Gold Cup Shapes Up As Race Within Race

The Jockey Club Gold Cup shapes up as a race within a race for a trio of 3-year-olds, who also will be competing against a 6-year-old named Cigar.

“It’s Cigar and the rest of them,” said D. Wayne Lukas, trainer of Editor’s Note, who he thinks still has a chance to win the 3-year-old championship.

“Beating Cigar is just something you hope for,” said Sonny Hine, trainer of Skip Away.

Louis Quatorze is the third 3-year-old in Saturday’s 1-1/4-mile Gold Cup at Belmont Park.

A victory by any one of them in the $1 million race would, of course, clinch the title for him. A good second to Cigar would be a plus.

“I think if he finishes second in front of the other two (Skip Away and Louis Quatorze), you’ve got to take a look at him (for the championship),” Lukas said of Editor’s Note.

The colt has won only twice in 10 starts this year, but the victories were in Grade I stakes - the 1-1/2-mile Belmont Stakes and the 1-1/4-mile Super Derby at Louisiana Downs in his last start.

Skip Away also is going into the Gold Cup, one of four stakes on Belmont’s Saturday card, off a victory in the 1-1/8-mile Woodbine Million. He also won the Blue Grass and Haskell Handicap this year and was second in the final two Triple Crown races.

Louis Quatorze won the 1-3/16-mile Preakness and 1-1/8-mile Jim Dandy and was second in the 1-1/4-mile Travers. He and Editor’s Note also will get a chance to enhance their stature in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Classic Oct. 26 at Woodbine.

Skip Away, however, is not nominated to that race, and Hine, who trains the colt for his wife, said he will not supplement Skip Away to the race for a $480,000 fee.

Skip Away was to fly to New York from Lexington, Ky., Thursday night.