LOS ANGELES - The year of the three-year-olds! Four of the top five contenders of the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic are youngins. Lead by California Chrome and Shared Belief, the Classic is full of young talent, making the race very unpredictable. None of these horses have the experience of last year's winner Mucho Macho Man. In fact, no three-year-old has won the BC Classic since 2008 -- Raven' Pass. It will be Shared Belief's race to lose. The undefeated colt will be the morning line favorite, who's riding a seven-race winning streak .
1. California Chrome trained by Art Sherman- The Art Sherman-trained three-year old, who recently came out of a long vacation from his Triple-Crown campaign, is coming off a horrible start in the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 20, finishing sixth place. Before getting fourth in the Belmont Stakes, Chrome finished in first place in six consecutive starts. Chrome leads all thoroughbreds in 2014, earning $3,532,650. If Chrome gets back to his form like he was in his Triple Crown campaign, he could very well upset Shared Belief.
California Chrome worked five furlongs On Oct. 25 in :59.60 Saturday at Los Alamitos. Sherman will ship Chrome to Santa Anita on Sunday, Oct. 26.
2. Shared Belief trained by Jerry Hollendorfer – Owned by CBS' Jim Rome, Shared Beliefe takes his unbeaten streak to the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita. In his most recent race, Jockey Mike Smith rode Shared Belief to a come-from-behind victory at the G1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 27 as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge – A win and you're in race. Shared Belief, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, has a lifetime record of 7-0. Shared Belief will be the morning line favorite. SB ran six furlongs on Oct. 21 in 1:14 2/5 on Golden Gate Fields' Tapeta racing surface. Post Position No. 6
3. Bayern trained by Bob Baffert- After finishing ninth in the 2014 Preakness Stakes, the three-year-old Bayern has won three of his last four races. In his last race at the Pennsylvania Derby, Bayern took down Derby and Preakness champion California Chrome. He should be the second choice of the Classic behind Shared Belief. Having the Classic in his home-base track at Santa Anita will be an advantage.
4. Tonalist trained by Christophe Clement - Known for beating California Chrome in the third leg of the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, Tonalist, owned by Robert Evans, earned a spot in the Classic after winning the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes on Sept. 27 at Belmont Park. Tonalist has never been outside of the top 3 in his last four graded stakes races. The three-year-old has yet to race in the West Coast.
5. Zivo trained by Chad Brown- CBSLA's sleeper of the 2014 BC Classic is Zivo, who is currently 25/1 according to gohorsebetting.com. Zivo is coming off a second place finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes behind winner Tonalist at Belmont Park. Unlike all the favorites, Zivo has a ton of experience. In his 17 starts, the five year-old has won nine times, including six-straight wins and a G2 win.
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