Of all the divisions that coincide with a Breeders’ Cup race the Sprint is set to be the highest quality. As I’ve sought to compile Top 10 lists for other BC races the top horses seemed to readily rise to the fore. In some cases I had difficulty even finding 10 horses that I’d recommend for the Breeders’ Cup. In the case of the Sprint I’ve found no less than 16 off hand. That means a ton of good sprinters will get no mention here. That does not mean I don’t think they’re top quality animals. It only means that I suspect that at 6f on Santa Anita’s Cushion Track there will be others that are better.

Breeders’ Cup Sprint

Street Boss - He’s the new kid with old connections. Bruce Headley expertly campaigned Kona Gold for so many years and Street Boss has the ability to develop into that kind of horse. He is still a long way off of that but he reminds me very much of Kona Gold before he became the monster we all remember. I’d like to see him hone his speed a little. Coming late and wide is not a great tactic for consistent success. He also needs to step forward on the speed figure scale. Beyers are lower on synthetic tracks but others have achieved figures in the 105-109 area, his current top is 103.

In Summation - He is the most accomplished synthetic sprinter of all time. That’s perhaps not saying as much as it suggests given that synthetic tracks are fairly new but he is 5-4-1-0 on all weather surfaces. His only reverse was a half length loss at Hollywood. He’s got figures of 107 and 108 which are huge in relation to what most horses earn in those races. He has fallen off the radar with an extended break from action but look for him to return in one of the Del Mar sprint stakes and then the Ancient Title. His connections want him fresh for the BC so he will likely just have one or two more starts.

Barbecue Eddie - He might not be as fast as Fabulous Strike, but on synthetic surfaces he is the most trusted speed. Eddie is a very tough customer who gave In Summation some torrid battles as well as running a good 4th in Dubai. He looked very good in his comeback effort and should give Street Boss all he can handle at Del Mar. I’d like to see Eddie break through and win a stakes race prior to the Breeders’ Cup.

Idiot Proof - He was the best of the rest in the Breeders’ Cup and has oddly settled into that position in his subsequent races. Idiot Proof is obviously class and his 3rd behind In Summation and Barbecue Eddie in the El Conejo was very good. But then he somehow lost to Tribesman before running a very good second in Dubai. He needs to break out of the funk he’s in but he still remains a very good Californian sprinter. He could even be the race favorite if he starts winning again.

Benny The Bull - Despite his seemingly invincible nature I do not view him as the horse to beat for the Sprint. His lone experiment on the surface did not yield great results and despite his great success this year he has not been facing the toughest horses. He has faced just two of the ten on this list and none of his other competition was even a consideration. Closers rarely win every time they run. There are too many variables, and yet he is winning every time he runs. I suspect that things will eventually turn against him. This little blurb has been mostly negative, despite the reasons I can see for getting him beat I still think he is among the 5 most likely winners of the Sprint. He’s fast, he’s classy and he’s consistent you can’t ask for much more.

Fabulous Strike - I’m not sure if there is a faster gate horse in the world. He is a monster in the first 4f of any race and that makes him dangerous even though he is not tested on the surface and eastern horses don’t have the greatest record in western Breeders’ Cups. the Sprint is about speed and he is the speed of the speed.

J Be K - He has never lost a race at less than a mile. He’s got brilliant speed and the ability to hold back just slightly. There is some debate about if he’ll handle the track or even if he’ll be given the chance considering Asmussens reticence to put his stars on synthetic tracks and Zayat stables well documented criticism of anything but real dirt.

Lucky Island - I’m not convinced that he’s a true 6f specialist, but neither was Midnight Lute and Lucky Island at least has set a new Beyer high each time he’s run 6f. 7f looks like his best trip but he’s no slouch at any distance and we may not have seen his best yet. You’ll notice that most eastern sprinters are on the bottom half of this list. That’s because it has proven to be very difficult to go west and win in the Breeders’ Cup. Still this horse has the look of a possible freak. I look forward to seeing him face some top class opposition at Saratoga.

