcher were among those glad not to have faced their top challenger.

"We can all go home and speculate whether we would have beat Azeri or Azeri would have beat us," Pletcher said. "Who cares, you know? We got the trophy and we will worry about that kind of stuff later. We still get the same check."

Co-owner Johns Martin said beating Azeri "would have been very special," while another co-owner, Paul Saylor, said: "Our horse is a superstar, but how far off the charts would she have been if we had won this one with Azeri in?"

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TRAINING DAY:@ Several of America's top trainers struggled Saturday at the Breeders' Cup.

Bobby Frankel was 0-for-5 until Ghostzapper won the final event, the $4 million Classic. It was Frankel's first victory in the Cup's richest race after saddling the beaten favorite the last three years.

"I got beat on five horses today and I'm thinking, 'Well, that's another Breeders' Cup day. I hate this thing. I'm not coming back anymore,"' Frankel said, laughing.

The Hall of Famer is 3-for-63 in the event's 21-year history. He was 0-for-8 last year at Santa Anita, when four of his horses were favored, including Medaglia d'Oro, who finished second in the Classic.

Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas was 0-for-3 Saturday. He holds the record for most career starters (143) and more than $18 million in earnings.

Nick Zito lost with both of his starters, including seventh-place Birdstone in the Classic.

Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien went 0-for-5, with his best finish provided by second-place Antonius Pius in the Mile. O'Brien's record is 3-for-30 in the Cup.

Bob Baffert lost with his only starter -- Roman Ruler finished fifth in the Juvenile.

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BUSY JOCKEYS:@ John Velazquez, Edgar Prado and Corey Nakatani rode in all eight Breeders' Cup races and Velazquez went home the only multiple winner among jockeys.

Velazquez won aboard Ashado in the Distaff and Speightstown in the Sprint. He also had three second-place finishes, making him the frontrunner for the Shoemaker Award given to the top jockey of the event. It will be awarded Sunday.

Nakatani went 1-for-8, winning on Sweet Catomine in the Juvenile Fillies.

Prado's best finish was third place, done twice. He's 0-for-41 in Breeders' Cup races for his career.

Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, a Dallas native, had a frustrating day in six races. He finished second three times and third twice. He was last in the Filly & Mare Turf with his other mount.

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TWO THUMBS UP:@ The biggest winner Saturday might've been the track.

Lone Star Park received rave reviews from all sides for how it handled the Breeders' Cup. It was the ninth track to host the event and, at 7 years old, was easily the newest. Because Texas isn't exactly a hotbed for racing, many of the top stables had never raced here, so there were many concerns, especially with the surface.

"I thought the whole event gave off an aura of good will and good time," Breeders' Cup president D.G. Van Clief said. "It was a terrific sports event. ... I see no see reason why Lone Star wouldn't be considered another host venue."

Track president Corey Johnson was especially pleased with how his maintenance crew handled a surprise thunderstorm that hit around 11 p.m. Friday.

"For the most part, we can't complain," jockey John Velazquez said. "The track was safe. We all came back in one piece. The horses seemed to all come back in one piece. It was a very successful day."

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SPORTING CONNECTIONS:@ Horses with connections to other sports had a mixed day at the Breeders' Cup.

Singletary, named for Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary, scored a huge upset in the $1.5 million Mile, paying $35 to win.

Speightstown won the $1 million Sprint for owner Eugene Melynk, who also owns the NHL's Ottawa Senators.

Sis City, co-owned by New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, was fourth in the $1 million Juvenile Fillies after briefly leading at the top of the stretch.

Champali, named for boxing great Muhammad Ali, finished seventh in the $1 million Sprint.