Thursday, October 30, 2014

Xpressbet Breeders' Cup Sprint


At only six furlongs, the Xpressbet Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) raises more questions regarding post positions than do many of the longer races. Yet historically Sprint wins have been scattered throughout the starting gate—except for the extreme outside.
Still, after the post position draw for the Nov.1 test at Santa Anita Park, trainers' responses ranged from relief that their horses weren't stuck on the inside to dismay that they were.
"I wanted to be more outside," said Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. "You don't want to be inside for that race."
Baffert trains Secret Circle, last year's Sprint winner, and undefeated Indianapolis, and they drew posts 4 and 2, respectively. Baffert-trained Zensational   in 2009 and Euroears in 2011 started from the rail and finished unplaced. Thirty Slews, also conditioned by Baffert, won from post 8 in 1992 and ran fourth in 1993 from the rail.
Ron Ellis-trained Seeking the Sherif ended up on the rail this year.
"It's not what we had in mind," Ellis said. "It limits your options."
Every post from 1-11 has had at least one winner, so the inside doesn't always spell disaster. Three horses have won from the rail, four from post 2, and another four from post 3.
The middle does very well, with five wins from post 5 (the most of any post position), two from post 4, and one each from the 6, 7, and 8 holes. Vosburgh Invitational (gr. I) winner Private Zone drew the 5 this year.
No horse has won from 12, 13, or 14, though not every year has seen a full field. Eight of the 30 runnings had no post 12, 13, or 14, while another two had no 13 or 14 and eight more had no post 14.
Trainer Kathy Ritvo was pleased with the post 12 draw of Fast Anna, which she said "suits him very well."
In 2013, Laugh Track ran second  from post 12 by just a neck to Secret Circle. Others to get close from outside posts include Play the KingSafely Kept, and Honest Lady, who finished second in 1988, 1989, and 2000 from post 13.
Perhaps the unluckiest horse to come out of post 13 in the Sprint was Dayjur in 1990. A sensational European entrant, Dayjur famously jumped shadows nearing the wire, losing to Safely Kept by a neck.
Unlike most stakes races, which remain at the same track every year, the Breeders' Cup has traveled. As a traditional one-mile oval, Santa Anita has a fairly long run to the turn.
Four times the Sprint has been contested at Belmont Park, with its 1 1/2-mile track. That means a short run to the turn, which is much wider than most tracks. Those four runnings went twice to horses from post 3 and twice to horses from post 4.
An important factor is each horse's style of running. Two of Baffert's four Sprint victories came with Midnight Lute  , who raced well off the pace. Midnight Lute won from post 2 in 2007 at Monmouth Park and post 3 in 2008 at Santa Anita.
Secret Circle last year broke from post 9 and raced in sixth early. He had to travel wide around the turn en route to his victory.
Whether the rail will hurt or help Seeking the Sherif remains to be seen. He has often set the pace in his races.
"It kind of forces your hand a little bit," said Ellis. "He just will have to get out of there and start running. It's not optimal."
But maybe Ellis can take some consoion from the records of SmileThor's Echo, and Big Drama. All three won their editions of the Breeders' Cup Sprint from the rail and went on to win the Eclipse Award as champion sprinter.

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