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A tilt at the Breeders Cup Classic will be considered for the Japanese-bred Yoshida after his progressive win in the G1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga.
“There’s a lot of people involved to say where he might run next,” said trainer Bill Mott.
“He’s a Grade 1 winner on the dirt and he’s a Grade 1 winner on the turf. We’ll definitely talk about our options.“After seeing this the Breeders’ Cup Classic would have to be on the table.”
Jockey Joel Rosario, leading the jockeys’ standings for the 2018 Saratoga meeting, saved his best for last with the season closing on Monday.Winner in his seasonal debut of the G1 Old Forester Turf Classic, Yoshida travelled to the UK to finish fifth in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting in June and came home to finish fifth as the favorite in the G1 Fourstardave at Saratoga on August 11 before his switch to the dirt.
“Elliott Walden has been wanting to try it for a long time,” said Mott, now a four-time Woodward winner with Cigar twice in 1995-96 and To Honor and Serve (2012).“We were going to do it, it was just a matter of the opportune time. There was no turf race that we had in mind in the next 30 days so we thought let’s do it.”
Yoshida, bred in Japan by Northern Farm by Heart’s Cry, drifted back into the latter half of the field and came away from the fence midway on the turn to pick up ground.At the eighth pole Rosario had Yoshida in full gear and the duo flashed home to become a G1 winner on multiple surfaces.
Gunnevera was second and a subsequent protest by trainer Antonio Sano against the winner for interference was quickly denied.“Yoshida bumped us and pushed us wide and it was just impossible to win from there,” said Sano.
“That made the difference.”Yoshida was purchased by John McCormack on behalf of WinStar Farm for $US765,000 as a yearling at the 2015 JRHA Select Sale in Japan.
