The majority of the traditional stakes races at Keeneland’s front-loaded fall meeting may be in the books, but the action is just heating up at the track, even as the weather cools. Trainers are beginning to consolidate their Breeders’ Cup arsenals at the host track, and, as Lexington saw its first frosts on Saturday and Sunday mornings, the Keeneland worktab began to get crowded with leading contenders for the Nov. 4-5 races. Jack Christopher, who most recently won the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on Aug. 27 at Saratoga, turned in his first local work on Saturday morning, going a half-mile in 48.40 seconds. The colt, who is unbeaten around one turn, is considered a leading candidate for either the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, for which he is the 3-1 second choice on the opening early line of Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free; or the Dirt Mile, for which he is also the second choice, at 4-1. Trainer Chad Brown said a decision has not yet been made.   Also on Saturday morning, Brown worked Grade 1 winners Search Results (Distaff) and Goodnight Olive (Filly and Mare Sprint), who went in 49.40. “Super,” Brown said of his workers, who were on the track hours before his In Italian (Filly and Mare Turf) and Regal Glory (Mile) ran one-two in the Grade 1 First Lady to cement their Breeders’ Cup status. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! “The rest of my Breeders’ Cup possibles will probably be coming in early [this] week, and I’ll be here a lot more,” Brown added. “The horses breezed really good – first spin over the track, good.” Trainer Steve Asmussen’s leading Breeders’ Cup hopefuls – including 3-year-old divisional leader Epicenter, the fourth choice on Free’s opening line for the Classic – arrived at Keeneland in the last week of September, and turned in easy half-mile moves to get acquainted with the track. Things began to get more serious Sunday morning. Epicenter breezed in company with Distaff candidate Clairiere, with the duo going five furlongs in 1:01.20, the fourth-fastest of 24 works at the distance. Asmussen also sent out champion Echo Zulu (Filly and Mare Sprint) to go a half-mile on her own in 49.40, and Grade 1 winner Society (Distaff) for a solo five furlongs in 1:01.60. The coming week of racing at Keeneland includes the Grade 3, $300,000 Franklin County Stakes on Oct. 16, which could produce additional starters for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Two of them worked over the weekend, as 2021 Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Twilight Gleaming went five furlongs in 1:01.40 on the turf course Saturday morning for locally based Wesley Ward; and Caravel worked a half in 49.60 on the dirt Sunday morning for Brad Cox. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.