Juvenile Turf Sprint will get Breeders' Cup off to a fast start

ARCADIA, Calif. – There are no guarantees to the Breeders’ Cup, save this: it’ll get away to a very fast start.

Indeed, with the Juvenile Turf Sprint as the leadoff event Friday, you’d better not blink if you want to catch every bit of the 14 Breeders’ Cup events at Santa Anita this weekend.

“They’ll be moving right along,” trainer Wesley Ward said of the Grade 2, $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint. “And hopefully it’ll be one of ours in front on the wire.”

Ward has reason for optimism. He has the top two favorites in Four Wheel Drive and Kimari in an oversubscribed lineup in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, which goes as the fifth of 10 Friday races (post time, 1:12 p.m. Pacific).

“We’ve had our eye on this race for months, and these were the horses that emerged as our best chances,” said Ward, whose reputation for excellence with 2-year-olds precedes him. “It’ll all be done in less than a minute. Hopefully all the time we’ve spent aiming for this will pay off.”

In all, 16 horses (10 colts and six fillies) are entered, with only as many as 12 permitted to run. Ward has a third entry in the main body in Cambria and a fourth on the also-eligibles list in Karak. Scratch time is 8 a.m. Pacific on Friday.

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Four Wheel Drive (post 9, Irad Ortiz Jr.) was a dominant winner of the Futurity at Belmont Park, one of three Win and You’re In events toward this race on Oct. 6. The American Pharoah colt is 2 for 2, having won a stakes at Colonial Downs in late August in his unveiling.

“Obviously he’s a talent,” said Ward. “He’s fast and he’s class and hopefully he’ll show it Friday.”

Kimari (post 7, John Velazquez) overcame a sluggish start to win the Indian Summer, a Win and You’re In at Keeneland, marking her third victory in a four-start career blemished only by a just-miss defeat in a field of 25 in the Group 2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot in June.

“The Keeneland race really set her up for this,” said Ward.

Cambria (post 12, Tyler Gaffialone) is unbeaten in three starts, all for the Stonestreet Stables of Barbara Banke. She outran males in winning the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint in early September. She is one of three fillies entered by Ward, the other being Karak, the last of the four alternates.

If an opposing horse is to keep Ward out of the winner’s circle, it’s quite possible that he or she will have arrived recently from overseas. Half of the 12 main-body entries are here from Europe, with A’Ali and Alligator Alley the most highly regarded among the contingent, which also includes Band Practice, Dream Shot, Dr Simpson, and King Neptune.

A’Ali (post 10, Frankie Dettori) already is a three-time Group 2 winner, and will be racing on the bleeder medication Lasix for the first time Friday. Following his latest win in the Flying Childers at Doncaster in England in September, trainer Simon Crisford told Racing TV: “He travels extremely well in his races and he’s got a change of pace. That’s the key. He’s an extremely easy horse to deal with. His attitude is excellent and he’s very straightforward.”

Alligator Alley (post 6, Wayne Lordan) was sixth as the even-money favorite in the Flying Childers after lunging at the start. Trained by Joseph O’Brien, the British-bred colt not only will be getting first-time Lasix but also will be adding blinkers.

Three American runners round out the main body, and all have upset credentials.

Chimney Rock (post 1, Jose Ortiz) has developed a stout kick for Mike Maker, and narrowly missed when second behind Cambria and Kimari in his last two starts.

Another Miracle (post 3, Manny Franco), another son of American Pharoah, was a two-back winner of the Skidmore at Saratoga. The colt probably was compromised when fifth in the Futurity after losing two shoes early in the race, said trainer Gary Contessa.

“He never stopped trying,” Contessa said.

Encoder (post 5, Flavien Prat) makes an interesting turn-back from a couple of one-mile turf stakes for trainer John Sadler.

“The last time he got off him, Flavien said, ‘I think this horse doesn’t want to quite go this far,’” said Sadler. “He kind of gave me the impetus to shorten him up.”

This is the second year the Juvenile Turf Sprint is an official Breeders' Cup race. Bulletin, trained by Todd Pletcher, led all the way in winning last year at Churchill Downs. Pletcher opted not to enter the Futurity runner-up Freewheeler, who would have been first up on the alternates list.