Limato using 32Red Sprint Cup as possible prep for Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint
Limato, a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in November, will start favored in Saturday’s $384,028 32Red Sprint Cup at Haydock Park in England.
The Group 1 race at six furlongs on turf could be Limato’s final start before the BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 5. Trainer Henry Candy has mentioned the California race as a late-season goal for the 4-year-old Limato.
Limato is already having an excellent year, having won the Group 1 July Cup at six furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse on July 9. He was second to Mecca’s Angel in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at five furlongs at York Racecourse on Aug. 19.
When entries were finalized on Thursday, Limato was made the 2-1 favorite by British bookmakers.
Candy trains Twilight Son, the winner of the 2015 32Red Sprint Cup, who was considered a candidate for Saturday’s race. Candy said Twilight Soon will be pointed for the British Champions Sprint at Ascot on Oct. 15.
Limato, an Irish-bred by Tagula, races for Paul Jacobs and has won 7 of 12 starts. Limato won his first five races in 2014 and 2015. The July Cup was his first Group 1 win.
The 32Red Sprint Cup drew a field of 17, including Quiet Reflection, a 3-year-old filly who won the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in June and was third in the July Cup, and Magical Memory, who won the Group 2 Duke of York Stakes in May.
There are two senior runners with strong credentials. The 8-year-old Gordon Lord Byron won the race in 2013. Sole Power, a 9-year-old, won the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai in 2015.
Saturday’s program at Baden-Baden Racecourse in Germany is led by the Group 2 T. Von Zastrow Stutenpreis for fillies and mares at 1 1/2 miles on turf. The winner receives a fees-paid berth for the BC Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 5 if nominated for the Breeders’ Cup program.
The race, worth $78,330, drew a field of eight, including Sarandia, who was second in the German Oaks on Aug. 7, and Apple Betty, third in the Group 3 Prix Psyche at Deauville, France, on July 30.