Eldaafer looking to start the new camping in the Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita
Owned by E-Racing.com and partners 7-year-old gelding, Eldaafer, has nothing to prove as far as distance is concerned in the Grade 3, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup to be held at Santa Anita Park’s dirt course on 24 March, 2012, over a distance of 1 ½ miles, which
is seen as an early prep race for the Breeders’ Cup Marathon, which will be run over a distance of 14 furlongs.
The Kentucky bred son of A. P. Indy, out of mare Habibti by Tabasco Cat, Eldaafer back in 2010 won the Grade 3 Turfway Fall Championship over the Turfway Park’s synthetic surface at about 1 ½ mile, which served as a good prep race for the Grade 3 Breeders’
Cup Marathon, as the Kentucky bred went on to win the 1 ¾ mile event at Churchill Downs.
He will be pointed toward the same race this season, and the early prep races will help the gelding achieve his goal this year as well. Now trained by Brian Koriner, Eldaafer will break from post number 6 under jockey Brice Blanc, as the older runner will
look to down his 12th career race after winning 11 out of 34 lifetime starts with the earnings of $756,856.
Eldaafer will be making his seasonal debut in the Grade 3, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup, as he finished 5th in the Grade 3 Native Diver Handicap to winner Kettle Corn, going over a distance of 1 1/8 miles over the Hollywood Park’s cushion track on
3 December, 2011.
He was pointed toward the Breeders’ Cup Marathon last year as well, which in 2011 earned a grade 2 status. Eldaafer finished a dismal 6th on 5 November, 2011, at Churchill Downs to winner Afleet Again, who downed Birdrun in second and Giant Oak
in third, while covering the distance in 3 minutes and 0.39 seconds.
He only won a single race all year and that too in an allowance race at Delaware Park over a distance of 1 1/16 miles on 17 August, 2011, and under jockey P Lopez, Eldaafer covered the distance in 1 minute and 42.53 seconds.
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