Owner: T N T Stud (Gonzalo Torrealba) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Breeder: Haras Bage Do Sul
Trainer: Bobby Frankel (63-3-8-7 Breeders’ Cup, 12-0-2-0 Mile)
Regular Jockey: John Velazquez (47-6-4-4 Breeders’ Cup, 7-1-0-1 Mile)

Career Highlights:

• The world’s hottest horse coming into the Breeders’ Cup, rattling off eight straight wins dating back to his career debut loss Jan. 7, 2004.
• Grade 1 winner of Woodbine’s $1 million Atto Mile, Santa Anita’s Kilroe Handicap and Hollywood Park’s Citation Handicap.
• Unbeaten in three starts this year, winning graded stakes in California, New York and Canada.
• Burst onto the scene in 2004 by winning five of six starts, capping the year with the Grade 1 Citation at the Hollywood Autumn Turf Festival.

In the Genes:

• Son of the great Brazilian stallion Candy Stripes, whose best known to American racing fans for producing multiple Grade 1 winner Different, third-place finisher in the 1996 Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
• Sire, Candy Stripes, was a listed stakes winner in France and runner-up in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas.
• Dam, Dissemble, is an unraced British-bred mare who is half-sister to Hasili, the brilliant broodmare who produced such G1 winners as Banks Hill and Dansili. Banks Hill won the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf in 2001 and was runner-up in 2002.
• Dam, Dissemble, also has produced G1 and G3 winners in Brazil, in addition to Leroidesanimoux.

Best Case For:

• His name in French means “King of the Animals” and so far he’s been all that. He has a very quick cruising speed and can take the race to his rivals from the opening bell and still kick on in the final furlong. Not bad for a horse whose first career win came from 16 lengths off the pace going a mile at Santa Anita.  

Biggest Knock Against:

• When you’re 8-for-9 lifetime, it’s nit-picking to find flaw. But Leroidesanimaux’s multiple layoffs from what trainer Bobby Frankel has called “little problems” do raise some questions. He’s raced in March, August and September this year after not debuting until age four.

Bet You Didn’t Know:

• The only wire-to-wire Breeders’ Cup Mile winner in history was Lure in 1992.

Owner: Timber Bay Farm and Mrs. Thomas Walsh
Breeder: Haras du Mezeray S.A.
Trainer: Jimmy Jerkens (1-0-0-0 Breeders’ Cup, 1-0-0-0 Mile)
Regular Jockey: Richard Migliore (12-0-0-1 Breeders’ Cup, 2-0-0-0 Mile)

Career Highlights:

• The beaten favorite in the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Mile, Artie Schiller returns in hopes of improving on a disappointing 12^th-place effort a year ago.
• After winning 5 of 8 starts a year ago, he’s had a more compact, 5-race campaign in 2005.
• Won the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch at Saratoga and Grade 2 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland earlier this year. Stretched out to 10 furlongs and ran a bang-up third by a half-length in the Grade 1 Manhattan on Belmont Stakes Day.
• Won 2 of 5 starts in his rookie season in 2003, including runner-up in the Pilgrim Stakes.

In the Genes:

• Fabulously bred horse with G1 winners top and bottom.
• Sire, El Prado, was Ireland’s Champion 2-Year-Old of 1991. Best known for producing multiple G1-winning millionaire Medaglia d’Oro (runner-up in 2002 and ’03 BC Classic) and leading ’04 BC Turf contender Kitten’s Joy.
• Dam, Hidden Light, won 6 of 12 starts ($414,900), including the 1986 G1 Santa Anita Oaks, G1 Hollywood Oaks and G2 Del Mar Oaks. Hidden Light is full-sister to G1 San Juan Capistrano winner Prince True.
• Dam, Hidden Light, has produced 11 foals of racing age with only Artie Schiller becoming a stakes winner. Daughter Speed To Burn finished third in the G2 Astarita in a 1-for-10 career.
• Grand dam, Tallahto, was a 3-time G1 winner of the Oak Tree Invitational, Vanita and Santa Barbara.

Best Case For:

• He had a disastrous trip at Lone Star in the ’04 Mile, steadying sharply on both turns, and returns to a course we know he relishes. Colt set the Belmont Park turf course record for 1-1/8 miles (1:45.50) last year and has a history of other big efforts on Long Island. If he can avoid traffic woes early, he has great tactical speed to iron out a trip that leaves no excuses.

