Breeders' Cup Sprint: Englishman fails to scare off competition
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Despite the imposing presence of Englishman and T O Elvis, the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Oct. 31 at Keeneland will likely feature a full field of 14 starters for the second year in a row, with 19 horses having been pre-entered for the race.
Bentornato defeated 13 rivals when registering a gate-to-wire, 2 1/4-length victory over Imagination as the 8-5 favorite in the 2025 Sprint at Del Mar. It was the first time 14 horses went to post for the Sprint since Whitmore rallied to victory as an 18-1 outsider at Keeneland in 2020.
Of the 19 pre-entrants, one, the Japanese based Ecoro Reve, did not ship and has been withdrawn from the race. American Stage gave first preference to the Turf Sprint, Lord Fons has a first preference of the Dirt Mile, and Praying has first preference to the Filly and Mare Sprint.
Along with Englishman and T O Elvis, the remainder of the field is expected to include Built, Dark Saffron, Hymn, Iron Man Cal, Listenupshance, Lord Fons, Moonlight, Nakatomi, Roll On Big Joe, Stradale, and T Kraft. Little Thunder, Mad House, and Liam Smith would draw into the race, in that order, to fill out the starting lineup when entries are taken for the Sprint on Monday.
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Dark Saffron, Nakatomi, T Kraft, and Listenupshance all earned automatic entry into the field by virtue of winning Breeders’ Cup Challenge races for the Sprint during the course of the season.
Hymn is one of six horses pre-entered for both the Sprint and Dirt Mile, along with Built, Iron Man Cal, Moonlight, T Kraft, and Lord Fons. His connections gave first preference to the Sprint, despite the fact he won the Grade 1 Forego on Aug. 29 at Saratoga, a Breeders Cup Challenge race that qualified him for an automatic, fees-paid berth in the Dirt Mile.
Hymn is trained by Ron Moquett, who sent out Whitmore to upset this event at Keeneland six years ago.
“We chose the Sprint instead of the Dirt Mile because we wanted a one-turn race for our horse, and the Dirt Mile is run around two turns at Keeneland,” Moquett explained. “That makes a big difference, and we didn’t want to change what we’ve been doing and what has worked so well for our horse up to this point.”
Hymn has not started since the Forego. He was scheduled to compete in the Grade 2 Phoenix on Oct. 2 at Keeneland, a Win and You’re In race for the Sprint, but was withdrawn from consideration after “grabbing himself a little” during a routine gallop training up to the race, according to Moquett.
And, just like Whitmore, Hymn will be flying well under the radar.
“I know there are some very good horses, like Englishman and T O Elvis, in here and it’s going to be a full field just like the last time,” Moquett said. “But he’s doing well, and I’d love to be able to sneak up on them again this year.”
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