Strong race puts Bern Identity into Breeders' Cup Sprint

The prospective starting lineup for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint should come into focus before the weekend runs its course, with the final two Win and You’re In races for the event to take place Friday at Keeneland and Saturday at Santa Anita Park.

The Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship could have a major bearing on two Breeders’ Cup races, the Sprint and the Dirt Mile. The Santa Anita Sprint Championship field will feature a pair of reigning Breeders’ Cup champions, Sprint winner Secret Circle, and Dirt Mile winner Goldencents. Rich Tapestry, runner-up in the Dubai Golden Shaheen earlier this year, adds even more intrigue to the race in his U.S. debut.

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The Grade 3 Phoenix at Keeneland had been used as a prep in recent years as much for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint as the Sprint, having been decided over the artificial surface at Keeneland. But that will not be the case any longer, with the main track at Keeneland having been converted to dirt.

The six-furlong Phoenix drew a competitive field of eight, including Bern Identity, who is undefeated in three starts this year. Bern Identity won the Grade 2 Sanford at 2, and after running fifth in the Holy Bull at Gulfstream in January 2013 spent more than 18 months on the sidelines. He returned to win Monmouth Park’s My Frenchman on Aug. 2, the restricted Tale of the Cat at Saratoga and, most recently, Laurel’s Dave’s Friend on Sept. 6.

Trainer Kelly Breen said Bern Identity’s performance in the Phoenix will determine his Breeders’ Cup status.

“He doesn’t have to win the Phoenix to go to the Breeders’ Cup,” Breen said. “He can still run well, get beat and deserve to go. We’ll just wait until after the race to make that determination.”

The field for the Phoenix is loaded with speed ,and while Bern Identity was on or near the lead in his three wins this summer, Breen does not see that as an issue on Friday.

“He happens to have speed and he’s used it to his advantage in his races this year,” he said. “But he doesn’t have to be in front to win.”

Other key contenders in the Phoenix seeking an all-expenses paid trip to the Breeders’ Cup include Rainbow Heir, who like Bern Identity brings a three-race win streak into the race; Florida invader Mr. Baker, who had his four-race winning streak snapped in his most recent start; the Todd Pletcher-trained Eastwood; and Work All Week, who had won seven races in a row until he lost at Arlington Park in July.