Ivan Fallunovalot preps for Breeders’ Cup in Sprint Cup
Ivan Fallunovalot’s final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint will come Sunday in the $150,000 Remington Park Sprint Cup. The race is one of seven stakes on a card featuring the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby.
Ivan Fallunovalot established himself as a sprinter of note last winter when he put up four consecutive triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures, starting with a 107 in January for an allowance win at Oaklawn. His connections hope Sunday’s race goes well and that he will be able to get into the Grade 1, $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Oct. 31 at Keeneland. If overfilled, point standings or committee designation could dictate the BC plans for Ivan Fallunovalot.
“Right now, it looks like anywhere from 10 to 15 want to go,” said Tom Howard, who trains Ivan Fallunovalot for Lewis Matthews Jr. “We’re taking a toss of the coin, trying to get the best route for Ivan, and let the cards fall where they may. Hopefully, we’ll run good here, come out of it good, and be able to go to the Breeders’ Cup.”
Matthews and Howard had debated running Ivan Fallunovalot next weekend at Keeneland in the Grade 3 Phoenix, a Win and You’re In for the Sprint. Ultimately, the decision was made for the horse to prep over his home track at Remington.
“He’s enjoying it here. Everything is going good,” Howard said. “Why fix it when it’s not broke?”
Ivan Fallunovalot will be facing seven in the Sprint Cup, a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up. He is seeking his second straight stakes win after taking the $76,000 David M. Vance at Remington on Aug. 15. The start was his first since April, when he ran second in the Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn.
“He came out of the last one real good, and I expect the same race or better because last time he’d been off for so long,” Howard said. “I was kind of concerned we might be a little short or somebody might outrun us, but he proved me wrong.”
Calvin Borel has the mount from post 7.
“He can stalk, and he can be on the lead,” Howard said of Ivan Fallunovalot. “It doesn’t bother him.”
◗ Greengrassofyoming ran arguably the best race of his career in last year’s Remington Green, and he’s back to defend his title in the $100,000 race. He faces six others over 1 1/8 miles on grass.
The field includes Grade 3 winner Code West, who makes his turf debut off a third-place finish in the $175,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington, and Cougar Ridge, the winner of the $75,000 DeBartolo last month in Oklahoma City.
Greengrassofyoming won last year’s Remington Green in a quick 1:46.60, earning a career-best Beyer of 93. He enters this year’s renewal off a runner-up finish in an optional $62,500 claiming race at 1 1/8 miles on Polytrack at Arlington. Jamie Theriot has the mount for trainer Mike Tomlinson.
Code West is by Lemon Drop Kid, who gets 14 percent winners on the turf. Cliff Berry will be aboard for trainer Boyd Caster.
◗ The front-running Lasting Bubbles and the late-running Haveyougoneaway look like major players in the $50,000 Flashy Lady. Both enter the six-furlong race for fillies and mares off wins. Lasting Bubbles accounted for the $50,000 Valor Farm at Lone Star Park on July 11, and Haveyougoneaway took a 5 1/2-furlong allowance at Remington on Sept. 5.
◗ Stormation, a multiple stakes winner who’s undefeated in four starts, meets Grade 3 Bashford Manor hero He’s Comin in Hot in the $75,000 Kip Deville. The six-furlong race for 2-year-olds drew 10.
◗ Ghost Locket, a winner of four of her last five starts, meets Street of Gold, third as the favorite in the off-the-turf Wasted Tears at Gulfstream, in the $75,000 Ricks Memorial.