Omaha Beach makes long awaited return, faces Shancelot in Sprint Championship

ARCADIA, Calif. – A pair of high-profile 3-year-olds meet for the first time Saturday at Santa Anita – a former Kentucky Derby favorite and an East Coast speedball both trying to earn a ticket to the Breeders’ Cup.

Omaha Beach returns from a six-month layoff and Shancelot makes his first start in California in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship at six furlongs.

Six furlongs? Omaha Beach is not a sprinter, is he?

“This is a horse that was always fast, but I always kept that away from him because I wanted to go further,” trainer Richard Mandella said.

“But it doesn’t mean he couldn’t do it.”

Victory in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Arkansas Derby made Omaha Beach the favorite for the Kentucky Derby, but an entrapped epiglottis and subsequent throat surgery knocked him from the race. It has been one detour after another getting him back, which is why Mandella settled on Saturday’s six-furlong stakes race.

“Process of elimination,” Mandella said. “First, I was going to run him [long] at Del Mar, and he got a virus. Then, I was going to go to Kentucky and the work got screwed up. Now I got nothing else I can do, so I decided I’ll just run here. If it’s too short, it’s too short. But I’ll get a race into him.”

Omaha Beach is the class of the $300,000 Sprint Championship, and an impressive 46.60-second bullet work suggests he will fire. However, when it comes to pure speed, none of the six entrants compare to blazingly fast Shancelot.

“He’ll bury you,” trainer Jorge Navarro said.

It is not an exaggeration.

Shancelot won his first three starts by leading gate to wire, including a blowout in the Grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga that earned a 121 Beyer, the highest this year in North America. But after winning the Amsterdam, Shancelot returned to Earth. He lost the seven-furlong Grade 1 Allen Jerkens at odds-on, finishing third after setting the pace to deep stretch.

The Saratoga loss temporarily cost regular rider Emisael Jaramillo the mount on Shancelot. Even though Navarro said that he explicitly instructed Jaramillo to stay off the dead rail, Jaramillo kept Shancelot on the rail. They lost by a head.

“A nice horse still needs good guidance,” Navarro said. “That day, Shancelot needed it.”

Navarro shipped Shancelot to California for his BC Sprint prep, and was prepared to replace Jaramillo with Mike Smith. But Smith is the rider of Omaha Beach.

“Mike Smith was supposed to ride the horse,” Navarro said. “Then Omaha Beach came into the picture. Mike was very polite. Like a gentleman, he called me up and said, ‘Jorge . . .’”

Further explanation not required. Navarro understood. “I said, ‘Mike, no problem. We’re still going to beat you.’”

Navarro and Jaramillo discussed the defeat at Saratoga, Jaramillo regained the mount, and he will ride Shancelot again on Saturday.

“If we’re going to die, we’re going to die with the guy who knows him,” Navarro said.

Shancelot arrived in California more than a week ago, posted a solid workout over the Santa Anita track, and is likely to set the pace.

The Santa Anita Sprint Championship offers a fees-paid berth to the BC Sprint.

Regarding Breeders’ Cup options for Omaha Beach, Mandella will not show his cards. If he runs well, the options may include the Sprint, Dirt Mile, Mile, or Classic. Which is it?

“After the race, I’ll tell you,” Mandella said. “Let’s see how good he sprints. Maybe there is another option we didn’t think of. Let’s see how he runs.”

Shancelot is 4-5 on linemaker Jon White’s line; Omaha Beach is 8-5. Four others were entered, including John Sadler-trained Flagstaff, whose three starts this year include a second-level allowance sprint win last out in which he earned a career-high 97 Beyer. Graded winners Shancelot and Omaha Beach are faster.

“Those are fancier horses because of their form, but they still have to do it,” Sadler said. “You’re talking about [Shancelot] coming from the East Coast, unproven on this surface. And you’re talking about [Omaha Beach] coming off a layup.”

Flagstaff and Victor Espinoza could get a good trip positioned third behind the speed. Flagstaff is the likely third choice in the betting.

Sadler also entered Horse Greedy, a 6-year-old who will rally late. California Street and One Flew South complete the six-runner field.

The Santa Anita Sprint Championship is race 9 on a 10-race card with two other graded stakes. Lady Ninja is most likely winner of the Grade 3 L.A. Woman Stakes, race 5, a prep for the BC Filly and Mare Sprint. Prince Earl is the most likely winner of the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile, race 8, a prep for the BC Mile.