Biggest Knock Against:

• The mile most often is won by true milers, and Artie Schiller is a classic “tweener” – a horse whose best trip is an in-between distance of the Mile and Turf (between one mile and a mile-and-one-half). He’s shown very good form at eight furlongs – and was smashing at Keeneland over this distance in the spring – but must beat the world’s best at their best game in the Mile.

Bet You Didn’t Know:

• Artie Schiller has been favored in each of his last 10 starts, which have been contested over six different courses.

Owner: Gary Tanaka of London, England
Breeder: Azienda Agricola
Trainer: Michael Jarvis (0-0-0-0 Breeders’ Cup, 0-0-0-0 Mile)
Regular Jockey: Philip Robinson (1-0-0-0 Breeders’ Cup, 1-0-0-0 Mile)

Career Highlights:

• Temperamental six-year-old has been performing at the highest European levels since 2002, the season he won the Group 1 Italian Derby.
• Amazingly has won at least one Group 1 race each of the past four seasons: 2002 Italian Derby, 2003 Champion Stakes, 2004 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince of Wales’s, 2005 Lockinge.
• 2005 has been his first season as a true European miler, winning the Lockinge but finishing a tiring fourth in his Queen Elizabeth II title defense in his most recent start.
• World traveler has traveled to the Far East for the Hong Kong Cup and Japan’s Mile Championship. Will be making his first trip to America.

In the Genes:

• Sire, Polish Precedent, is a son of Danzig who earned more than $500,000 in seven victories.
• Sire, Polish Precedent, won the 1989 G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois as a three-year-old in France. As a sire, has also produced top Turf candidate Polish Summer, winner of the G2 Dubai Sheema Classic in March.
• Dam, Ragera, lost all 3 career starts in Italy and is a daughter of Rainbow Quest. Third foal out of Ragera and her only stakes winner to date.

Best Case For:

• Rakti has American-like speed and European-like class over the turf, a strong combination. He’ll have to be supplemented to the Mile, so if he shows up, he’s well meant. Trainer Mike Jarvis has been solid shipping horses to New York in the past several years, but has yet to bring one for the Breeders’ Cup.

Biggest Knock Against:

• Rakti has a history of ill-tempered behavior and was visibly washed out once again prior to the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Sept. 24 at Newmarket. It remains to be seen what a big crowd, long trip and hubbub of a US paddock and post parade may do to this veteran. His form looks a touch below last year, but still very formidable. Will he get out of the gate, a problem spot at times?

Bet You Didn’t Know:

• Last year Rakti was cut to 4-to-1 odds and BC Mile favoritism by English bookmaker William Hill immediately following his Queen Elizabeth II Stakes win, but bypassed the trip to Lone Star.

Owner: Little Red Feather Racing (Billy Koch et al)
Breeder: Disler Farms Ltd.
Trainer: Don Chatlos (1-1-0-0 Breeders’ Cup, 1-1-0-0 Mile)
Regular Jockey: David Flores (19-3-2-1 Breeders’ Cup, 4-1-1-0 Mile)

Career Highlights:

• Upset a stellar 2004 BC Mile field that included defending champion Six Perfections, setting afire one of the most raucous winners’ circle celebrations in Breeders’ Cup history.
• Five-year-old has gone through a well-mapped campaign in 2005 to get back to the Mile, including a victory in the Grade 2 Arcadia Handicap at Santa Anita.
• Top-quality stakes runner each of the past four seasons, finishing second to eventual millionaire Peace Rules in the 2002 Hill Rise Stakes, a precursor of future success; won the Grade 3 La Jolla as a sophomore at Del Mar in 2003; and then rose to world prominence in 2004.

In the Genes:

• Sire, Sultry Song, finished 14^th in the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Mile and came back a year later to run 5^th in the Classic.
• Sire, Sultry Song, won 9 of 23 starts for $1.6 million. He was a top miler at 3, winning the G2 Jamaica over the Belmont grass and then rose to handicap star prominence at 4, taking the G1 Hollywood Gold Cup, Woodward and Whitney.
• As a stallion, Sultry Song best known for producing the likes of G2 winner Prime Timber and BC Mile winner Singletary.
• Dam, Joiski’s Star, never raced. She’s produced 5 foals with Singletary her first stakes winner.

