BC Sprint: Fast Anna favorably drawn in post 12

ARCADIA, Calif. – Like the rest of her colleagues with a horse in Saturday’s $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, trainer Kathy Ritvo held her breath during the post-position draw. The Sprint is arguably the one race among the 13 Breeders’ Cup events to be decided this weekend at Santa Anita for which post position is likely to have the most impact on the outcome.

And for Ritvo, who’ll saddle the lightly raced 3-year-old Fast Anna, post position could make all the difference in the world.

In the end, Ritvo left Monday’s draw with a smile on her face after Fast Anna received post 12 in the 14-horse Sprint field. Not as fortunate were the connections of Seeking the Sherif and Indianapolis, both of whom figure to factor in the early pace, the pair drawing posts 1 and 2. Secret Circle, the winner of the 2013 Sprint and the likely favorite again this year, will break from post 4 in defense of his title.

Ritvo will try to win races in back-to-back Breeders’ Cups, having captured the Classic with Mucho Macho Man here in 2013. And she said there is no less pressure in returning to Santa Anita with a horse in the Sprint than there was sending out one of the favorites in the main event in each of the last two Breeders’ Cups.

“It’s different not being in the Classic, and it’s easier for me, having been through all this the last couple of years,” said Ritvo. “But I still put the same pressure on myself being in a race like the Sprint as I would in the Classic, trying to make everything go perfectly for my horse. And it would be just as big a thrill for me to win the short one this year as it was the big one last year.”

Fast Anna caught everybody’s attention with his lightning-fast 56.98-second five-furlong drill under jockey Gary Stevens on Sunday. And while some say that work is just too fast six days out from the race, Ritvo was delighted with the way her horse breezed and even more so the way he bounced out of the drill.

:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2014: Post positions and odds

“Gary [Stevens] said he still had a lot of horse at the end, that he couldn’t believe he’d gone that fast, and this morning it was really hard to walk him, he was so full of himself,” said Ritvo. “And now we’ve got a good post to boot. I love the fact he’ll break on the outside of all the other speed in this field.”

Although Stevens was aboard for the work, John Velazquez will ride Fast Anna in the Sprint. Stevens has the mount on Bakken for trainer Chad Brown.

Bob Baffert, who trains both Secret Circle and Indianapolis, was not pleased with the way his two horses drew in the full and talented Sprint field.

“I’m upset with my Sprint draw,” said Baffert. “I wanted those horses to draw well, and they drew on the inside. I’ve never seen the Sprint so loaded. Something’s got to give.”

Five of the 14 Sprint starters worked at Santa Anita on Monday, led by Secret Circle and Indianapolis, who went five furlongs from the 4 1/2-furlong pole in 59.12 and 58.21, respectively. Secret Circle worked solo, while Indianapolis breezed in company with his new rider, Mike Smith, aboard.

Other Sprint workers on Monday’s tab included Palace and Private Zone, both of whom earned a free ticket into the race by virtue of their victories in New York in the “Win and You’re In” Forego Handicap and Vosburgh, respectively. Palace went a half-mile in 47.05, while Private Zone covered the same distance in a relatively easy 49.40. Mico Margarita also blew out for the Sprint on Monday, breezing a slow half-mile in 49.84.

The Sprint field, in post-position order, with riders: Seeking the Sherif (Edwin Maldonado), Indianapolis (Smith), Wind Fire (Jamie Spencer), Secret Circle (Martin Garcia), Private Zone (Martin Pedroza), Rich Tapestry (Olivier Doleuze), Mico Margarita (Rosie Napravnik), Palace (Cornelio Velasquez), Salutos Amigos (Javier Castellano), Big Macher (Tyler Baze), Bakken (Stevens), Fast Anna (Velazquez), Work All Week (Florent Geroux), and Bourbon Courage (Ricardo Santana Jr.).