SPORTS

Breeders' Cup Spotlight: $1.5 million Sprint

Jennie Rees
@CJ_Jennie

BREEDERS’ CUP SPOTLIGHT: SPRINT

Runhappy, after leaving the gate in a recent workout at Keeneland, will compete with Private Zone to be favored in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 31 at Keeneland

Purse: $1.5 million

Division: 3-year-olds & up

Distance: 6 furlongs

TV: NBC Sports Network

Radio/streaming: Horse Racing Radio Network, including 93.9-FM and 680-AM in Louisville and horseracingradio.net.

The favorite: This will come down to the 6-year-old Private Zone and the 3-year-old Runhappy. The suspicion is it will be Runhappy, based on his victory over the Keeneland surface against older horses in the Phoenix. Both horses are very fast, able to rattle off 11-second eighth-miles early on and keep going. The intriguing aspect is which horse will be in front.

Post position will be critical. Runhappy has not been breaking sharply from the gate, and if he’s down on the inside, any miscue could prove costly.

Other contenders:

Runhappy won Keeneland's Phoenix against older horses in the slop. Runner-up Barbardos and fourth-place Holy Boss also will run in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

This race really changed in a matter of a few days with the death of possible favorite Rock Fall and the retirement of 2014 Sprint winner and champion Work All Week. There’s a swell of Kentucky-based horses taking a shot, including Limousine Liberal, second to Runhappy in Saratoga’s Grade I King’s Bishop, Phoenix runner-up Barbados and Churchill’s Aristides winner Alsvid. A horse who figures to provide value over a fast track is Holy Boss, fourth in the Phoenix in the slop. He was regarded as the best 3-year-old sprinter until running in to Runhappy. Wild Dude has replaced Masochistic as the leader of the California sprint division, after victories in the Grade I Santa Anita Sprint Championship and Del Mar’s Bing Crosby. The Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Wild Dude will only benefit from a speed duel and be flying late. Even if it California racing seems increasingly diluted, those sprinters must always be respected.

Wild card: The 5-year-old mare La Verdad was pre-entered in both the seven-furlong Filly & Mare Sprint, which is past her best distance, and the Sprint against boys. Trained by Linda Rice in New York, La Verdad has won her last five races on the lead and could add to the pace scenario. She could be a game-changer in whichever race she runs.

Worth knowing: The creation of the Dirt Mile and Turf Sprint have made this much more of a race for specialists than in the past. Look for horses who have shown they can win at six furlongs on dirt. One of the bet-against angles is horses who are seven-furlong specialists without victories at the shorter distance. Crushing The Cup (proghandicap.com) notes that 16 of the last 22 Sprint winners had at least one victory at six furlongs during that season and calls that a “must” in handicapping the race. CTC loves it if such horses also have won at seven-eighths of a mile, showing they have that extra stamina that can come into play in a demanding race.