Best Case For:

• Won the 2004 Mile in his second race off of a layoff, and trainer Chatlos has mapped out a similar path this fall. After taking August and September off, he was given the same prep as last year – the Oak Tree BC Mile – three weeks before the big dance. He beat an outstanding group at Lone Star, so the proof is in the pudding.

Biggest Knock Against:

• The defending champ has been hot and cold in 2005, although trainer Don Chatlos accepted the blame for the horse returning out of shape this spring. He’s never raced at Belmont and the one-turn configuration of the Mile trip there will be his first one-turn race since his career debut in a downhill Santa Anita turn sprint in October of 2002.

Bet You Didn’t Know:

• Jockey David Flores has won with his past two Breeders’ Cup mounts, 2003 Juvenile winner Action This Day and 2004 Mile champ Singletary.

Owner: The Australian Syndicate (Paul Makin)
Breeder: G. J. Chittick
Trainer: Luca Cumani (10-1-0-2 Breeders’ Cup, 4-1-0-0 Mile)
Regular Jockey: Christophe Lemaire (0-0-0-0 Breeders’ Cup, 0-0-0-0 Mile)

Career Highlights:

• Group 1 winner on two continents – Europe and Australia.
• Found his best stride after a two-month break in September when winning the G1 Prix du Moulin at Longchamp and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II at Newmarket, beating the likes of Rakti and Dubawi.
• His European experience began with a solid third-place run in the Group 1 Queen Anne in June behind Valixir and Rakti. Disappointed when sixth in Oratorio’s G1 Coral-Eclipse win, but was found to have a stress fracture of his pelvis after the race.
• Moved from trainer Gary Newman’s stable in Australia to Luca Cumani’s Newmarket base in February.
• Winner of the 2004 Australian Derby, he finished third in the prestigious Group 1 Cox Plate to wrap up his 2004 campaign down under.

In the Genes:

• Sire, Soviet Star is a son of Nureyev, and was a top European sprinter in the late 1980s, winning the six-furlong G1 July Cup and the one-mile G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.
• As a stallion, Soviet Star has produced millionaire grass runner Volochine as well as 1995 Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up Freedom Cry.
• New Zealand-bred dam Flying Floozie has produced three foals, including Starcraft and three-time Group 1 runner-up mare Forum Floozie.

Best Case For:

• Starcraft is a strapping, bullish racehorse who seems to have been his own worst enemy at times with his demeanor. But he’s put it together in fine style and appears to have come to his peak under Cumani’s watchful eye. He’s succeeded at longer distances and isn’t made up like a quick-burst horse, yet has that ability despite a long stride. His time in the Prix du Moulin was the second-fastest in the last decade. Trainer Cumani won the ’94 Mile with Barathea. The Classic would be a tall order, though his owner claims Starcraft travels better on dirt, and said he only wished Ghostzapper had not retired so he could test his champion.

Biggest Knock Against:

• Starcraft suffered a stress fracture to his pelvis in July, which explained his poor effort in the Coral-Eclipse. The two-month break probably did him some good, witnessed by subsequent rousing scores in two European showcases. But how much did those two races take out of him, and how much will be left after an intercontinental journey? Certainly more questions abound with a flyer in the Classic over the Mile.

Bet You Didn’t Know:

• The only New Zealand-bred starter in Breeders’ Cup history was Tangent, eighth in the inaugural Sprint of 1984.

Owner: Juddmonte Farms (Khalid Abdullah) of Saudi Arabia.
Breeder: Juddmonte Farms
Trainer: Bobby Frankel (63-3-8-7 Breeders' Cup, 12-0-2-0 BC Mile)
Regular Jockey: Patrick Valenzuela (46-7-0-3 Breeders' Cup, 6-1-0-0 BC Mile)

Career Highlights:

• Scored by a nose in the Grade 2 Del Mar Breeders' Cup on Sept. 4 for his first US stakes win, but followed up with a dull off-the-board effort in Keeneland's Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile.
• His US debut was a strong third to Mile favorite Leroidesanimaux in the Grade Citation Handicap last November.
• Trained by Roger Charlton in England for the first five starts of his career before coming stateside in the fall of 2004.
• One of Europe's top two-year-olds of 2003, placing in Group 1 races like the Middle Park, Phoenix and Dewhurst, crossing the line first in the Middle Park but disqualified to third for interference.