Euroears - He had me quite excited earlier in the spring as he developed into a truly top class sprinter. He has never been beaten and he handles turf and dirt equally well. He has had an injury which will make it tight for him to compete on BC day but he’s got the quality. He is one of those horses with an air of invincibility. No matter what pace scenario or tactics used against him he finds himself getting to the lead as if it were no great trouble. I really hope he comes back at the same level.

Midnight Lute - The defending champion barely made this list ahead of some others like Black Seventeen and Elite Squadron. It is obviously not that he lack the talent but I think he is not as effective on synthetic tracks, his preparation will be highly suspect and this version of the Sprint promises to be a much better race than last years. Baffert has struggled to get him sound and now he will have just one race before the BC. That does not leave the Lute much leeway. He has to be perfect and brilliant.

Weekend Overview: Curlin showed us one again why it’s a bad idea to take a heavy favorite who is doing something new for the first time. He did not run badly, but the old pro’s on the surface were too much for him. It was by no means a bad race for the reigning Horse of the Year but I do believe this should see his plans for the Arc scratched. Red Rocks will have no chance in the Arc. Curlin should likely take on a race like the Woodward. Give the fans at Saratoga a chance to see racings current version of Big Red. Somewhat in the shadows of Curlin’s turf test Benny The Bull and Kip Deville kept right on winning for Dutrow and IEAH. Both horses have turned into winning machines since the Breeders’ Cup and they ought to keep on rolling right up to this years event. Golden Spikes and Indyanne both looked like useful sorts at Calder although I suspect Indyanne has the brighter future. Indian Blessing will have her hands full at Saratoga. Tizdejavu is looking more and more like a top class turf horse in the making. No one has been able to seriously challenge him yet although he has never run a big race on the Beyer scale, he still has plenty of time to develop before he takes on his elders.

Performance of the Week: I have to give this to Mistical Plan. She produced a spectacular performance which was far better than likely even her connections thought she was capable of. It seemed as though sprinting on the dirt would see her produce a career best effort but the way she took it to the speedy Dream Rush right from the off was unexpected. She ran a very good filly right into the ground and still had plenty left for the stretch run. There isn’t a female sprinter anywhere in the world who could have beaten her on Saturday and I suspect she likely would have shown Benny The Bull a thing or two as well. Well done Mistical Plan.

Race of the Week: It did not turn out the way fans expected but the Man O’War was the top race of the week in terms of hype and I think it lived up to its billing. Three Breeders’ Cup winners facing off and all of them ran very good races. Red Rocks loves North America, three races on this continent have produced two G-1 stakes wins and and another third in the BC Turf. Why they don’t leave him here is beyond me.

Flop of the Weekend: Most of the big name horses performed quite well this weekend. Dream Rush was a disappointment as Curlin in a way but I think the worst of the under performers was Unbridled Belle. She looked nothing like the filly who dominated the Obeah Handicap. She was rather jaded and never got in the race at any point. She will hopefully bounce back at Saratoga but this was the race connections really thought she could win. This is what they geared her up for and she didn’t respond at all.

TCR Mover’s and Shakers: Big Brown’s 10 week reign as the top horse in America is over. Curlin, despite failing to win the Man O’War, did just enough to usurp him for the top spot. Big Brown still has every chance of taking back the top spot though when he run in the Haskell next month. Curlin’s next engagement is undecided. The sprinters continue to be very strong this year and Benny The Bull is the pick of the lot. He is now the 4th best horse in the nation after taking his 4th straight stakes race. Proud Spell has finally made the Three Year Old Female division her own with a nice win at Delaware and Tizdejavu has been quietly climbing the ranks unnoticed. He is now the 3rd ranked Three Year Old Male in the nation and the 6th ranked Turf horse. He still has not lost on the sod.

Tip O’the Cap: I was pretty critical of Dutrow and IEAH’s decision to leave Kip Deville in the barn following his win in the Makers Mark Mile. The original plan called for him to be rested until the Woodbine Mile in September. They decided to shorten up his rest a bit and run in the Poker this past weekend so despite the fact that he is still going to have a light campaign I do applaud them for deviating from their ridiculous original plan. Fans want to see the stars run and Kip Deville as a defending BC winner is definitely one of our current stars. The more he runs, the better.

