Breeders Cup Sprint Free Betting Picks
The Breeders' Cup Sprint (Grade 1) may very well be the prototypical American race since approximately half of all North American races are run at its distance of 6 furlongs. This $1 million race of the Breeders' Cup has certainly been a competitive one, primarily among North American runners, and indeed in all its existence, has proven to be a nightmare for handicappers among the Breeders' Cup races.
As a championship event, the Breeders' Cup Sprint has been especially decisive in years when no horse clearly dominated the division. In 12 of the Sprint's 20 runnings, the Eclipse Award for champion sprinter has gone to the winner.
What set the aggressive tone for the 6-furlong dash was the 1st Breeders' Cup Sprint in 1984 at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California, with Eillo desperately holding off Commemorate to win by a nose. In fact, seven runnings of the Sprint have been decided by a neck or less. Eillo was favored at 1.30-to-1. No favorite would again win the Breeders' Cup Sprint for ten years, until Cherokee Run at 2.80-to-1 in 1994. Lit de Justice was a lukewarm 4-to-1 favorite in the 1996 Sprint, Kona Gold won at 1.70-to-1 in 2000, and Orientate, at 2.70-to-1 in 2002.
Between Eillo and Cherokee Run, the Breeders' Cup Sprint was won by two other champions, Precisionist in 1985 and Gulch in 1988, who could not be exactly be characterized as pure sprinters. Fred Hooper's homebred Precisionist won the 1 ¼-mile Charles H. Strub Stakes (G1) in the same year he was sprint champion, and Gulch, who was really best at one mile, bagged the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) twice, in 1987 and 1988, the latter being his championship year.
The Breeders' Cup Sprint in 1990 remains among the most memorable in the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships history. Safely Kept, 1989'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 favorite Safely Kept to regain the lead and hold on for a neck victory.
Dayjur may have failed to become the first overseas horse to win the Sprint series of the Breeders' Cup races but this European contingent broke through in 1991, the year Sheikh Albadou (Great Britain) had won at Churchill Downs. At 26.30-to-1, Sheikh Albadou remains the longest-priced winner of the Sprint. Average odds of the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships Sprint winners have been a healthy 9.96-to-1.
Top-quality sprinters can be durable and fast at the same time, and this was proven in the Breeders' Cup Sprint of 2000 by winner Kona Gold, who was managed by co-owner and trainer Bruce Headley. The Java Gold gelding placed third in 1998, second in 1999, and finally won at age six. With this win at Churchill Downs, Kona Gold set a track record of 1:07.77, the fastest time ever set for the Sprint. Kona Gold was the 7-to-2 favorite when he sought a second straight win in 2001 but finished seventh behind winner Squirtle Squirt. In 2002, his record fifth start in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, Kona Gold finished fourth.
In the 2003 Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, 23-1 longshot Cajun Beat stalked the pace for the first quarter, which went in a blistering 21 seconds, grabbed the lead after half a mile and then drew away down the lane to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Cajun Beat won over 14-1 shot Bluesthestandard in a time of 1:07 4/5. At the 2004 Breeders' Cup Sprint, Speightstown ran away with the championship at 3.70 odds with jockey John Velasquez. Kela placed second at 4.00 odds with jockey Jerry Bailey, and My Cousin Matt followed in third place at 60.70 odds with jockey Ramon Dominguez.