Mitole favored among 10 in BC Sprint

A field of 10 was drawn Monday for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, one less than originally expected, after the connections of Diamond Oops opted for their second preference, the $1 million Dirt Mile instead.

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What was expected is that Mitole was listed as the morning line favorite, at odds of 9-5, for the six-furlong Sprint. He was followed by a trio of co-second choices, Catalina Cruiser, Imperial Hint, and Shancelot, all listed at 4-1. The only other Sprint related news on Monday was trainer Ron Moquett’s decision to ride Flavian Prat aboard Whitmore in the Sprint. That fills out Prat’s dance card for the Breeders’ Cup, giving him a mount in all 14 races.

Trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. said after the draw that he is dealing with a minor shoeing issue with Imperial Hint, the popular four-time Grade 1 winner, who’ll compete in the Sprint for a third consecutive year.

“We have to make an adjustment with his glue-on shoes after they came loose on the flight from Monmouth Park,” said Carvajal. “I gave him this morning off today, but I plan to send him to the track to jog [Tuesday] morning.”

As for drawing post position 9 in the 10-horse field, Carvajal was both delighted and relieved.

“I didn’t want the same post as we had in Dubai,” said Carvajal, referring to the fact Imperial Hint broke from post 2 in the Golden Shaheen. “I didn’t want him standing there in the gate too long and I wanted to be outside to give Javier [Castellano] a better view of the field after coming out of there.”