Thiskyhasnolimit cutting back to one turn for Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

Trainer Steve Asmussen thought Thiskyhasnolimit had the potential to be a superstar. While the son of Sky Mesa has yet to reach that status, he enters Saturday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in perhaps the best form of his life and is quickly becoming one of the buzz horses on the backstretch.

Thiskyhasnolimit only added to the hype with a solid four-furlong work in 48.66 seconds Monday morning at Churchill Downs. A 3-year-old son of Sky Mesa, Thiskyhasnolimit comes off a two-length win in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing on Sept. 6 and a second-place finish to Lookin At Lucky in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby.

Both of those races were run around two turns. On Saturday, he will be cutting back to one turn. The last two times Thiskyhasnolimit raced around one turn, he won the Matt Winn Stakes at seven furlongs in May and the Grade 3 Iroquois going one mile last November. Both of those races were at Churchill Downs, where Thiskyhasnolimit is 3 for 5.

“Last year, until the Iroquois we didn’t think he ran anything up to his potential,” Asmussen said Monday. “I think he’s coming into himself and the best is yet to be seen. I’m extremely pleased with how he’s trained but I’ve been happy with the way he’s trained before.”

Jamie Theriot, who has ridden Thiskyhasnolimit in his last two races, will have the mount in the Mile. Theriot has had only three previous Breeders’ Cup mounts.