BY BROCK SHERIDAN
DEL MAR, CA—Third in the Grade 3 Ack Ack last race behind winner Three Technique and runner-up Tumbarumba, Florida-bred Cagliostro has the confidence of trainer Cherie DeVaux when he faces those two rivals again Saturday in the Grade 1 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. A full-gate of 14 are entered in the $1 million contest for 3-year-olds and older.
Two starts back, Cagliostro finished fourth after a poor start in the Grade 1 Forego won by Mullikin going seven furlongs at Saratoga Race Course followed by the one-mile Ack Ack at Churchill Downs on Sept. 28.
“His last two starts are not really a fair representation of how he’s doing,” DeVaux said. “In the Forego, he basically fell on his face coming out of the gate and really lost all chance at that point but still came with a nice run.
“And in the Ack Ack, it was on a sealed sloppy track which he didn’t like. And now I’m looking at the forecast and there is a 60 percent chance of rain [for Saturday in the San Diego area]. So right now I’m just hoping it doesn’t rain. And if it does, it just puts some moisture in the track and not sealed because he just didn’t seem to have an affinity for that.”
His best races came earlier this year when he won two of his first three starts including the $279,000 Hanshin going a mile at Churchill in June and a first condition allowance at a mile-and-a-sixteenth at Keeneland in April. DeVaux said she was particularly pleased to see him start his 4-year-old campaign so well after not living up to his potential last year.
“He tries everytime—especially this year. Last year was bit frustrating with him because he had a lot more to give in his races and he just wasn’t,” DeVaux said. “This year, we’ve added blinkers and he’s had time off and matured. So I think we’re seeing more of what we knew was in there or felt was in there last year. But he’s going to have to run another top race to be competitive and hit the board.”
In addition to the challenge of facing some of the top dirt mile horses in the World Saturday, DeVaux said she is concerned with Cagliostro drawing post 11.
“The post is a concern,” DeVaux said. “You know [jockey] Jose [Ortiz] has been on him most of the year so he knows him. So [Ortiz] is just going to have to play the break and get over and save ground in the first turn. He’s not a horse that needs the lead. So if we can get a nice stalking trip again, it’s really going to be up to Jose to get that done.”
Despite the poor post and the increased level of competition for Cagliostro, DeVaux said he has been training well since arriving at Del Mar earlier this week.
“He’s feeling happy and looks great out there so up until the race that will be his M.O.,” DeVaux said. “He might be one that we jog before the race just because he does get amped up and I don’t want him to go over with him and have him get too excited and loose it saddling. But that would be the only deviation from the norm for him.”
DeVaux said she believes in Cagliostro and had little concerns shipping him to Southern California from her base in Kentucky when he was listed on the also eligible list after pre-entries last week.
“The one thing that is great about the Breeders’ Cup team is they are in constant contact when you are on the also-eligible [list] about any movement. So we found out a couple of days before entries and having to ship that he was going to be in the body of the race. So I really have to commend their team for being easy to talk to and working things out. So we knew when we were on the [also-eligible list] that we were likely to get in.”
Cagliostro has won three of 13 career starts with four seconds and two thirds while earning $496,668. He is by Upstart out of A Rosefor Isabelle and was bred in Florida by Lance Colwell and Janice Clark.
DeVaux purchased him for $385,000 out of the Two Oaks Equine consignment at the 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale. She also notes he is a good ambassador for the Florida Thoroughbred breeding program.
“He’s a great representative of any regional breeding program and he brings attention to how well a regional program can be,” she said.