Breeders' Cup Sprint: Asmussen declares unbeaten Nashville, who will run in Perryville
LEXINGTON, KY. – The sensational Nashville, who has won his first two career starts by a combined margin of 21 lengths, will bypass the Breeders’ Cup Sprint to run instead in the Perryville Stakes on Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup undercard.
A 3-year-old son of Speightstown, Nashville is trained by Steve Asmussen for the partnership of CNC Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC. He launched his career with a popular 11 1/2-length maiden win over a sloppy track Sept. 2 at Saratoga and returned with an equally one-sided 9 3/4-length entry-level allowance win going six furlongs Oct. 10 at Keeneland, for which he earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure. He was pre-entered in both the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Dirt Mile.
Asmussen said when pre-entries were announced last week that obviously his concern about running Nashville in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint was not his ability but his lack of experience.
“The bottom line is we have an extremely talented horse and that makes it very interesting. But if we pass this race, there will be other Grade 1’s in his future,” Asmussen said.
Asmussen, who won the 2019 Sprint with Mitole, will still have a strong hand in the race, sending out both the undefeated Yaupon and Grade 1 winner Echo Town.