In the Genes:

• Sire,Dieses, was England's Champion 2-Year-Old Colt in 1982, winning the Group 1 Dewhurst and Middle Park.
• Sire, Dieses, produced 1999 Mile third-place finisher Docksider and US graded stakes winner Magistretti.
• Dam, Skiable, is a half-sister to the great broodmare Hasili, dam of Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Banks Hill, as well as Grade 1 winners Dansili, Heat Haze and Intercontinental.

Best Case For:

• He matched up well with stablemate Leroidesanimaux last fall, and trainer Bobby Frankel wants to send him to the Mile for Juddmonte Farms against the stable star. He kicked home a final quarter-mile at Del Mar this summer in the neighborhood of :22-2/5, which is serious racehorse time if he fires his best shot.

Biggest Knock Against:

• Even though he's an ex-European runner, Three Valleys always has run his best races on firm turf courses. His effort in the Shadwell Mile boosted that point, and his best English races were on good-to-firm going. He'll need it firmer in New York, and that's going to be difficult given the amount of rain in early October.

Bet You Didn't Know:

• Three Valleys could become the fifth European import to move his racing career to the US and then go on to win the Mile. Opening Verse, Steinlen, Val Royal and Silic all have scored the Mile for American trainers after beginning their careers overseas.

Owner: Cheveley Park Farm (David and Patricia Thompson) of Newmarket, England
Breeder: Cheveley Park Stud
Trainer: H. Graham Motion (3-1-1-0 Breeders' Cup, 0-0-0-0 BC Mile)
Regular Jockey: Edgar Prado (41-0-4-4 Breeders' Cup, 4-0-0-0 BC Mile)

Career Highlights:

• Six-year-old European important has found American racing to be fruitful in 2005, winning each of his three starts stateside.
• Announced his presence as a leading Mile contender when he rallied up the rail to win the Oct. 2 Grade 2 Kelso by a head over Artie Schiller and Australian sprint star Keep The Faith.
• Returned from a 10-month layoff to win his U.S. debut in July at Delaware Park and then scored a restricted stakes win at Saratoga.
• Rather undistinguished career overseas, winning a listed stakes and being Group 3-placed at Newmarket.

In the Genes:

• Sire, Singspiel, was one of the most versatile runners of the 1990s, winning the 1997 Dubai World Cup on dirt, while adding such prestigious grass races as the Japan Cup, Canadian International and Juddmonte International. He finished second in the 1996 Breeders' Cup Turf to Pilsudski.
• Sire, Singspiel (half-brother to the great stallion Rahy) is best known for producing fellow Dubai World Cup winner Moon Ballad. He had sired no less than 14 stakes winners worldwide through late August, tops in 2005 for a British-based stallion.
• Dam, Red Carnival (by Mr. Prospector) was a Group 3 stakes winner at Newmarket as a two-year-old. Grand dam is Seaside Attraction, winner of the Kentucky Oaks.
• Dam, Red Carnival, is half-sister to the likes of Capetown and full-sister to Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Golden Attraction and Cape Canaveral.

Best Case For:

• He's been a new horse since coming to trainer Graham Motion's stable in America, and Motion showed in last year's Breeders' Cup grass races what he's capable of – Better Talk Now won the turf and Film Maker finished second in the Filly & Mare Turf. The Kelso was run in a fast time 1:32-4/5 and he beat New York's top miler Artie Schiller, so that merits instant respect.

Biggest Knock Against:

• He received a perfect set-up in the Kelso, as the front-runners scorched through six furlongs in 1:08-2/5 and the rail opened up in the stretch for his final surge. Plus, it's hard to ignore how overmatched he was in Europe and how he'll stack up against the Mile's raiders.

Bet You Didn't Know:

• Funfair has faced fields of 30 -- yes, 30 -- or more twice in his career in Europe, including a 32-horse melee in Ascot's 2003 Royal Hunt Cup, where he finished eighth as the post-time favorite.

