Breeders' Cup Sprint: Promises Fulfilled likely to be cross-entered

Promises Fulfilled earned his free berth into the Breeders’ Cup the hard way last Friday at Keeneland, with a gutsy head decision over Whitmore in the Grade 2 Phoenix. Which Breeders’ Cup race he runs in, however, is a decision trainer Dale Romans and owner Robert Baron may not make for several weeks.

The six-furlong Phoenix was the third straight victory for Promises Fulfilled, all at different distances, and his first against older horses. The streak began this summer at Saratoga with impressive wins in the Grade 1, seven-furlong Allen Jerkens and Grade 3, 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam.

“This horse just continues to impress and amaze me,” said Romans. “I’ve watched a million races in my life, and at the eighth pole I thought for sure we were beat. It looked like [Whitmore] had the momentum and was definitely going to get past us. I didn’t think there was any way Promises Fulfilled could hold him off, but he did. The race reminded me of his father’s Met Mile.”

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Romans was referring to Promises Fulfilled’s sire, Shackleford, and his nose win over Caleb’s Posse in the 2012 Met Mile.

Romans said he will cross-enter Promises Fulfilled in both the six-furlong Sprint and the Dirt Mile.

“We’re going to have to supplement him into whichever race he runs in the Breeders’ Cup, but at least having the Win and You’re In in our pocket takes some of the sting out of that,” said Romans. “There are a lot of good horses in both races. I’ll sit down and write down a list of pros and cons. One thing for certain, I don’t think a mile would be a problem. I’m confident he has the endurance to do it. And he’s almost sure to be the controlling speed there.”

Romans said he might wait right up until entry time before making his final choice.

“There’s no rush to come to a decision,” said Romans. “It won’t make any difference, training-wise, which race we choose, I’ll train him the same for both. At the end of the day, it might just come down to a gut feeling.”

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Trainer Jason Servis is going through the same process as Romans regarding his own Breeders’ Cup-bound 3-year-old Firenze Fire, also a candidate for either the Sprint or Dirt Mile. Firenze Fire has not started since his neck triumph in the six-furlong Gallant Bob on Sept. 22 at Parx. His most impressive performance of the season, however, came this summer at Belmont Park in the one-mile Dwyer.

“I’m leaning to the Dirt Mile at the moment, but we haven’t made a decision at this point and there’s a good chance we’ll pre-enter in both,” said Servis. “I think the competition will be the deciding factor. He’s an amazing horse. He’s won going short, long, and on five different racetracks, but he’s still young and will have to go up against more-seasoned older horses no matter which race we choose.”

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Reigning champion male sprinter Roy H successfully defended his title last Saturday in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship, defeating stablemate Distinctive B by 2 3/4 lengths. Ransom the Moon finished third, nearly four lengths behind the winner. All three horses are expected to meet again in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, a race Roy H will be attempting to win for the second year in a row.