O’Neill gets the nod as trainer of Private Zone for BC Sprint

Private Zone stamped himself as a major contender for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint after successfully defending his title with a game victory over Dads Caps in Saturday’s Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park. But the question still remained: Who will saddle Private Zone in the Sprint?

Would it be Doug O’Neill, who has done such an outstanding job handling the horse since he came to the United States from Panama two years ago, or Alfredo Velazquez, the trainer of record for Private Zone when he won the Vosburgh last weekend at Belmont?

Former rider Rene Douglas, who manages the career of Private Zone, said deciding which trainer to go with in the Breeders’ Cup was “the toughest decision of my life.”

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“Doug has done a tremendous job with this horse since he came over here from Panama,” said Douglas. “But I’ve been around Alfredo almost my whole life. He is one of my closest friends. I haven’t slept the last couple of nights trying to make up my mind what to do, and I probably won’t make a decision for the next several days.”

After much soul searching, Douglas decided Monday that he would return the horse to O’Neill for the Breeders’ Cup. Douglas said Private Zone will ship to Santa Anita later this week.

In the meantime, Private Zone returned with Velazquez to Parx following his gutsy triumph in the Vosburgh, where he reasserted himself along the rail to outfinish Dads Caps after being passed briefly between calls at midstretch. He earned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure for the win, two points lower than he received for his victory in the 2013 Vosburgh.

“He has a tendency to wait on horses; he’ll never win a race by open lengths,” Douglas said of Private Zone, whose three U.S. victories have all been by a neck. “But this horse has two hearts, that’s how game he is.”

Private Zone finished 10th after forcing a blistering pace in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He returned to New York four weeks later to finish second behind Flat Out in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile. He didn’t race again until this month at Parx, where he finished a troubled fourth while making his grass debut in the Turf Monster.

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“I really wanted to bring him back in the Forego at Saratoga, but he was still a couple of works short to go seven furlongs, so we put him on the turf to give him a prep for the Vosburgh, and the plan worked out perfectly,” said Douglas.

Trainer Linda Rice said Palace, who finished third as the 6-5 favorite in the Vosburgh, also would be heading to Santa Anita for the Sprint. Palace won the Forego along with the Grade 1 Vanderbilt this summer at Saratoga.

“I think finishing third on Saturday was a function of them not going that fast early and perhaps him being just a bit flat after those two big races at Saratoga,” said Rice. “But I thought he still ran well enough to make the trip to Santa Anita if all goes well over the next couple of weeks.

The Breeders’ Cup status of both Dads Caps and Salutos Amigos, who finished fourth in the Vosburgh, remained up in the air after the race.

“He ran a great race Saturday after getting hung out wide, so we are seriously considering the Sprint, but it’s not a decision I am going to make at this time,” said Salutos Amigos’s trainer and co-owner, David Jacobson.