Bakken's comeback has connections considering BC Sprint
ELMONT, N.Y. – Bakken, who returned from a four-month layoff with a sharp allowance victory at Belmont Park on Thursday, could be a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, trainer Chad Brown said Friday.
Bakken may not get into the field of 14 should the race oversubscribe. He has raced only twice this year, with his other start resulting in a second-place finish to Palace in the Grade 2 True North at Belmont on June 6. Palace has come back to win two Grade 1 races and finished third in the Grade 1 Vosburgh last weekend at Belmont.
“We’re going to take a wait-and-see approach,” said Brown, who trains Bakken for William Warren. “I’d list him as possible, which would be as far as I’d go right now. I’ll speak to Mr. Warren about it in the weeks to come and take it from there.”
In his allowance win, Bakken took some early pressure from the stakes-winning New York-bred Captain Serious, shrugged him off, and went on to win by three lengths. He covered 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.87 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94.
“He took the race right to everyone,” Brown said. “I have a lot of respect for Captain Serious. When we drew outside and ended up inside of him, we were at the mercy of the other horse. I was concerned, given the layoff, how he’d respond in going a sixteenth of a mile further than I would have liked. He took the pressure, repelled the other horse, and ran professionally. It was the comeback race that we thought we needed.”
Brown had Bakken entered in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga in early August but had to scratch him due to a high fever.
“It took us a while to get him back,” he said.
Last year at 3, Bakken won sprints at Belmont and Aqueduct before finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita.