Ransom the Moon to scratch from Pat O'Brien

DEL MAR, Calif. – The desire to have just one more race between now and the Breeders’ Cup Sprint is what kept Ransom the Moon out of the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien on Saturday at Del Mar. Now, the focus will be on whether to go in the De Francis Dash at Laurel on Sept. 15 or the Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 6.

Trainer Phil D’Amato on Friday morning was giving serious consideration to the De Francis, as the timing would be a nice bridge between the Grade 1 Bing Crosby, which Ransom the Moon won on July 28, and the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, to be run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

The Bing Crosby, De Francis, Santa Anita Sprint Championship, and Breeders’ Cup Sprint all are at six furlongs. The Pat O’Brien is at seven furlongs.

“If I run in the race, I could sit on him for 10 weeks until the Breeders' Cup, or try to squeeze in another race,” D’Amato said of the O’Brien. “I think that’s what got me in trouble last year. We tried to fit in too many races going into the Breeders’ Cup. I didn't have a fresh horse.”

Ransom the Moon was fifth in last year's Breeders’ Cup Sprint, run at Del Mar. He had won the Bing Crosby here earlier that summer.

D’Amato said that if he runs in the De Francis, he might be inclined to send Ransom the Moon straight to Churchill Downs to train there right into the Breeders’ Cup.