Switzerland in excellent spot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Although Switzerland may have looked like a Breeders’ Cup Sprint horse in decisively taking the Grade 3 De Francis Dash on Sept. 22 at Laurel Park, his participation this week at Churchill Downs is limited to starting in one of the Breeders’ Cup warm-up acts: Thursday’s $100,000 Bet On Sunshine.

His placement in Thursday’s race, an overnight stakes that drew a field of seven including stakes winner Heartwood and the speedy, off-track-loving Rock and Fellers, is in keeping with the strategy Steve Asmussen has largely employed with him. That is, place him in spots where he figures to be the one to beat and watch him take care of the rest.

“Everybody likes winning,” Asmussen said.

Switzerland has done of a lot of that in 2018, scoring five times from six starts, in contrast to last year, when he was winless in seven attempts. All but one of those victories have come under the direction of Asmussen, who took over his training after the colt won a maiden race in February at Aqueduct for Chad Brown.

His lone defeat this year came in the Grade 1 Alfred Vanderbilt on July 28 at Saratoga, a race in which he faded to fifth, beaten 8 1/2 lengths by Imperial Hint, one of the Sprint’s top contenders.

“I think the race Thursday is a nice option for him,” Asmussen said of Switzerland. “Obviously the Breeders’ Cup Sprint this year is an unbelievably fast race. Nothing but respect for them.”

Besides the ungraded company he faces Thursday, other conditions in the Bet On Sunshine suit. The six-furlong distance comes at a trip over which he has specialized this year, and the potential for an off track from wet weather would not lessen his effectiveness. He has twice won in the slop this year, notably in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint at Pimlico, his other graded-stakes victory.

Ricardo Santana Jr. is in the irons on Switzerland, a 4-year-old son of Speightstown who is favored at 4-5 on the morning line.

Switzerland is not alone in having won over a wet track this year. Rock and Fellers has twice won in the slop in 2018, both by commanding margins and with his highest Beyer Speed Figures, and Heartwood scored over a sloppy track in Keeneland in April.

Heartwood, fourth behind Promises Fulfilled in the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland on Oct. 5, is one of four graded stakes droppers in the Bet On Sunshine, the others being Switzerland, Silver Ride, and Uno Mas Modelo. The latter two runners come to Churchill by way of Belmont, where Silver Ride finished third in the Vosburgh and Uno Mas Modelo ran seventh in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.