Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint: Private Creed, Nagirroc impress
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In some ways, the picture for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint got clearer over a busy weekend of preps, with the promising Private Creed and Nagirroc solidifying their respective places in the lineup with impressive wins. But in other ways, the picture got more muddled.
Love Reigns, who is among the favorites, scratched out of her planned prep and will now come into the Breeders’ Cup off a long layoff, while American Apple entered the picture as a longshot.
Private Creed made his Breeders’ Cup decision for his connections with his second straight sprint stakes win in the Indian Summer at Breeders’ Cup host track Keeneland. He established a stakes record – although that was one of five such records to fall over the weekend on a very firm Keeneland turf course that has not seen much rain of late and which could be very different for the Breeders’ Cup.
Private Creed, a long-bodied colt by Jimmy Creed, sire of Grade 1-winning miler Casa Creed, appears as though he could run farther, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf also was under early consideration. But the Indian Summer win made up trainer Steve Asmussen’s mind.
“He acts like he’d go farther, but with the success he’s having sprinting, we’re very happy to keep doing this with him for now,” Asmussen said.
Private Creed’s main foe in the Indian Summer, Love Reigns, was scratched the morning of the race by Wesley Ward, who indicated that the filly was sharp and he didn’t want her to run her Breeders’ Cup race early. The filly did show she was in good order when breezing Tuesday over the Keeneland turf course, where she was an impressive debut winner in April. She is undefeated in North America, the most recent of those outings coming Aug. 21 in the Bolton Landing at Saratoga.
Also stamping his ticket to the Juvenile Turf Sprint was the lightly raced but talented Nagirroc. Wheeling back for the Grade 3 Futurity in New York off a front-running maiden win for Graham Motion, he showed a new dimension by rallying to win by a nose.
The sister race to the Futurity, the Grade 3 Matron, was won by the third-longest shot on the board in American Apple, who showed gameness when grabbing the lead in the stretch and then holding on by a neck. Following the $97 upset, two races came under consideration – the Stewart Manor on Nov. 5 at Aqueduct or the Juvenile Turf Sprint a day prior. Keeneland-based trainer Daniel Leitch and owner KatieRich Farm are swinging for the big one.
“We’ll probably go for the Breeders’ Cup,” Leitch said. “We know this is what she likes now. We’re stabled there, so why not just walk her over instead of shipping her back up.
“She’s a filly going against the boys. If she runs good, it’s a big thing. If not, we’ll go back against the fillies somewhere else. You have to go for it when you can.”
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