Owner: Dogwood Stable (Cot Campbell, mgr.) of Aiken, S.C. et al
Breeder: Cheryl Curtin
Trainer: Todd Pletcher (16-2-1-1 Breeders' Cup, 1-0-0-0 BC Mile)
Regular Jockey: John Velazquez (47-6-4-4 Breeders' Cup, 7-1-0-1 BC Mile)

Career Highlights:

• Four-year-old $1 million earner has been in the spotlight since his juvenile season of 2002, competing in such races as the Hopeful, Kentucky Derby, Hollywood Gold Cup and Whitney.
• Fourth-place finisher to Smarty Jones in the 2004 Kentucky Derby, highlighting a season which saw him win the Tampa Bay Derby and finish third in the Blue Grass.
• Up-and-down 2005 campaign, winning 2 of 9 starts including the Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap.
• Made his turf debut with a fourth-place effort in the Grade 1 Kelso Handicap on Oct. 2.

In the Genes:

• Sire, Grand Slam, won the Grade 1 Champagne at 2, Grade 2 Peter Pan at 3 and was runner-up in the 1998 BC Sprint that sophomore season.
• From the 2^nd crop of Grand Slam runners, a hot young sire that has already produced G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Cajun Beat, G2 Jim Dandy winner and G1 Travers 3^rd-place finisher Strong Hope and G3 Pennsylvania Derby winner Grand Hombre.
• Dam, Dixieland Blues, raced just once and this is her only stakes winner produced to date.
• Grand dam is G2 Sorority Stakes winner Blue Jean Baby ($259K), part of D. Wayne Lukas' 4-pronged favored entry in the 1987 BC Juvenile Fillies – she finished 11^th.

Best Case For:

• He's one of the most battle-tested runners in the game today, having faced the likes of Smarty Jones, The Cliff's Edge, Saratoga County, Badge of Silver, Eddington, Borrego and Saint Liam. There will be absolutely no class questions when it comes to Limehouse.

Biggest Knock Against:

• Simply put, he's not a turf horse. With only one career grass start, it's hard to evaluate his Mile chances when stacked up against the best of the best. He's probably better at nine furlongs on dirt than any other distance, but he's a horse without a race on Breeders' Cup Day and his connections are hoping the Mile is a fit.

Bet You Didn't Know:

• War Chant became the first and only Breeders' Cup Mile winner in history to have previously raced in the Kentucky Derby. Notable Derby alumni to fail and make the grass transition in this race have included Bet Twice, Arazi, Peace Rules, Balto Star and Favorite Trick.

Owner: Richard Strauss of Dallas, Texas
Breeder: Flaxman Holdings
Trainer: Robert Collet (4-1-0-0 Breeders' Cup, 2-1-0-0 Mile)
Regular Jockey: Christophe Soumillon (2-0-0-0 Breeders' Cup, 1-0-0-0 Mile)

Career Highlights:

• Group 1 winner at ages two (Prix Morny at Deauville), three (Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville) and again this year at four (Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville).
• Millionaire runner has been inconsistent, winning six of 18 starts, but finished off-the-board no less than eight times – including a fourth-place run in the 2005 Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longhamp behind Starcraft.
• Returns for his second Breeders' Cup Mile attempt, finishing 10^th here a year ago after chasing the pace at 7-to-1 odds to complete his three-year-old season.
• Defeated older horses, including 2003 Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Six Perfections, in the Aug. 15 G1 Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville.

In the Genes:

• Half-sister to now-retired European superstar filly Divine Proportions, certain to be Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2005 after earning honors as a two-year-old in '04.
• Sire, Miesque's Son, is one of the world's best-bred stallions, by Mr. Prospector out of the brilliant Breeders' Cup Mile winner Miesque. Miesque's Son is full brother to Kingmambo and a half to East of the Moon.
• As a stallion, Miesque's Son is best known for producing multiple graded stakes-winning turf performer Miesque's Approval and Whipper.
• Dam, Myth to Reality, was a four-time listed French stakes winner and G3-placed.

Best Case For:

• European-based three-year-olds historically have underachieved in the Breeders' Cup Mile, so last year's effort probably should be crossed out by handicappers. Whipper remains inconsistent, but on his best day ranks among the world's best milers. His second-place effort in this summer's Marois at Longchamp was a world-class effort behind Dubawi, defeating the likes of Valixir and his previously unbeaten half-sister Divine Proportions.

Biggest Knock Against:

• Beyond the inconsistencies in his form, Whipper races best when he can be up close chasing the early pacesetters. And while that's fine in Europe when the opening half-miles are walked, you can expect the Mile's opening splits to be in the range of :22-and-change and high :45s or :46. If he tracks close to such fractions, there will be nothing left as was the case in 2004 at Lone Star.

