(Above, Graham Motion talks about training for George Strawbridge)

by Frank Angst

Trailing a few strides behind Forever Together, Thoroughbred owner George Strawbridge Jr. made his way to the Santa Anita Park main track to watch his champion turf female gallop.

Strawbridge enjoyed several walks from backstretch to track on Thursday because his Augustin Stable will start a horse in every Breeders' Cup race for fillies and mares on Friday's card.

Most of his starters figure prominently.

* Forever Together will try to become the first horse to win back-to-back editions of the Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) and join Ouija Board (GB) as the only two-time winner of that race.

* Informed Decision will try to extend her undefeated record on synthetic surfaces to seven races when she takes on Ventura in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1).

* In the Ladies’ Classic (G1), Augustin Stable will send out two-time Group 1 winner and 2008 European champion two-year-old filly Rainbow View, who will make her first synthetic surface start.

*Smart Seattle will return to the turf in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf after finishing second in the JP Morgan Chase Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland Race Course on October 15, which was moved from turf to the synthetic Polytrack surface.

* Rounding out Strawbridge's lineup is Zilva, who will try the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) after a troubled fourth-place finish in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

On Thursday morning, Strawbridge was enjoying every moment and the idea of choosing from five different purple Breeders' Cup baseball caps with his horses names.

"It's already been amazing," Strawbridge said.

A founding member of the National Steeplechase Association, Strawbridge leads all owners in North American steeplechase earnings. Last year, he enjoyed his most successful season of flat racing, finishing third by purse earnings.

Strawbridge, 72, of Cochranville, Pennsylvania, said the chance to spend time around Thoroughbreds keeps him enthusiastic.

"Really, it's the same thing it has always been: the horse," Strawbridge said. "They are such noble creatures."

Strawbridge's five Breeders' Cup horses on Friday will start for three different trainers. His longtime trainer and friend Jonathan Sheppard conditions Forever Together and Informed Decision. Graham Motion, a former Sheppard assistant, trains both two-year-old fillies, and John Gosden conditions Rainbow View.

Gosden enjoys working for a horseman such as Strawbridge.

"He traces to the great Eastern-based stables like Paul Mellon's Rokeby Stable," Gosden said. "He's a total horseman. He understands why things go right and why they go wrong. It would be good to see him win; certainly, no one deserves it more."

Motion notes Strawbridge's experience riding horses makes it easy to work with him, although Motion said Strawbridge holds trainers accountable.

"He will question things if something goes wrong," Motion said. "But they're the right questions."

Strawbridge enjoys working with all three trainers.

"They're all great horsemen and I like talking with them," Strawbridge said. "They all like talking, too, and not just about horses. They'll talk about anything, especially Gosden."

With some luck for Strawbridge on Friday, there could be plenty of conversation about Augustin Stable.

Frank Angst is senior writer for Thoroughbred Times