LEXINGTON, Ky. – The complexion of Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland changed abruptly around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday with the announcement that morning-line favorite Vekoma would scratch. Vekoma was coming into the race off dominating victories in the Grade 1 Carter and Grade 1 Metropolitan handicaps. Despite Vekoma’s absence, the Sprint will still have 14 horses in the gate, with the connections of also-eligible Lasting Legacy declaring their intention to run. If all 14 do go, it will mark the first time the Sprint will have a full field since Runhappy won the event here in 2015. The Sprint has not had more than 10 starters in any of the last four renewals. The loss of Vekoma means C Z Rocket becomes the new morning-line favorite. He has won his last five starts, including the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Sept. 27, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race. Claimed in April at Oaklawn Park for $40,000, C Z Rocket is trained by Peter Miller, who won the Sprint in 2017 and 2018 with Roy H. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2020: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division While the scratch of Vekoma obviously increases his chances of winning a third Sprint title in the last four years, Miller expressed his compassion for his colleague George Weaver, with whom he’s shared a barn at Keeneland during Breeders’ Cup week. “That’s a bummer,” said Miller. “I really feel for those guys.” Miller lost a couple of Breeders’ Cup starters himself to minor issues: Mo Forza in the Mile and Get Her Number in the Juvenile. Miller said he knows that at his best, C Z Rocket is as good as anyone in the field. But there are still some elements to winning a race like the Sprint that are out of his control. “His training has been perfect, everything has gone smoothly,” he said. “We’re very pleased with the horse but you still have to get lucky in a 14 horse field. He’s got tactical speed and I think he should be able to get position behind the leaders, but you still have to work out a trip when you draw inside.” C Z Rocket will break from post 2 with Luis Saez aboard. “He’s very consistent on numbers and right now I’d be fine if he runs back to the numbers he’s been running because that puts us right in the middle of the race,” said Miller. “He’s also the kind of horse you’d like to have in a race like this – one who fires every time, can run inside, outside, close to the pace or from off the pace. He’s hickory, a rock-solid kind of dude. But in the end, you still need the luck.” Trainer Steve Asmussen will have two chances to defend the Sprint title he won a year ago with Mitole when he sends out the undefeated Yaupon and Grade 1 winner Echo Town. Asmussen opted to hold out his third Sprint contender, the freaky fast and undefeated Nashville, due to lack of experience. Yaupon is perfect in four starts, with victories in the Grade 2 Amsterdam and Grade 3 Chick Lang in his last two outings, but will make his first start in stakes company against older horses in the Sprint. Echo Town, who drew the rail, won the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens this past summer at Saratoga. He will be equipped with blinkers for the first time on Saturday. Firenze Fire and Diamond Oops won fees-paid berths into the Sprint by virtue of victories in the Grade 2 Vosburgh and Grade 2 Phoenix, respectively, both Breeders’ Cup Challenge events. :: Play the Breeders’ Cup with DRF! Visit our Breeders’ Cup shop for Packages, PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more Firenze Fire, who won the Grade 2 True North, turned in his only two poor efforts this season over sloppy tracks in the Carter and Forego. “Throw out the wet track races and he’s had a pretty good year,” said trainer Kelly Breen. “He’s got tactical speed, which should be nice in this race and at a track like Keeneland. The Vosburgh was his best effort this year as far as I’m concerned, and made me feel like he belongs in this race. And on his best, I think he’s as good as anyone in this field.” The versatile Diamond Oops finished eighth after a slow start and wide trip in the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He has captured graded stakes in his last two appearances, adding the Phoenix to his victory in the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs four weeks earlier. Frank’s Rockette is the only filly in the lineup, with her connections choosing the six-furlong Sprint over the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint because they believe the shorter distance better suits her. Frank’s Rockette has won her last four starts, including three graded stakes. She is coming off arguably her best performance yet, a 7 1/4-length decision in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap in her first try against older females. Lasting Legacy was claimed for $80,000 out of a fourth-place finish here last month by trainer Bob Hess Jr. He finished first in an optional-claiming sprint Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs, but was disqualified for interference in the stretch. Lasting Legacy closed out his 2019 campaign by finishing second, a length behind Diamond Oops in the Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream when trained by Jason Servis. “He’s worked twice since I’ve had him and he’s switched leads both times, which he doesn’t always do in his races,” Hess said. “He’s going to be a big price, but I think we’re live, and post 14 might help him break well and get good position.”