Horse Profile: South American imports

Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile Scouting Report

(Editor's note: Originally published in the 2024 BRISnet Breeders' Cup International Report) 

South American imports Mufasa and Full Serrano have done enough stateside to gauge their ability. Comparing their resumes from their respective homelands, Mufasa was the more accomplished of the two. He was favored in nine of 10 in his native Chile, where his only two losses came trying to stretch his stamina too far. While Mufasa was a Group 3 winner going about 1 1/8 miles, his most dominant displays came in the seven-furlong or mile range. The son of Practical Joke has reinforced that profile in his brilliant seven-furlong wins for Ignacio Correas, who also has Didia in the Filly & Mare Turf. 

Full Serrano took longer to climb the class ladder in Argentina, needing five tries to break his maiden and another few in allowance company. But then he won two straight going a metric mile on dirt and continued his progress on turf, capturing a listed stakes and missing by a nose in a Group 3 at San Isidro. Considering that he had shown more on dirt than turf early in his career, his ensuing black-type results on turf implied that he had scope to improve on dirt too. Full Serrano has done just that since joining John Sadler. 

Japanese shipper T O Saint Denis can pretty much be judged only by his second in the Alysheba (G2), since he’s been well beaten in allowance company at home. In his only interim start, he forced a fast pace Aug. 25 at Chukyo that set it up for deep closers. His 2-for-24 record reflects that he still has only maiden and entry-level allowance wins to his name for trainer Daisuke Takayanagi. 

T O Saint Denis was not up to black-type before his bold front-running display at Churchill Downs, where the slop arguably carried him as he salvaged second by a nose from Il Miracolo. That was a harbinger of stablemate T O Password’s valiant fifth-place run in the Kentucky Derby (G1). T O Saint Denis is once more cast in the role of traveling companion, this time for Mile contender Ten Happy Rose.