Clocker: Lord Nelson too much for stablemate in Breeders' Cup Sprint work

Santa Anita
Track: Fast
Weather: Clear
Temp. 64

ARCADIA, Calif. – It was a relatively quiet morning at Santa Anita on Wednesday, when the biggest news was made off the track with the announcement of the pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup.

Ontrack, there was only one Breeders’ Cup worker, possible Sprint favorite Lord Nelson. He worked six furlongs in typical Bob Baffert fashion, starting from the 5 1/2-furlong pole, and was asked to go out an additional quarter-mile around the turn.

Lord Nelson began about a length behind Justin Squared and was hard held early by jockey Martin Garcia, rating off his target in much the same manner he is expected to sit behind the pacesetters in the Sprint. Lord Nelson covered his opening quarter in 23.68 seconds, joined his stablemate entering the stretch, got the half in a sharp 46.79, still going easily, then was put to urging at the sixteenth pole and gradually pulled away from his overmatched partner to complete six furlongs in 1:11.48.

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Lord Nelson appeared to lose focus when he found himself solo at that point, turning his head to the right as if to look for additional company while continuing on seven-eighths under steady urging in 1:25.32 before pulling up a mile in 1:39.81 right where he began, at the 5 1/2-furlong pole.

Lord Nelson worked without the blinkers he wears on race day and gave every indication that he continues to hold his stellar form.

A number of Breeders’ Cup pre-entrants caught the eye while training Wednesday.

Tourist continues to make a great impression as he prepares for the Mile, as does Frosted, who seems to have adapted well to the local surroundings ahead of the Classic. Ashleyluvssugar, who faces a tough task in the Turf, was on his toes while proving a handful for his exercise rider, who had his feet on the dashboard much of the way this morning.

And Beholder, well, she made another terrific impression, looking a little more relaxed today while still galloping strongly at nearly a two-minute clip in draw reins after the first renovation break. She was scheduled to work Thursday.

Perhaps the most striking galloper following the second break was potential Juvenile favorite Not This Time, who got a little aggressive when passed by a worker the first time by the finish line and looked like a bull – neck bowed – coming down the stretch the second time. Unlike his first morning on the track here Monday, when he got very warm, Not This Time did not appear to turn a hair today.

Defending Turf Sprint champion Mongolian Saturday had a bit of an odd morning, jogging five furlongs clockwise to the top of the stretch before reversing direction and getting very rank approaching the half-mile pole. He tossed in a 13.40-second furlong before coming back to hand and pulling up relatively quickly, completing less than a seven-furlong gallop near midstretch.

Masochistic, who likely will vie for favoritism in the Sprint with Lord Nelson, spent more time on the racetrack this morning than any of his peers, standing for what seemed like at least a half-hour on the training track before embarking on a leisurely gallop a couple of times around the inner oval.

With rain in the forecast for Thursday, several trainers were likely to call audibles regarding workouts in the days ahead, including Art Sherman, who has already moved Saturday’s scheduled work at Los Alamitos up to Thursday morning for Classic favorite California Chrome.