Breeders' Cup Sprint: Race coming up as tough as ever
Something’s got to give when a stellar field assembles at Santa Anita on Nov. 5 for what may be the most challenging and competitive Breeders’ Cup Sprint in recent memory.
Lord Nelson, A. P. Indian, Joking, and Delta Bluesman, the four Breeders’ Cup Challenge race winners in the division, will enter the Sprint having won 18 of their last 19 starts combined. They’ll be joined in the gate by Drefong and Masochistic, who are a perfect 5 for 5 between them and are both Grade 1 winners in 2016.
Lord Nelson and A. P. Indian have won two Challenge races apiece. Lord Nelson added Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship to his even easier victory in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar. One day earlier, A. P. Indian had to overcome a bit of an eventful trip, then withstand a hard drive before narrowly prevailing over Limousine Liberal in the Grade 2 Phoenix. A. P. Indian captured both the Grade 1 Vanderbilt and Grade 1 Forego in a much less stressful manner this summer at Saratoga.
Despite suffering a heartbreaking setback in the Phoenix, a Win and You’re In race, Limousine Liberal likely will be heading to Santa Anita for a second try in the Sprint. The 4-year-old homebred son of Successful Appeal, trained by Ben Colebrook, finished 11th after a bit of an eventful trip in the 2015 Sprint.
“We aren’t totally committed but definitely kicking around the idea and leaning towards going,” Colebrook said Tuesday.
Jose Ortiz was aboard Limousine Liberal, who wore blinkers for the first time in the Phoenix and held a short advantage over A. P. Indian through much of the final furlong before losing the nod at the wire.
“Jose is very gung-ho about his chances, and I think the blinkers really helped him a lot,” said Colebrook. “Obviously, I was disappointed when I heard A. P. Indian was skipping the Vosburgh and coming here for the Phoenix since he’s definitely the best sprinter on the East Coast right now, and I was pretty confident we had a big shot in the race, especially if he wasn’t here. And it certainly would be nicer to be going to the Breeders’ Cup coming off a Win and You’re In rather than a miss by an inch.”
Colebrook said he believes Limousine Liberal is a lot more seasoned now than when he ran as a 3-year-old in the 2015 Sprint.
“He’d never seen so many horses of that kind running that fast before going into the Breeders’ Cup a year ago,” said Colebrook. “He was also a little reluctant running down on the inside after he broke a bit slow and got shuffled back when getting dirt in his face. Post position is always a big deal in the Sprint, but particularly so for us. It wouldn’t be good if he drew down inside again.”
The connections of Mind Your Biscuits, the winner of the Grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga and more recently the runner-up in the Grade 3 Gallant Bob at Parx, also committed to the Sprint this week since the stretch-running 3-year-old should have ample pace to run at, considering the makeup of the prospective field.
The Sprint did lose one major player when trainer Jorge Navarro, who also trains Delta Bluesman, confirmed Wednesday that X Y Jet would bypass the race following his fourth-place finish in the Vosburgh. The outing was the first for X Y Jet since undergoing surgery following his second-place finish in the Dubai Golden Shaheen in March.
“We want to do the right thing by the horse,” Navarro said. “We’re looking at his future, not just one race. He’s had two surgeries in the same knee, and at this point, it would be asking too much to put him on a plane and take him out there to run off just one race.”