KC Handicapping: The losing streak is over, after weeks and weeks of solid selections without nice paying winners it finally paid off. Mistical Plan is the hero of the weekend with a very solid score in the Princess Rooney. Although I selected her I had no idea she’d run that big. That was a huge new top. I was quite disappointed with the way the Delaware Handicap turned out. Neither Spring Waltz nor Unbridled Belle did much running. Hystericalady obviously CAN get the distance.

Cumulative record of selected horses: 4(2)-1-0-2 (+$10.20 +127.50% ROI)
Overall record: 559(284)-100-98-81 (-$119.00 -10.64% ROI)

Princess Rooney Handicap
Dream Rush is an exceptional filly. I thought she was a near lock in the BC FM Sprint. Things have not gone exactly to plan for her since last August. It’s hard to believe that she has not won a race for 11 months. You either have to believe that she will come back to her best form an win easily or she will continue to struggle. Coa did ride her poorly in her last. I though he was showing off a bit with that early move and it cost him in the end. Being a fan of hers I hope she returns to her devastating best but the handicapper in me wants to look for an alternative. She has lost just 4 races in her career and 3 of them came first race back off a layoff. The gap between the Vagrancy and the Rooney is just long enough to be considered a layoff even though it’s not truly a spell on the bench. Miraculous Miss and Looky Yonder are the two logical horses to beat her. Miraculous Miss though has not won a race in some time and I’d look for her to lose here again. Looky Yonder pulled off the shocking upset last time but out performers rarely turn the trick twice in a row. The horse I’m looking at is Mistical Plan. I find it singular that O’Neill has no problem taking on Dream Rush when he skipped out on the Smile with Thor’s Echo. Thor’s Echo was closer on paper to Benny The Bull than Mistical Plan is to Dream Rush. I love betting on horses who are returning to what they do best, especially after a long period of running in other types of races. Mistical Plan is 4-3-0-0 in dirt sprint races. She is 1 for 9 in all other types of contests. She ran an encouraging 3rd behind Ginger Punch in her last race and looks to be in top form. It’s been a long time since she ran a dirt sprint, January of 07′ to be exact but the return should do her good. She has never run figures fast enough to match Dream Rush but she has matured quite a bit since she last sprinted, perhaps she’s ready to improve.

Mistical Plan
Dream Rush

Delaware Handicap
I think this is the race of the weekend. We have 4 top run fillies as well as a course specialist. Unbridled Belle, Spring Waltz, Santa Teresita and Hystericalady are all G-1 winners or G-1 winners in waiting. Also don’t forget Moon Catcher. She is a longshot in this race but she was also no lower than 9/1 in both of her stakes win over this course last year. She looms a very legitimate threat to wire the field. Hystericalady is the horse I’m sure the rest of the field is counting on to prevent her from stealing it but the Hollendorfer trainee is very suspect at the distance. In fact I suspect that she won’t even hit the frame in here. Unbridled Belle is a worthy favorite and is the other Delware specialist. She is better on this track than on any other and she was devastating in the Obeah handicap. The only angle I see against her is that it is very hard to run a route race that huge off a layoff then return at a longer distance next time out. She could regress here much like Ginger Punch did in the Apple Blossom. I am very pumped about seeing Spring Waltz in action again. I think despite Unbridled Belle and Moon Catchers surface preference she might be the horse to beat. These Stronach mares get better with age and Spring Waltz has just begun to come of age despite being 5. I am slightly nervous that her form at Gulfstream was just a flash in the pan but she really has been a good filly all her life, the move to dirt only punctuated it. No one has been close to her on dirt and the distance will be no problem for her. Santa Teresita is the wild card, I think she will win more than one G-1 in her career and there is certainly no shame in losing to Zenyatta and Tough Tiz’s Sis. But there are a few questions. She has never even run 9f let alone 10f and she has never tried dirt. She is is bred to relish both but I just don’t think it’ll be her day this time. I’m looking for Spring Waltz and Unbridled Belle to fight this one out with Santa Teresita and Moon Catcher deciding third between them.

Spring Waltz
Unbridled Belle

I’m going to be out of town at another family wedding for the next week and a half so this space will be somewhat dormant until Friday July 11th when I’m scheduled to return.

So Happy Canada Day to some and Happy Independence Day to others. May all your bets be winning ones!