BC STAT FILES: Baffert's modest success returning runners to Cup..
 

Interesting Baffert/Breeders' Cup factoid with West Coast making a 2nd start in this year's Classic after last year's 3rd and Abel Tasman returning in the Distaff after her 2017 2nd at Del Mar..

Among horses he has brought back to the Cup a consecutive year, whether running in the same race or a different one, only Midnight Lute has won, repeating in the Sprint in 2008.

Plenty of them ran well obviously ~ notably the Juveniles moving to mature divisions ~ but Game On Dude went the wrong way after his 2nd behind Drosselmeyer in '11 and Fed Biz was never competitive in his 3 Dirt Mile tries.

Arrogate (C, 1st, 2016)
Arrogate (C, 5th, 2017)

Captain Steve (J, 11th, 1999)
Captain Steve (C, 3rd, 2000)

Drefong (S, 1st, 2016)
Drefong (S, 6th, 2017)

Fed Biz (DM, 8th, 2012)
Fed Biz (DM, 6th, 2013)
Fed Biz (DM, 7th, 2014)

Game On Dude (C, 2nd, 2011)
Game On Dude (C, 7th, 2012)
Game On Dude (C, 9th, 2013)

Indian Blessing (JF, 1st, 2007)
Indian Blessing (FMS, 2nd, 2008)

Lookin At Lucky (J, 2nd, 2009)
Lookin At Lucky (C, 4th, 2010)

Midnight Lute (S, 1st, 2007)
Midnight Lute (S, 1st, 2008)

Secret Circle (JS, 1st, 2011)
Secret Circle (S, 1st, 2013)
Secret Circle (S, 2nd, 2014)

Silverbulletday (JF, 1st, 1998)
Silverbulletday (D, 6th, 1999)

Thirty Slews (S, 1st, 1992)
Thirty Slews (S, 4th, 1993)

Abel Tasman (D, 2nd, 2017)

West Coast (C, 3rd, 2017)

Abel Tasman (D, 2nd, 2017)
Abel Tasman (D, 11th, 2018)

West Coast (C, 3rd, 2017)
West Coast (C, 7th, 2018)

My two best bets of the day.:zz:
Shoulda listened to you!

This is probably true of any top trainer that has a contingent of horses every year in the BC. It can't be easy to have a horse in top form for the same race 12 months apart, especially if run at a different track.

It's why repeat victories are special achievements (even in major stakes outside the BC). Lure and Goldikova technically would fit the bill, too. In the end, it's not really a "trainer stat", it's an individual horse stat...and it's fairly easy to predict that a horse in top form won't be, when running in the same race exactly 12 months later.

The phenomenon occurs even with a relatively unsuccessful BC trainer like John Sadler. In 2016, Sadler-trained Stellar Wind (4th, Distaff) and Accelerate (3rd, Dirt Mile) ran modestly well. In 2017, both ran dead last in their respective races.

Here are some other non-Baffert regressers:

Unbridled
Dramatic Gold
Cigar
Concern
Skip Away
Cat Thief
Skywalker
Golden Missile
Volponi
Pleasantly Perfect
Dynever
Fort Larned
Flat Out
Effinex
Sunshine Forever
St. Nicholas Abbey
Fraise
Chief Bearhart
Buck’s Boy
Quiet Resolve
Better Talk Now
Red Rocks
Little Mike
Point of Entry
Midday
Found
Highland Reel
Talismanic
Shared Account
Dancing Spree
Amazombie
Big Drama
Cajun Beat
Cardmania
Precisionist
Goodbye Halo
Winning Colors