Not best post for Henny Hughes, but it'll do

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin was hoping Henny Hughes would draw outside the speed in Saturday's $2,130,000 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs. Instead, McLaughlin will have to settle for having the best horse and likely odds-on favorite among a full field of 14 drawn Wednesday for the six-furlong Sprint.

Henny Hughes will break from post 4, inside likely pacesetters Bordonaro and Attila's Storm. Henny Hughes is the 5-2 favorite in Daily Racing Form national handicapper Mike Watchmaker's morning line.

"Ideally, I'd like to have the two speeds inside us, but I'm happy enough with the post," said McLaughlin, who trains Henny Hughes for Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed al Maktoum's Zabeel Racing International. "Bordonaro and Attila's Storm are going to go, and hopefully we'll be able to slide in third, fourth, or fifth and ease to the outside. I've got a great jockey on him, and he'll work out a good trip."

John Velazquez will again be aboard Henny Hughes, who is undefeated and virtually untested in three starts this year.

Bordonaro, the 5-2 second choice in the morning line, will break from post six under Patrick Valenzuela, who has never lost aboard Bordonaro. Most recently, Valenzuela guided Bordonaro to a gate-to-wire, one-length victory in the Grade 1 Ancient Title Breeders' Cup Handicap.

Attila's Storm broke from the rail and finished a tiring fourth in the 2005 Sprint after enduring a four-horse speed duel that included odds-on favorite and ultimate Eclipse Award winner Lost in the Fog. Trainer Rich Schosberg was even less pleased than McLaughlin when he drew post 13 for Saturday's race.

"I'm not happy about it," Schosberg said. "He'll have to run further to get over, and now we'll probably have to lay second to Bordonaro."

The other key contenders, with their posts for the Sprint, are Thors's Echo (1), Pomeroy(8), Too Much Bling (9), War Front (10), and Siren Lure (11).

Kelly's Landing, winner of Keeneland's Grade 3 Phoenix Breeders' Cup Handicap and the six-furlong track-record holder at Churchill Downs, had the worst luck at the draw, pulling post 14.

Areyoutalkintome and Lewis Michael, who found themselves on the also-eligible list after pre-entries were taken for the Sprint last week, both got into the race after the defections of Commentator and Dubai Escapade. Lewis Michael had given first preference to the Mile, but did not get into that race.

Nightmare Affair was the only member of the Sprint lineup to work Wednesday, breezing three furlongs in 36.12 seconds over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs under his new jockey Edgar Prado.