Bet You Didn't Know:

• Whipper sold for a measly $4,000 at the 2001 Keeneland November Sale as a weanling.

Owner: The Aga Khan of Chantilly, France
Breeder: N.N.C. Lagardere Elevage
Trainer: Andre Fabre (36-3-4-7 Breeders' Cup, 5-0-1-1 BC Mile)
Regular Jockey: Christophe Soumillon (2-0-0-0 Breeders' Cup, 1-0-0-0 BC Mile)

Career Highlights:

• French raider sits just under the $1 million in career earnings.
• Identical records in 2004 and 2005 (6: 3-0-2), but this year captured back-to-back Group 1 races in the Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp and the Queen Anne at York.
• 2003 season highlighted by a victory in the Group 2 Prix Niel, where he defeated eventual Arc de Triomphe hero Bago.
• Won 2 of 3 starts in 2003 to open his career.

In the Genes:

• Dam, Vadlamixa (by Linamix), is a half-sister to 2001 Breeders' Cup Mile winner Val Royal.
• Sire, Trempolino, was the 1987 Arc de Triomphe winner and runner-up in the 1987 Breeders' Cup Turf.
• As a stallion, Trempolino, best known for producing European middle-distance runners and for being an outstanding dam sire.
• 5^th foal out of dam, Vadlamixa, who was a French miler.

Best Case For:

• In the money in 13 of 15 starts, Valixir has finished off the board just twice in his career, last year's 12-furlong Arc de Triomphe (10^th) and his fifth-place finish last time out in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp as the odds-on favorite. His running lines are littered with the best of the best from Europe: Bago, Ouija Board, Cacique, Rakti, Starcraft, Dubawi, Divine Proportions et al.

Biggest Knock Against:

• Trainer Andre Fabre said after Valixir's poor showing the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp effort that the colt was visibly tired from a six-race campaign dating back to April and a gut-wrenching race in the Prix Jacques le Marois in August. Will the eight weeks between starts be enough to recharge his battery? He's one who morning gallops at Belmont will tell a lot about.

Bet You Didn't Know:

• The rider for Valixir's Group 1 debut in the 2004 Prix Lupin at Longchamp was none other than Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, who was riding in France at the time.

Owner: Mrs. John Magnier of London
Breeder: Calumet Farm
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien (30-3-5-4 Breeders' Cup, 5-0-2-1 BC Mile)
Regular Jockey: Kieren Fallon (10-2-1-2 Breeders' Cup, 1-0-0-0 BC Mile)

Career Highlights:

• One of Europe's top two-year-olds of 2004, he was a perfect 3-for-3 last year including a win in the six-furlong Grade 1 Middle Park Stakes.
• Winless in 4 starts in 2005, but was runner-up to superstar Sharmardal in the Group 1 St. James's Palace, and third to top miler Proclamation in the Group 1 Sussex.
• Broke slowly and never factored in the Grade 1 Shadwell Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 8, his U.S. debut.

In the Genes:

• Sire, Danzig, won all three starts in an injury shortened career in New York.
• Sire, Danzig, made his mark as a prodigious stallion, producing the likes of champion mare Dance Smartly, champion sprinter Dayjur and inaugural Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Chief's Crown.
• Dam, Classy Women (by Relaunch), was a Grade 3 winner and third-place finisher in the Grade 1 Test sprinting. She has produced 10 foals of racing age, with Ad Valorem who lone stakes winner.

Best Case For:

• His runner-up finish in the one-mile St. James's Palace is a race hard to ignore. He had been away for eight months and finished between multiple Group 1 winners Sharmardal and Oratorio after closing from last. Trainer Aidan O'Brien just missed the Mile last year with Antonius Pius, a horse who looked nowhere close to the talent level of Ad Valorem.   

Biggest Knock Against:

• He simply walked out of the gate in the Shadwell Mile and never got into the mix. Ad Valorem has led races in Europe and closed from last in others, so it would appear he has more speed if he can get in tune with the U.S. break – but that's been a problem for many O'Brien trainees in Breeders' Cups past.

Bet You Didn't Know:

• Ad Valorem debuted in a 23-horse maiden race Sept. 5, 2004 at the Curragh and won by more than three lengths sprinting six furlongs.