2021 Breeders' Cup Sprint: Dr. Schivel peaking at the right time
After watching Dr. Schivel turn in his best performance to date despite having to overcome a broken rein during his victory in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, trainer Mark Glatt is hopeful his lightly raced 3-year-old speedster is ready for yet another forward move when he faces an even more formidable assignment in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The BC Sprint will be run at six furlongs on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.
Dr. Schivel posted a career-high 103 Beyer Speed Figure while forced into showing a new dimension after having his right rein break during the early stages of the Santa Anita Sprint. He led at every call under Flavien Prat to register a very impressive 3 1/4-length triumph over the more-seasoned pair of Flagstaff and C Z Rocket. The win was the fifth in a row for the son of Violence and third since joining Glatt’s barn shortly after winning the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity in his juvenile finale.
“We kind of anticipated he’d need some time off after he won the Futurity,” Glatt said. “He returned to training in February and has always acted like a quality animal with plenty of class. He didn’t have a perfect trip in his first start this year and still won, then took a pretty good step to win the Bing Crosby in fine fashion.”
Like just about everyone else, Glatt was most impressed by what he saw from Dr. Schivel in the Santa Anita Sprint.
“He really put it all together in his race the other day,” Glatt said. “Watching live from the grandstand, I couldn’t really see clearly what had happened and I was a little surprised to see him make the lead that quickly. But once the rein broke, Flavien really couldn’t take a hold of him at that point. He certainly showed a new dimension, and clearly proved he’s capable of running up with the pace if need be, although I’d surely like to see someone else do the dirty work against Jackie’s Warrior early in the Sprint.”Glatt knows Dr. Schivel will have to run even better if he is to exit the Sprint with his winning streak still intact.
“Up until his last race, he pretty much did what he had to do to win, but he really jumped forward and put a number on them the other day,” Glatt said. “He certainly looked like he had more left in the tank at the end, so I see no reason why he wouldn’t be sitting on his best one yet. I certainly hope so, because he’s probably going to need it.”
There was little change in the prospective lineup for the Sprint this past week. As expected, trainer Bill Mott removed Baby Yoda from consideration following his third-place finish in the Grade 2 Vosburgh, while trainer Todd Pletcher said Wednesday there was still no decision on the starting status of Following Sea, who won the Vosburgh in convincing fashion over defending champion Firenze Fire. Pletcher said Following Sea is scheduled to work again Friday at Belmont Park.
Jackie’s Warrior, who is expected to be the clear-cut favorite in the Sprint, got in his second work since shipping to Santa Anita following his easy victory in the Grade 2 Gallant Bob on Sept. 25 at Parx Racing. Jackie’s Warrior worked a strong but easy looking half-mile in 48.40 seconds on Saturday while kept well removed from the rail much of the way and galloping out with plenty of energy around the clubhouse turn.