Four Wheel Drive wire to wire in Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint

ARCADIA, Calif. – No one had ever seen an American Pharaoh foal in the Breeders’ Cup, but that’s only because the first ones are just now 2-year-olds.

What racing fans have seen plenty of times – a Wesley Ward-trained 2-year-old leading its field on a merry chase – dovetailed beautifully Friday at Santa Anita with the first-ever Breeders’ Cup appearance of an American Pharoah son or daughter. Four Wheel Drive, a bay colt sired by the 2015 Triple Crown winner, led every step of the way in the Grade 2, $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint, the first of 14 BC races here this weekend.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. for Ward and the Breeze Easy LLC of energy executives Mike Hall and Sam Ross, Four Wheel Drive returned $5 as the favorite in a field of 12 after finishing the five-furlong distance in 55.66 seconds over a firm course.

“He’s a very, very talented colt,” said Ward. “Everybody’s got high expectations for him, and to get it done on a big stage like this in the Breeders’ Cup is just unbelievable.”

Chimney Rock, who gave closest chase most of the way, finished three-quarters of a length behind Four Wheel Drive and another 1 1/2 lengths before Another Miracle, a second American Pharoah colt in the lineup. It was just another head back to late-running Kimari, one of three Ward trainees in the race, in fourth.

Although Breeze Easy and Ward already have experienced success at such major venues as Royal Ascot, Hall said he was more apprehensive than before any race in which he had owned a horse. The colt had won at first asking in an ungraded turf-sprint stakes at Colonial Downs on Aug. 31, then was a dominant winner of the Oct. 6 Futurity at Belmont Park in his only subsequent start.

“This is a dream come true,” said Hall. “We’ve been doing this [owning horses as Breeze Easy] just a few years, and to win a Breeders’ Cup race is a pretty big deal, I think.”

The Juvenile Turf Sprint unfolded in simple fashion out top. With Four Wheel Drive taking command from post 9 after just a few quick strides, Chimney Rock and longshot Dr Simpson out-footed the others to give closest chase. Leaving the far turn, only Chimney Rock could keep within shouting distance of Four Wheel Drive as they gapped the others by five lengths or so.

In the upper stretch, jockey Jose Ortiz, riding Chimney Rock, appeared poised to go past his older brother from the outside. But it wasn’t to be, as Four Wheel Drive responded to a steady drive from Irad, opening daylight again passing the furlong pole.

“He broke good and put me on the lead,” said Irad Ortiz. “He was relaxed, and turning for home when I asked him, he responded. He ran really well.”

Mike Maker, the trainer of Chimney Rock, said his colt “got me a little excited there, but we were just second best. He did run a really big race.”

Ward, based in Florida and Kentucky, now has won three Breeders’ Cup races – all at Santa Anita, where he was stabled for much of the first 15 years or so of a training career that began in 1991. His other winners both came in 2014, with Hootenanny in the Juvenile Turf and Judy the Beauty in the Filly and Mare Sprint.

After the top four, the order was Dr Simpson, Encoder, Dream Shot, Alligator Alley, Cambria, A’Ali, King Neptune, and Band Practice. Four also-eligibles were early scratches.

Cambria, the third Ward entry, trailed to the top of the stretch when never a threat. A’Ali, the third wagering choice at 6-1 and the most highly regarded of six European starters, also raced at or near the rear throughout.

The $2 exacta (9-1) paid $46.20, the $1 trifecta (9-1-3) returned $207.70, and the 10-cent superfecta (9-1-3-7) was worth $80.20.

This was the second running of the Juvenile Turf Sprint as an official Breeders Cup race. Bulletin led all the way in winning the inaugural last year at Churchill Downs.