There is likely to be one very familiar face in the starting gate for this year’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, the 8-year-old C Z Rocket, who is on a path to compete in the race for a third consecutive year.
Trainer Peter Miller said Wednesday that although he plans to cross-enter C Z Rocket in both the Sprint and Dirt Mile, the former is where he’s leaning following the veteran’s frustrating nose setback to Howbeit in the six-furlong, Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 1.
The recent history of the Breeders’ Cup Turf bodes well for the 5-year-old mare War Like Goddess.
War Like Goddess scored an emphatic 2 3/4-length win in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic against males at the Belmont at the Big A meeting on Oct. 8 to move to the fore of domestic hopefuls for the BC Turf at 1 1/2 miles on Nov. 5 at Keeneland.
Trained by Bill Mott for George Krikorian, War Like Goddess has won seven stakes in her 12-race career. The $500,000 Hirsch Turf Classic was her debut against males.
Cave Rock and Forte likely established themselves as the first and second betting choices for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 4 at Keeneland with victories in Grade 1 stakes last weekend.
At Santa Anita, Cave Rock put forth another impressive display of speed to win the American Pharoah by 5 1/4 lengths over stablemates National Treasure, Hejazi, and Gandolfini, leading a 1-2-3-4 finish for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Cave Rock improved his record to 3 for 3 and now has two Grade 1 wins, having also taken the Del Mar Futurity.
Golden Pal showed his customary early speed out of the gate in last Saturday’s Grade 2 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland and continued pouring it on down the lane over his home course, the Breeders’ Cup host site, to firmly establish himself as the favorite for the BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 5.
Among those facing the daunting task of trying to run him down in the $1 million Turf Sprint could be a horse who has reinvented himself to make a late rally onto the race’s contender list.
Trainer Todd Pletcher managed to avoid running Nest and Malathaat against each other this prep season, postponing the ultimate question until the Breeders' Cup. Which filly is better – 3-year-old Nest or 4-year-old Malathaat?
The stablemates finally will meet in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 5 at Keeneland, both in top form. Nest trounced her opponents in the Grade 2 Beldame by more than nine lengths Sunday at Aqueduct, her third straight romp. Malathaat won the Grade 1 Spinster by more than five lengths on Sunday at Keeneland.
In some ways, the picture for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint got clearer over a busy weekend of preps, with the promising Private Creed and Nagirroc solidifying their respective places in the lineup with impressive wins. But in other ways, the picture got more muddled.
Love Reigns, who is among the favorites, scratched out of her planned prep and will now come into the Breeders’ Cup off a long layoff, while American Apple entered the picture as a longshot.
The connections of Kimari will keep their options open leading up to the Breeders’ Cup, with plans to pre-enter her in both the $2 million Sprint and the $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint, trainer Wesley Ward said Monday.
Kimari was initially probable for the Sprint because of its six-furlong distance, but she also is a Grade 1 winner at the Filly and Mare distance of seven furlongs at Keeneland, in last year’s Madison.
“I’m waiting on the [ownership], to see what they say,” Ward said of ongoing discussions. “She’ll be much shorter odds versus the girls.”
In 2021, trainer Wayne Catalano won one graded stakes race – the Breeders’ Cup Sprint with Aloha West. In 2022, Catalano again came into autumn winless in graded races. That changed quickly. On Oct. 7 at Keeneland, Manny Wah won the Phoenix and now is bound for his second start in the Breeders Cup Sprint. Two days later, Andthewinneris rolled home an impressive winner of the Bourbon Stakes. He starts next in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
