Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Bacio will get first shot on home course
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In six career starts, the 3-year-old turf star Bacio has run at six different tracks on two continents, winning five races. The jet-setting colt handled this rigorous travel remarkably well, but in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland, he will finally get to run at home.
“It’s a big advantage having the race here with this particular guy,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “All we have to do is lead him from his stall for the last year and a half to the paddock.”
To hear Ward tell it, Bacio’s career to this point has been marked by compromises and patience. In his August 2025 debut at Monmouth Park, jockey Frankie Dettori nearly missed the race while making his way through Manhattan to New Jersey. He ended up having little to do once he got on Bacio, easily pulling clear by 1 3/4 lengths.
In an attempt to fast-track his colt into contention for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Ward shipped Bacio to Santa Anita in October 2025 for the $100,000 Speakeasy. He suffered what remains his only defeat, finishing second by a half-length. Instead of the Breeders’ Cup, he wrapped up his juvenile campaign with a 5 1/4-length allowance victory on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
After taking the winter off, Ward wanted his 3-year-old ready for a stakes at Keeneland in the spring, but he wasn’t quite there. Instead, the trainer took the rare step of trying him against older allowance rivals in April, a test he passed by two lengths at Churchill Downs.
“I’m a proponent of running fillies against colts, but older horses in April, very seldom, if ever, will I do,” Ward said. “But this guy was training so well.”
Ward always knew a trip overseas might suit Bacio as a 3-year-old, and after traveling over for an impressive 3 3/4-length handicap victory at Royal Ascot in June, he shipped him again for the Group 1 Nunthorpe at York in August. It took longer than Ward had hoped, but he finally earned his breakthrough win, scoring over 17 rivals by 1 1/4 lengths, including the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Starlust.
“When I first went [to Europe], I had black hair, and now my hair is white,” Ward said. “You learn a lot of things not to do, and a lot of things that work. And I’m still learning, but you learn which ones would have a big chance to be successful.”
Bacio could still earn favoritism in his first start at Keeneland on Oct. 31, but with more than 25 horses pointing to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, the field seems to get stronger each week.
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The 5-year-old gelding Joe Shiesty exploded back into contention with an impressive front-running victory in the Grade 2 Woodford on Saturday at Keeneland, a Win and You’re In race for the Turf Sprint. The Eric Foster trainee earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure in a game victory over the Ward-trained outsider No Nay Hudson and Michelle Lovell-trained speedster Doncho.
In the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye, a Win and You’re In race at Longchamp in France on Sunday, the 3-year-old filly Miss Yechance prevailed for trainer Karl Burke over Shiri and Mission Central. All three are reportedly being considered for the trip to Kentucky.
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