Breeders' Cup Tips Today: Saturday's Best Bets and Top Selections at Del Mar

After a frustrating non-runner and a big priced place, Billy Grimshaw ended Future Stars Friday at Del Mar showing a modest profit. He's back in the tipping hot-seat for Saturday's card and has a couple more recommended plays...

21:41 Del Mar

I have slowly but surely been convinced as this season has gone on that MINNIE HAUK is a top, top class performer. Although Rebel's Romance is the globetrotting king, in my opinion he's never beaten a horse on all his travels as good as this filly and I expect her to give Aidan O'Brien another Group 1 as he hunts history once again chasing down his own record. Christophe Soumillon has defied the doubters and been an absolutely brilliant super-sub for the injured Ryan Moore in the latter part of this flat season and a draw in eight should hold no fears for the team, especially given the results we saw in the turf races on Friday night.

Minnie Hauk's second place in the Arc was agonising for everyone associated with her but the fact she and the winner pulled so far clear of the rest of the field indicated both were exceptional, She was beaten as favourite that day but on her four previous starts won in good style - albeit I still maintain Whirl should have at least got closer to seeing her off in The Oaks at Epsom! Aidan O'Brien has won at this meeting with superb fillies in the past on the back of long seasons, stars like Found and Minding and I don't say this lightly; I think Minnie Hauk is in their league.

It's boring but I do see Rebel's Romance as the big danger. He has a glittering CV with twenty wins and the seven year old really does feel like he's done all there is to do. He and Minnie Hauk could well produce a pulsating finish should there be no hard luck stories, and I'd fancy Goliath to be best of the rest.

00:25 Del Mar

It’s hard to shake the feeling that CINDERELLA’S DREAM has unfinished business in this race. Twelve months ago she looked all set to announce herself on the world stage before her run was completely ruined in traffic - William Buick could do little as gaps closed around him, yet even so, she flew home once in the clear and would’ve won comfortably with an unimpeded passage. That near miss stuck with plenty of people, and she now returns older, stronger, and with a campaign tailored perfectly toward redemption night at Del Mar.

Charlie Appleby has handled her with real care this year, gradually building confidence through straightforward assignments, and the way she put away a smart field at Newmarket last time hinted that everything has come together at just the right time. The turn of foot she showed there was electric, and crucially, she’s now much more tractable in her races - a trait that should serve her well around Del Mar’s tighter layout. A middle draw gives Buick options, and if he can secure clean daylight at the top of the stretch, there’s little doubt this filly can produce the sort of surge that wins Breeders’ Cup races.

Plenty will look to Eternal Hope or the American-trained Surge Capacity for opposition, but neither has her blend of class and acceleration. This has clearly been the plan since she was narrowly denied here last year, and everything about her profile screams unfinished business. If fortune finally smiles on her this time, CINDERELLA’S DREAM can right that wrong in style.