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Roughly half of all North American races are run at six furlongs, and thus the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) is the prototypical American race. The six-furlong dash has proved to be a competitive contest, principally among North American runners, and in many years it has been a nightmare for handicappers. As a championship event, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint has been especially decisive in years when no horse clearly dominated the division. In 13 of the 22 runnings of the Sprint, the Eclipse Award for champion sprinter has gone to the winner. |
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The first Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 1984 set the tone for the series, with Eillo desperately holding off Commemorate to win by a nose. Seven runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint have been decided by a neck or less. Eillo was favored at 1.30-to-1, and no favorite would again win the Sprint for ten years, until Cherokee Run (2.80-to-1) in 1994. Lit de Justice was a lukewarm 4-to-1 favorite in 1996, Kona Gold won at 1.70-to-1 in 2000, and Orientate prevailed at 2.70-to-1 in ‘02.
Between Eillo and Cherokee Run, the Sprint was won by two other champions, Precisionist (1985) and Gulch (‘88), who could not be characterized as pure sprinters. Fred Hooper’s homebred Precisionist won the 1 1/4-mile Charles H. Strub Stakes (G1) the same year he was sprint champion, and Gulch was really best at one mile, winning the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) twice, 1987 and ‘88, the latter his championship year.
The Sprint in 1990 remains one of the most memorable in Breeders’ Cup history. Safely Kept, the prior year’s champion sprinter, fought a spirited, head-to-head battle with English invader Dayjur, the 2.40-to-1 favorite. Inside the furlong pole, Dayjur appeared to take command, but 40 yards from the wire he jumped the shadow of Belmont Park’s grandstand and briefly lost his action. Those missteps proved sufficient for 12.20-to-1 Safely Kept to regain the lead and hold on for a neck victory.
Although Dayjur failed to become the first overseas horse to win the Sprint, the European contingent broke through the following year when Sheikh Albadou (GB) won at Churchill Downs. At 26.30-to-1, Sheikh Albadou remains the longest-priced winner of the Sprint. Average odds of Sprint winners were a healthy 9.76-to-1.
Kona Gold, the 2000 winner, proved that top-quality sprinters could be durable as well as fast. Carefully managed by co-owner and trainer Bruce Headley, the Java Gold gelding ran third in 1998, second in ‘99, and finally won at age six. In winning at Churchill Downs, Kona Gold set a track record, 1:07.77, the fastest time ever for the Sprint. Kona Gold was the 7-to-2 favorite when seeking a second straight win in 2001 but finished seventh behind winner Squirtle Squirt. In 2002, his record fifth start in the race, he finished fourth.
Racing Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas may be best known for his classic horses, but he collected his second Sprint victory with favored Orientate in 2002 at Arlington Park. The following year, Cajun Beat stormed to a 22.80-to-1 victory over a talented field at Santa Anita Park, and the Eclipse Award went to race favorite Aldebaran, who finished sixth at 2.10-to-1. In 2004, Speightstown secured an Eclipse Award with a 1 1/4-length victory over Kela. The 2005 race was marked by unbeaten Lost in the Fog’s bid for the three-year-old championship (Xtra Heat had gotten her divisional title with a second to Squirtle Squirt in 1999) but he finished seventh behind another three-year-old, Silver Train. In the 1980s, the Sprint was a graveyard for one of the era’s most talented sprinters, Groovy. He went off at 2-to-5 in the 1986 Sprint and finished fourth, 4 1/4 lengths behind front-running winner Smile. At Hollywood Park the following year, Groovy went off at 4-to-5 and ran second to another front-runner, Ben Rochelle’s filly Very Subtle. Groovy was voted an Eclipse Award as outstanding sprinter in 1987. The only other Sprint starter to lose at odds-on was two-time champion Housebuster, who finished ninth at 2-to-5 odds in 1991. |
