Mitole, McKinzie turn in strong Breeders' Cup workouts

Santa Anita Tuesday, October 22
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 68
Track: Fast

ARCADIA, Calif. - The conventional notion that the Santa Anita main track has been on the slow side during the current meeting may have been tempered just a bit Tuesday morning when Mitole worked five furlongs from the gate under jockey Mike Smith in 58.29 while preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Mitole was one of three potential Breeders’ Cup starters to breeze under perfect conditions on Tuesday along with the Bob Baffert trained duo of McKinzie (Classic) and Bast (Juvenile Fillies). Workouts have not been permitted here on Tuesdays since the meet began, a ban that was lifted this morning and will be again next week with the Breeders’ Cup less than two weeks away.

Mitole, the likely favorite in a very competitive Sprint lineup, threw the gauntlet down this morning. Working at dawn, the three-time Grade 1 winner broke like a shot from the gate, which is located at the end of the chute just behind the six-furlong pole. He wasted little time showing off his ample speed and completed his opening three furlongs in 33.84. He turned into the stretch after a half in an eye-catching 45.24 before completing five furlongs at the eighth pole in 58.24 while virtually on his own throughout. He then continued down the home straight to the wire to ease up after six panels in 1:11.57.

:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2019: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, and more

It’s not surprising that a sprinter with the résumé of Mitole would be a better than average work horse, although his performance this morning raised that bar to a another level while fostering the notion he’s coming up to the race off an eight-week freshening in peak form.

Trainer Steve Asmussen was obviously looking for a strong work 12 days out from the Breeders’ Cup for Mitole, and his colleague Bob Baffert was no doubt thinking much the same about an hour later with potential Classic favorite McKinzie. Although he broke off at the five-furlong pole, the Whitney winner was asked hard from the eighth pole through the wire, into and around the turn by jockey Rafael Bejarano, drilling a full seven-eighths immediately after the second renovation break.

McKinzie negotiated the opening five furlongs in 24.77, 36.40, and 1:00.29, responding well to steady late pressure. He covered three-quarters in a sharp 1:12.09 and seven-eighths in 1:24.70. McKinzie sustained the momentum turning into the backstretch, galloping out a mile in 1:38.89.

This was McKinzie’s best effort by far in the three works he’s had since a disappointing setback behind Mongolian Groom as the odds-on favorite in the Awesome Again, but he’ll still have something to prove at the distance with the only poor effort of his career coming at 1 1/4 miles in last year’s Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs.

Bast broke off at the six-furlong pole in company with Hot Sean but this really turned out to be a five-eighths drill after the team completed their opening furlong in a pedestrian 14.74. Bast covered her final five panels in 36.60, 1:00.96, readily pulling several lengths clear of her overmatched mate at the finish line. She looked very sharp on the gallop out, easing up after seven furlongs in 1:28.53. Like McKinzie, she had Bejarano aboard.