BREEDERS' CUP Medaglia d'Oro listed as favorite in race today

Funny Cide, Volponi andTen Most Wanted are also expected to challenge.
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) -- Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide is far from a clear-cut favorite for America's richest race.
The same could be said of defending Breeders' Cup Classic champion Volponi or Travers Stakes winner Ten Most Wanted.
And Mineshaft, the leading Horse of the Year contender, isn't even running.
The role of odds-on favorite for today's $4 million Classic at Santa Anita will probably fall to Medaglia d'Oro, a 4-year-old colt who couldn't win last year's race after a long layoff and comes into this one off the same eight-week break.
"He runs good when he's fresh, and I didn't want to waste a race on him before the big race," said Medaglia d'Oro's trainer, Bobby Frankel. "I think he'll run well."
Welcome to the wide open Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.
Ten horses set for race
The centerpiece of the eight-race, $14 million extravaganza, the Classic features a star-studded field of 10.
"That's why this day is so unique: It brings the best horses together from all over," said Julie Krone, who will ride Funny Cide for the first time. "If we win, absolutely Funny Cide will have a chance at Horse of the Year."
Funny Cide isn't alone. Mineshaft is the clear leader for racing's top award with seven wins in nine starts this year, but several Classic scenarios could sway the voters.
Among them are wins by:
--Funny Cide, who finished second in the Wood Memorial and third in the Belmont Stakes and Haskell Invitational in addition to his Triple Crown victories.
--Medaglia d'Oro, who has done little wrong in taking three of four starts, with a runner-up finish to Candy Ride in the Pacific Classic.
--Perfect Drift, who beat Mineshaft in the Stephen Foster Handicap and has five victories in seven starts in 2003.
Congaree is another horse to watch. Trained by Bob Baffert, the 5-year-old son of Arazi won the Hollywood Gold Cup and was second to Perfect Drift in the Kentucky Cup Handicap at Turfway Park.
Key to victory simple
While a speed-favoring track, hot weather and possible heavy smoke hovering overhead from nearby wildfires might affect racing conditions, Baffert said the key to victory is simple: "Who has the heart and the ability. To win it, you have to throw in a huge performance."
Divisional titles are also on the line, starting with trainer Barclay Tagg's quest to snare the 3-year-old male championship for Funny Cide, the popular New York-bred gelding who hasn't run in nearly three months.
Funny Cide was a surprise entry last week. Tagg thought about running Funny Cide in two other New York races, but several strong workouts -- and lobbying from his owners -- convinced him the Classic made the most sense.
"The horse was progressing very well, to the point where Barclay came to realize, 'I might as well take a shot,"' said Jack Knowlton, managing partner for Sackatoga Stable, a group of 10 upstate New Yorkers who own Funny Cide.
A win by Ten Most Wanted could make the colt trained by Wally Dollase the 3-year-old champion.
Seven other races
Seven other Breeders' Cup races will go a long way in deciding champions, and Frankel is in the mix in several divisions. The Hall of Famer leads all trainers with eight entries. Three of them -- Medaglia d'Oro, Sightseek and Aldebaran -- were favored in early lines.
Frankel's Sightseek is the solid 6-5 choice for the $2 million Distaff, with Got Koko at 2-1 and Elloluv at 9-2. A winner of four straight Grade 1 races, Sightseek has all but wrapped up the older female title.
The Distaff is missing reigning Horse of the Year Azeri, who was pulled out of the race with an injury and may be retired.