Whitmore takes fourth swing at Breeders' Cup Sprint

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Running four straight years in any particular stakes race is a rarity. Four straight years in the same Breeders’ Cup race is even more so.

Next Saturday at Keeneland, Whitmore will compete in the BC Sprint for the fourth straight year, a streak that swells trainer Ron Moquett with pride.

“He’s been such a consistent horse, always playing at a high level, and fortunately he’s been sound,” said Moquett. “Most importantly, he’s just a pretty cool animal.”

Whitmore, a 7-year-old chestnut gelding by Pleasantly Perfect, began his streak by finishing eighth in the 2017 BC Sprint at Del Mar. He then was second to Roy H. at his home track of Churchill Downs, then third last year behind Mitole at Santa Anita.

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In its 36-year history, only five horses have raced in the Breeders’ Cup five times – Better Talk Now, California Flag, Kona Gold, Obviously, and Perfect Drift. Four of them competed in the same BC race all five years, with Obviously being the lone exception. All except Perfect Drift, who went winless, won one BC race.

Into this year, only a dozen more horses have ever had four BC starts. Whitmore, an earner of more than $3.2 million from 37 career starts, will join that group after finishing fourth in the Oct. 2 Phoenix at Keeneland. His six starts this year include wins in the Hot Springs and Count Fleet at Oaklawn Park and a pair of runner-up finishes, most notably in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt at Saratoga.

“He’s ready for action,” said Moquett, who owns Whitmore with Robert LaPenta and the Head of Plains Partners. “We know the horses in there and think we’ve got a good shot. He’s still going to have to step up and run. I expect it to be a great race, the kind the Breeders’ Cup usually puts together.

“There might be a Mitole or a Roy H. or one of those in the field, but they haven’t pronounced themselves yet. We’ll go in there hoping for a clean run and to get lucky.”

◗ Tom Amoss became just the fifth trainer to win 500 races at Churchill when Cave Run won the first race Wednesday under James Graham. Amoss, 58, joins Steve Asmussen, Dale Romans, Bill Mott, and D. Wayne Lukas in achieving the local milestone.