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Jockey Club Gold Cup Runs on Saturday

Author: Clint Goodman
Published: Friday September 27, 2019
Code of Honor and others will be running in Belmont Park's feature race of the fall meet, the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) on Saturday. The race will help determine the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). 

Code of Honor's Big Season

Code of Honor, the winner of the Travers Stakes (G1), will be coming into the race on Saturday as one of the best 3-year-olds of the season. The Travers Stakes was his third stakes win of the season. He won the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park, and then he went on the win the Dwyer Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park. 

He is now competing for the 3-Year-Old Horse of the Year honors, and he has a good shot at taking it, especially if he can pull off this win against older horses. With a win on Saturday, Code of Honor, the son of Noble Mission, will have a good shot at the Classic. 

Whichever horse wins the Jockey Gold Cup Stakes on Saturday will automatically be awarded a spot in the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park in the fall. The fees for pre-entry and entry will be paid, and there will be a nominator award of $10,000 that will be given to the nominating individual. 

Any Breeders' Cup starters that are based out of California will be granted a travel allowance. It will be $10,000 for those based in North America and $40,000 for the ones based internationally. 

The Entire Field

The entire field for the Jockey Gold Cup Stakes consists of Tacitus, Code of Honor, Vino Rosso, Preservationist, and Olympic Village. 

Tacitus has been out of the winning circle since April. He was able to take the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, and he was listed as one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby (G1). In that race, he got tripped up and finished third. 

As the favorite in the Belmont Stakes (G1), he finished as the runner-up, and that was also the case in both the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) and the Travers Stakes (G1). 

Vino Rosso was a scratch for the Woodward Stakes (G1), so he's hoping to make a strong return. He has run well at this distance before, taking the Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes (G1). He went on to finish third in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles. 

Preservationist has had a strong season. The 6-year-old has won four out of six of his starts. One of those victories was the Suburban Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park, and he then went on to win the Woodward Stakes (G1). He finished fourth in the Whitney Stakes (G1). 

The last horse in the field, Olympic Village, was tagged for $75,000 after he won by seven furlongs at Saratoga. Last November at Laurel Park, he took an allowance/optional race. 

"Win and You're In" Events

The Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes is one of the seven Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" events that will take place at Santa Anita Park and Belmont Park this weekend. Other races include the Chandelier Stakes, the American Pharoah Stakes, the Awesome Again Stakes, the Rodeo Drive Stakes, and the Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita Park. 

These Breeders' Cup Challenge Series "Win and You're In" events will keep running next week. There will be 16 more events, starting at Keeneland on Friday, which will be the opening day at the Lexington track.