Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Cazadero making most of second chance
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Golden Pal showed his customary early speed out of the gate in last Saturday’s Grade 2 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland and continued pouring it on down the lane over his home course, the Breeders’ Cup host site, to firmly establish himself as the favorite for the BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 5.
Among those facing the daunting task of trying to run him down in the $1 million Turf Sprint could be a horse who has reinvented himself to make a late rally onto the race’s contender list.
Cazadero, making his turf stakes debut in just his second start for Brendan Walsh, won the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes on Saturday at Woodbine, stamping himself as a possibility for the Breeders’ Cup. Last of eight with a quarter-mile remaining, the gelding was swung eight wide by Patrick Husbands and came on with a flourish to run down multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Bound for Nowhere, a Wesley Ward-trained stablemate of Golden Pal’s.
“He beat a very good horse in Wesley’s horse, and I thought he did it in good style,” Walsh said, adding that he would talk to the owners regarding a possible Breeders’ Cup run for Cazadero. “He belongs to a great group of guys – they’ll have a lot of fun with him. I’m sure [the Breeders’ Cup] will be considered.”
Cazadero raced well as a 2-year-old, winning his debut by 8 3/4 lengths in May 2020 for Steve Asmussen and owner-breeder Stonestreet Farm, and then rolling by 4 3/4 lengths in the Grade 3 Bashford Manor, a dirt sprint at Churchill Downs. But he failed to recapture that form, winning just an allowance/optional-claiming race in June 2021 in his next six outings.
Cazadero was offered at last spring’s Keeneland April horses of racing age sale. He was purchased for $50,000 by bloodstock agent Fergus Galvin, and made his next appearance in the entries as a first-time gelding on Aug. 27 at Saratoga, running out of Walsh’s barn for owner Marc Detampel. He showed interest when rallying from last of eight to be third, beaten just more than 1 1/2 lengths.
“He’s got plenty of turf in his pedigree, and we just thought it might be a different angle for an older horse like him,” Walsh said. “We’ve had a lot of luck with some turf sprinters through the years, so we said we’d give him a shot at it.”
Cazadero earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 101 when stepping up in the Nearctic. A potential Breeders’ Cup start could just be the beginning of his new story.
“Hopefully, we can keep him around for a few years and have a good time with him,” Walsh said.
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