Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Mizdirection won't give up crown easily

ARCADIA, Calif. – Horseplayers taking a stand against defending champion Mizdirection in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint might be doing so at their peril, according to trainer Mike Puype.

“She’s coming into this even better than she did last year,” Puype said. “People building a case against her are saying, ‘Well, she can’t do it again,’ as if a coin flip has gone the same way three straight times, and now the other side is due. But that’s a risky way to look at things, in my opinion.”

Mizdirection, the winner of the 2012 Turf Sprint at almost 7-1, is part of a full lineup of 14 in the 6 1/2-furlong “down the hill” race, which shapes up as one of the most competitive events on the entire two-day Breeders’ Cup program. She is the lukewarm program favorite at 4-1, an inordinately high number that illustrates the depth of the field.[bc_video_id:308865:]

Owned by a partnership that includes nationally renowned sports-show host Jim Rome, Mizdirection will have Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith aboard when breaking from post 12. The 5-year-old gray mare has had seven recorded workouts since getting a brief rest following a fading fifth-place finish over yielding turf after being shipped cross-country to run in the one-mile Just a Game on the June 8 Belmont Stakes undercard.

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“I knew going in we were in trouble at Belmont because that kind of grass just isn’t her,” Puype said. “She likes this turf course right here – fast, quick, tight. And she likes October in California.”

Remarkably, Mizdirection has a 6-for-6 record over the Santa Anita turf, including 5-for-5 in down-the-hill races.

“Her record speaks for itself,” Puype said.

Mizdirection is one of two female runners in the Turf Sprint, along with Reneesgotzip (post 4, Edwin Maldonado), a speedy 4-year-old who was third in this race last year.

The 2012 runner-up, Unbridled’s Note, also is back. Otherwise, it’s 11 new names, some of whom have shown themselves fully capable in this niche, and a couple of others, Jeranimo (post 1, Victor Espinoza) and Capo Bastone (post 9, Joel Rosario), trying something new.

One of those tried-and-true veterans is Caracortado (post 5, Gary Stevens), who ran fifth in the 2011 BC Turf Sprint before being injured following just one subsequent start. The 6-year-old gelding had the benefit of a recent start, a decent fourth in the Sept. 27 Eddie D, a key Santa Anita prep in which four others in the Turf Sprint also competed.

“I expect him to move up off the Eddie D in a big way,” trainer Mike Machowsky said.

Also exiting the Eddie D are the 1-2-3-7 finishers: Chips All In (post 3, Julien Leparoux), Boat Trip (post 6, Rafael Bejarano), Unbridled’s Note (post 14, Corey Nakatani), and longshot Rock Me Baby (post 2, Joe Talamo).

Chips All In, trained by Jeff Mullins, “has been doing great in the morning,” said Leparoux, who won the Shoemaker Award here four years ago as the most outstanding Breeders’ Cup jockey. “Plus, he loves this turf,” noting the colt’s 4-for-5 local record.

A wicked pace might well develop Saturday. A fresh Reneesgotzip figures prominently from the bell, with Tightend Touchdown (post 7, Javier Castellano) and Spring to the Sky (post 11, John Velazquez) likely to be her closest pursuers. Mizdirection, Chips All In, Dimension (post 13, David Moran), and Unbridled’s Note could comprise the next flight. Something too hot could set things up for a closer, and two of those are Jeranimo, strictly a two-turn type for much of his 37-race career, and Capo Bastone, a 3-year-old going first-time turf.

Capo Bastone, trained by Todd Pletcher, has had six works since coming from the clouds to win the Grade 1 King’s Bishop on the Aug. 24 Travers undercard at Saratoga.

“We worked him a couple times on the turf this summer, and he seemed to like it,” Pletcher said. “He’s got some synthetic in his background, and that tends to transfer over to the grass. We felt like the complexion of this type of race might set up well for us. The way he ran in the King’s Bishop, it seemed like 6 1/2 furlongs was our best option with him.”

The Turf Sprint, inaugurated in 2008 at Santa Anita, is carded as the seventh of 12 Saturday races and the fifth of the nine straight BC events, with post time set for 2:05 p.m. Pacific.