WHITMORE'S HEART BC SPRINT

He's made more money than anyone else in the field, a tribute to his versatility and longevity, and has recently picked up his first grade 1 victory in a 23-race career, and yet Whitmore is likely to be no better than fifth choice in the $2 million TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs. 

Whitmore, a 5-year-old gelding owned by Southern Springs Stable, Robert LaPenta, and Head of Plains Partners, has been knocking heads all season with the likes of Imperial Hint, Limousine Liberal, and Promises Fulfilled, who all figure to be more fancied than he at the betting windows. Whitmore has finished within a head or neck of them all, and defeated City of Light  and Limousine Liberal when winning the Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course in August.

Tapiture
Trainer Ron Moquett, who has handled Whitmore throughout his four seasons of racing, has a simple outlook on the Sprint.

"We're just going to lead our fast horse over with some other fast horses and watch them run a fast race," he said outside Barn 10 on the Churchill Downs backside.

Over the years, Moquett has learned that Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect—Melody's Spirit, by Scat Daddy) possesses more than just speed.

"It's his heart," noted Moquett. "He's unnaturally strong and strong-willed. Those are the things that make the difference between him and other fast horses. There are a lot of really nice face horses, but do they want it as much as he does? That's the question."

Backers of Whtimore will note that he broke his maiden at Churchill Downs  by 7 1/4 lengths in his first career start in 2015. As a 3-year-old, he was put on the Triple Crown trail, finishing second in the Southwest Stakes (G3), second in the Rebel Stakes (G2), and third in the Arkansas Derby (G1). After a calamitous Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) in which he was hurt and finished 19th, Whitmore was turned back in distance after seven months on the shelf, his 16 subsequent races coming between six and seven furlongs.

Moquett bristles when asked if it was eventually determined that Whitmore was better sprinting.

Revolutionary
"I'd like to address the fact he got beat by grade 1 winners in his route races (Cupid  and Creator) and he's grade 1-placed routing, so I think he can do everything," the trainer said. "He's a very fast horse that can handle several distances. 

"It's easier for us to keep him happy sprinting because he doesn't have to run as hard. But there will be a time when we come back and prove to folks that he can run a route of ground."

"Ron has done a terrific job with the horse," said Sol Kumin of Head of Plains Partners. "Whitmore has shown up every time; if anything, he's been a little unlucky in his races."

John Liviakis, who bred Whitmore, remembers him as a baby.

"He was an athletic, cocky guy with a great physique," he said. "Dominant in the paddock. He was a tough bugger who would fire at other horses, and they had to geld him before he hurt somebody. He still bucks at the gate before he loads; a real character."

Liviakis always believed Whitmore was suited to sprinting because his dam "was like a Quarter Horse, with a big hip and shoulder and short-legged. She was very high-strung, and I tried to breed that out of her by crossing her to a 17-hand, mile-and-a-quarter, laid-back guy."

Whitmore drew the rail in the Sprint, which is where he winds up in most of his races anyway, making his move late from the inside. He has been ultra-consistent since finishing off the board in last year's Sprint at Del Mar, with three victories, three seconds, and a fourth. He will also have the advantage of running out of his home stall, as Moquett splits time between Churchill and Oaklawn Park.

"We didn't have to fly him or put him in a strange stall," said Moquett. He's in the same stall as he was before his first race. It's got to be an advantage.

"He knows his gig. We just point him there. We don't make fast horses fast. We just take care of them and let them tell us how they want to be treated. He's done a great job telling us what he likes."