Trainer Could Touch Gold Again In Breeders’ Hofmans Sees Same Winning Traits That Alphabet Soup Had

Trainer David Hofmans says he tries not to think about what happened in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last year.

Of course, he does remember.

Asked about Touch Gold, the Belmont Stakes winner who’s had a foot problem most of the year, Hofmans said, “He’s a tough, game horse and he’s got the heart of an Alphabet Soup.”

Alphabet Soup, a 5-year-old horse trained by Hofmans, won the $4 million Classic in 1996 at Woodbine in a gut-wrenching stretch duel with Louie Quatorze and Cigar, the Horse of the Year.

On Saturday, Touch Gold will try to give Hofmans another win in the Classic, which will be worth $4.4 million, making it the richest race ever.

The odds are better for Hofmans this time, but the task is still formidable. While Alphabet Soup was a 19-1 shot, the 3-year-old Touch Gold is the 5-2 early second choice behind 2-1 Skip Away. Listed at 4-1 are two other tough 3-year-olds - Deputy Commander and Behrens.

Formal Gold would have been favored in the Classic, but he broke a bone in his right hind leg last Friday. On Thursday, favored Singspiel was knocked out of the $2 million Turf when he fractured a canon bone in his right front leg during a workout.

Anthony Stroud, racing manager for Shiekh Mohammed al Maktoum of Dubai, said the 5-year-old England-based horse will undergo surgery today or Saturday.

The Classic is the richest race because it cost Skip Away’s owners $480,000 to supplement the 4-year-old colt because he was not nominated to the race.

Many think Skip Away or Touch Gold should win Horse of the Year with a victory in the 1-mile Classic.