Breeders' Cup Sprint: Englishman starts from advantageous outside with big figs
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – “I’d be hard pressed to say I’ll ever have a horse like him again.”
That’s what trainer Cherie DeVaux said about a certain 3-year-old in her barn, except she wasn’t referring to Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo. She was talking about Englishman, who will be heavily favored to add Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint to an already impressive résumé that includes eye-catching victories in both the Grade 1 Woody Stephens and H. Allen Jerkens stakes in his last two starts.
Englishman’s lone defeat in five career starts was a second-place finish behind Crude Velocity when trying to stretch out beyond seven furlongs for the only time in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile. It was a setback Englishman easily avenged when defeating Crude Velocity by 5 3/4 lengths cutting back to seven furlongs in the Woody Stephens.
And not only has he crushed his opposition in each of his four career victories, winning those races by a combined 24 1/4 lengths, he shattered the clock as well, earning Beyer Speed Figures of 115 and 117 in his two Grade 1 wins. Those numbers tower over anything his opposition in the Sprint has registered.
“We have Golden Tempo, who is an extraordinary horse, but Englishman is just a different type of horse,” DeVaux said. “About the only thing that could top it is a horse like Flightline, who can go as fast and carry that speed farther than he can. But to be as fast as he is and be as cool as he is, it’s really something else.”
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Englishman turned in one of, if not the most impressive pre-Breeders’ Cup workouts here last Friday when cruising four furlongs in 47.20 seconds in hand before sustaining terrific energy galloping out five-eighths in 59.00 and easing up six furlongs in 1:12.43.
“For him, 47 and change is super easy, and it is mind-blowing how much natural speed he has and how amazing his acceleration is,” DeVaux said. “His workouts have always been impressive, but it seems lately they’ve been a lot more, so I’m ultra-confident going into the race in that respect.”
Englishman also drew well for the Sprint as he will break from the extreme outside, in post 13, under regular rider Jose Ortiz.
“We love the post, especially for a sprint race with all the speed to his inside,” DeVaux explained. “That allows Jose to be in the driver’s seat to figure out where he wants to be. Englishman is fine if he sits off the pace. He’s shown he can do that if need be. He should be able to sit on the outside and by the time he gets to the turn be in good position.”
Although Englishman will have a dozen rivals, barring any scratches, the general feeling is he has one horse to beat in the Sprint – the Japanese sensation T O Elvis, who took America by storm when beating a strong field in easy fashion in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes. He won his only U.S. start by 3 1/4 lengths on May 2, an outstanding performance made even more memorable by the fact his odds dropped from 12-1 loading into the starting gate to 5-1 in the final flash of the tote.
T O Elvis has not started since the Churchill Downs Stakes, although he proved he runs well fresh that day when coming into the race off a 4 1/2-month layoff. He is trained by Daisuke Takayanagi, who also sends out T O Password in the Classic in the final race on Saturday.
“Our biggest concern coming to Churchill Downs was whether he can handle an American dirt track, but if he did, we expected he’d run very well,” said Hiroshi Ando, stable manager for Tomoya Ozasa, who owns both T O Elvis and T O Password.
Ando said the plan immediately after the Churchill Downs Stakes was to take T O Elvis back to Japan and train him straight into the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
“We wanted to see in that first race if he was good enough to come back here for the Breeders’ Cup,” Ando said. “This race is at six furlongs, not seven, but we’re not concerned about that. He ran a great race in Japan going that distance in his final start last year.”
Ando was referring to T O Elvis’s five-length triumph in the Grade 3 Capella Stakes at Nakayama on Dec. 14.
Those looking to upset the two favorites have plenty of legitimate options to choose from, a group that includes Grade 1 winners Hymn, Dark Saffron, and Listenupshance; the much improved and extremely consistent Built; and Nakatomi, who has won five times over the local strip and will be competing in the Sprint for the fourth straight year.
Hymn and Built are trained by Ron Moquett and Wayne Catalano, respectively, both of whom have already pulled off surprising victories in the Sprint. Moquett turned the trick with 17-1 Whitmore at Keeneland in 2020, Catalano with Aloha West at odds of 11-1 the following year at Del Mar.
Moquett opted to run Hymn in the Sprint, even though his horse won an automatic berth in the Dirt Mile by virtue of his narrow victory over T Kraft in the seven-furlong Forego this summer at Saratoga.
“We chose the Sprint over the Dirt Mile because we wanted a one-turn race for our horse and the Dirt Mile is around two turns at Keeneland,” Moquett explained.
Hymn will be ridden in the Sprint by Rafael Bejarano, replacing Ricardo Santana Jr., who was arrested on domestic violence charges in Louisville on Monday evening. Bejerano guided Hymn to a 5 1/2-length triumph in the Frank De Francis Memorial this summer at Pimlico.
Built has been a model of consistency all season for Catalano, having posted five double-digit Beyer Speed Figures in 2026, including a 105 for his popular 2 1/2-length victory over Hymn in the Grade 2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga.
Dark Saffron has won the two last renewals of the Dubai Golden Shaheen, although he has not started since successfully defending his 2025 title on March 28 at Meydan.
Listenupshance brings a modest two-race win streak into the race, highlighted by his game nose decision over Maximum Bourbon in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby on July 25 at Del Mar.
The remainder of the field includes Mad House, Liam Smith, American Stage, Little Thunder, Roll On Big Joe, and Stradale.
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