The path to the 2016 Breeders Cup is a road with plenty of ups and downs as talented racehorses vie for a spot in one of 13 championship races. This blog provides a capsule lk at three horses who are heating up on the Road to the Breeders Cup World Championships and three horses whose Breeders Cup chances are not quite as strong as they were a week or two ago.For this weeks edition, there were t many heating up candidates to chse from, so I focused on the three I believe have the best chance to make some serious noise in the Breeders Cup World Championships.Heating Up1. Lady Eli After finishing second in her first start in more than a year after overcoming life-threatening laminitis, Lady Eli showed on Oct. 8 that she was back at the top of her game when winning the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Stakes by three-quarters of a length. Lady Eli has tremendous finishing speed when shes at her best and she covered the final quarter-mile of the Flower Bowl in about 22-3/5 seconds, which is impressive for that distance. With a 117 Equibase Speed Figure in her return and a 118 for the Flower Bowl, Lady Eli could be poised to run a huge race in the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf in what would be a fitting cap on one of the great comeback stories in the sports long history.2. Classic Empire I thought highly of Classic Empire before he ran in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes and dumped his rider at the start. He rebounded as Id expected in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders Futurity, but I have to admit he was even better than Id anticipated. The bay colt by Pioneerof the Nile stalked the pace while very wide early, tk charge entering the stretch at Keeneland Race Course and pulled away effortlessly to win by three lengths in a 12-horse field. He posted a 105 Equibase Speed Figure earlier this summer when winning the Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes from off the pace at Churchill Downs, but that was at three-quarters of a mile. He lked plenty gd when stretching out to 1-1/16 miles for the Breeders Futurity and the 103 speed figure further suggests hell be a major player in the Sentient Jet Breeders Cup Juvenile.3. Miss Temple City This was the toughest final spot that Ive faced since I started writing this blog. Ultimately, I went with Miss Temple City because shes been consistently very fast and defeated males in a Grade 1 race for the second time this season on Oct. 8 in the Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes. It also helped that the expected Breeders Cup Mile favorite, Tepin, finished a well-beaten second in the First Lady, which perhaps opened the dr a crack for the Mile on Nov. 5. In four U.S. races this year, Miss Temple City has recorded Equibase Speed Figures of 123, 115, 114, and 114, respectively, and in her European race she ran well to finish fourth in a Group 1 race at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting. You have to respect a horse who gives her all every race, and I expect Miss Temple City to be right there with a shot to win in the stretch of the Breeders Cup Mile.Honorable MentionsPhoto Call delivered a brilliant effort in winning the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes over Tepin. I considered her for the final spot based on a huge 128 Equibase Speed Figure, but I expect shell face more pressure up front in the Breeders Cup Mile and consistency has not been her game. There also were quite a few impressive 2-year-olds last weekend. Practical Joke won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes over a very game Syndergaard and Yellow Agate tk the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park. Both figure to be viable candidates to win on Breeders Cup day, Practical Joke in the Sentient Jet Juvenile and Yellow Agate in the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies. Practical Joke is not nominated to the Breeders Cup and would need to be nominated for $100,000 to compete in the World Championships. Dancing Rags and Keep Quiet punched their tickets to the Breeders Cup World Championships in style at Keeneland in the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades and Grade 3 Dixiana Bourbon Stakes, respectively. Expect to see Dancing Rags in the Juvenile Fillies and Keep Quiet in the Juvenile Turf.Cling Down1. Nonna Mela Coming off a pair of dominant victories by a combined margin of 13-1/4 lengths, including a six-length runaway in the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes, and with a nice pedigree, I expected Nonna Mela to handle the competition in the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes on Oct. 8. By Arch out of a full sister to 2006 Haskell Invitational Stakes winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat, she lked like an ideal candidate to to improve as the distances got longer, but she came up empty when fourth, beaten by 10-3/4 lengths. She didnt have the cleanest of trips, bobbling at the start before dueling for the lead, but I would have liked to have seen a little more tenacity in the stretch.2. Mondialiste Mondialiste didnt run an absolute clunker in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes on Oct. 8, but he definitely tk a step back with a fourth-place finish that followed a victory in the Grade 1 Arlington Million Stakes. In his final prep for the Breeders Cup Mile, a race in which he finished second to Tepin a year ago, Mondialiste needed to win to give me confidence he can run as well as he did a year ago. I dont think the very firm turf he can expect out in Southern California suits him as well as the lush grass in at Wdbine in Canada, at Arlington Park and at Keeneland Race Course, where hes run his best races in the U.S. over the last two years. Mondialiste is a terrific racehorse, dont get me wrong, I just needed to be convinced he was sitting on a pinnacle performance to give him a big shot in this years Mile. Fourth, beaten by a length and a half, was not that type of performance.3. Stonetastic For those of you expecting to see Tepin here, she actually ran a very credible race and it tk a monster effort to beat her. Instead, I went with Stonetastic. Shes another runner who didnt disgrace herself in any way in finishing second in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes, but I didnt like how she packed it in when challenged by Irish Jasper in the Keeneland stretch on Oct. 8 as the 11-10 favorite. Stonetastic is a filly capable of really big races, but shes susceptible when she faces pressure from another runner or two with early speed. Shell almost certainly face plenty of other speed horses in the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and I needed to see a little more resolve in the stretch of the TCA Stakes to have confidence in the Breeders Cup. The drop from a 112 Equibase Speed Figure in her previous race to a 99 also does not inspire confidence.For more stories like this check out Americas Best Racing. Robert Horry Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Shaquille ONeal Lakers Jersey . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/Tyson-Chandler-Lakers-Jersey/ . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Lakers Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Tyson Chandler Lakers Jersey . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes.Aston Villa manager Remi Garde said the manner of the 1-0 defeat at Swansea on Saturday Night Ftball summed up their season. The visitors created the majority of the chances in the first half but paid the price for not taking any of them as Federico Fernandez bundled home in the 53rd minute when Villa switched off defensively from a free-kick.The goal was the only shot Swansea had on target and Garde told Sky Sports: Unfortunately it was a real picture of Aston Villas season. We deserved more, the difference between the two sides today was not as big as when you see the league table, that is why it is frustrating.We were controlling the game and created some chances, but the problem is when you have gd times you can expect a response from the opposition and that happened. We conceded from a set piece again and they didnt have many chances, so it was a bit frustrating.Villa have now lost their last six matches and are 12 points from safety with just seven games remaining. Jamie Redknapp didnt hold back when discussing Aston Villas season, calling it embarrassing But Garde said there were positives to take from the performance at the Liberty: We played like a team, nobody gave up, and in our situation thats very important.dddddddddddd. When I see the team playing like that I am not happy, I am very sad like all the fans, but sometimes in ftball you need more. The character they showed today is the minimum we have to do.Asked about his own future at the club, which has been questioned if Villa are relegated, Garde said: I am under contract and there is no question about that. If I was not motivated for the job I dont think my team could play the way they did today. Also See: Swansea 1-0 Aston Villa As it happened Villa fixtures Get a ￡10 free bet! ' ' '