Breeders' Cup Sprint: Nakatomi's record at Keeneland makes him a player
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It’s called home-field advantage throughout the sporting world, although it is more commonly referred to as horses for courses in racing vernacular. It’s a phenomenon that could become relevant on Breeders’ Cup Saturday in light of the results from a pair of Grade 2 Breeders’ Cup Challenge races decided last week at Keeneland, the Phoenix and Thoroughbred Club of America stakes.
Both Nakatomi, by virtue of his last-to-first victory in the Phoenix, and Evanescence, following her come-from-behind tally in the TCA, earned automatic berths into the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Filly and Mare Sprint, respectively. Both continued to show a strong affinity for the Keeneland main track over which the 2026 Breeders’ Cup will be decided later this month.
Nakatomi has captured the last two renewals of the six-furlong Phoenix and has a record of five wins and two seconds from eight starts at Keeneland. Evanescence remained perfect in three outings over the local strip, the most recent her best yet from a Beyer Speed Figure perspective.
Nakatomi will be making his fourth straight appearance in the BC Sprint, having finished third (Santa Anita), sixth (Del Mar), and a troubled ninth (Del Mar) in the event the past three seasons. But trainer Wesley Ward said he’ll have an added level of confidence when sending Nakatomi out to compete in the 2026 renewal over his home track.
“This is his track, there will be no shipping this year, and it should be a big advantage just leading him over from the stall he’s lived in his whole life,” Ward explained. “The Phoenix is a Win and You’re In, but I’m not sure we’d have run him in the race again if it wasn’t here at Keeneland this year.”
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Nakatomi appeared the unlikeliest of winners after lagging at the rear of the field during the early stages of the Phoenix. And most observers, including Ward, thought the 7-year-old veteran had very little chance of successfully defending his title at the top of the stretch.
“I didn’t think he was going to win at the sixteenth pole, let alone on the turn,” Ward said with a chuckle. “I’m so proud of that old guy. I took him back to my farm just behind the castle here at Keeneland after the race, put him in one of those big stalls, and he’s the happiest guy in Lexington right now.”
Englishman back on track
The biggest question mark regarding the Sprint entering the week was the condition of the undisputed division leader Englishman, who missed a scheduled work for the race last Friday due to a minor foot issue. Trainer Cherie DeVaux put some of those fears to rest after her 3-year-old sensation returned to the track Monday.
“He galloped yesterday and was full of himself,” DeVaux said Tuesday morning. “We’re on track to breeze Saturday. As of now, it’s not much of anything.”
Despite the imposing presence of Englishman, there is no lack of interest from horseman, both in the United States and around the world, in this year’s Sprint, with a full field of 14 starters currently looming a distinct possibility. The group figures to include T Kraft, who earned an automatic, fees-paid berth into the race after rallying to upset the Grade 3 Vosburgh on Oct. 1 at Belmont Park.
Filly and Mare Sprint
Evanescence earned a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure after rallying from near the rear of the field to her neck victory in the TCA. Like her previous two Keeneland tallies, the race was run at 6 1/2 furlongs, this time as a stepping-stone to the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint. The Filly and Mare Sprint projects to feature a lively pace that should favor the stretch-running 4-year-old trained by Eddie Kenneally.
“She loves Keeneland, and I think the distance of that race [Filly and Mare Sprint] is ideal, too,” Kenneally offered following the TCA.
Ways and Means will go postward the heavy favorite in a Filly and Mare Sprint field that also will feature the speedy R Disaster, who sewed up her starting berth after registering a popular, gate-to-wire win Oct. 1 at Belmont in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom.
– additional reporting by Marcus Hersh
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