Lost rein no problem for Dr. Schivel, Prat in Santa Anita Sprint Championship
ARCADIA, Calif. - About the time Dr. Schivel was rolling down the stretch ahead of five rivals in Saturday’s Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, trainer Mark Glatt noticed something amiss - jockey Flavien Prat was riding without a right rein.
“It wasn’t good,” Glatt said.
Prat expertly managed the dire situation, with Dr. Schivel winning by 3 1/4 lengths over Flagstaff. The victory confirmed Dr. Schivel’s status as California’s top contender for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 6.
For Glatt, the $200,500 Santa Anita Sprint Championship was a race of mixed results. Collusion Illusion, a Grade 1 winner in 2020 who was 12th in the BC Sprint at Keeneland last November, finished a well-beaten fifth.
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“I had one lose his right rein and win and the other didn’t do so well,” Glatt said. “It was bittersweet. Collusion Illusion bled pretty severely.”
Dr. Schivel, a winner of 5 of 7 starts, is unbeaten in three races this year, all at six furlongs. He won an allowance race at Santa Anita on June 18 and the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on July 31.
Dr. Schivel earned a fees-paid berth to the BC Sprint with the win in the Bing Crosby. The Santa Anita Sprint Championship had the same bonus, but the issue was moot because of the Bing Crosby result.
Dr. Schivel has typically raced as a stalker. In the Santa Anita Sprint Championship, Dr. Schivel led throughout racing on the rail.
“I don’t think he needs the lead,” Glatt said. “The only reason he was on the lead was because the rein broke.”
On the backstretch, Dr. Schivel was racing alongside Vertical Threat, who was ridden by Abel Cedillo. When the rein broke, Prat hollered at Cedillo to alert him of the predicament.
The cause of the broken equipment left Glatt puzzled, but he was relieved the situation did not cause a mishap.
“It came undone,” Glatt said. “How that happened is beyond me. Abel was good about it. He noticed Flavien could be in trouble. He let him up in there.”
Dr. Schivel has earned $536,000. A 3-year-old colt by Violence, Dr. Schivel is owned by the partnership of Red Baron’s Barn, Rancho Temescal, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Bill Branch.
Branch was co-breeder of Dr. Schivel and part of the original ownership until early September 2020, when a private transaction led to a change in ownership.
Tim Cohen of Rancho Temescal attended Sunday morning training at Santa Anita. What he saw on Saturday from Dr. Schivel left him eager for the BC Sprint and the future.
“We learned he can run on the lead, off the pace and without a rein,” Cohen said. “For him to be doing this as a 3-year-old is great. He has a helluva career ahead of him.”