Horse Wagering

2007 Breeders' Cup Sprint

The Sprint is the quickest race on the Breeders' Cup card, taking just over a minute to race, and often confounds handicappers.

Large fields and unpredictable results make the Sprint one of the toughest races to find the winner.

In 2006, Thor's Echo lit up the tote board, returning $33.20 for the win. Friendly Island finished second at 58/1, and Nightmare Affair was third at 29/1.

The trio combined for a trifecta that paid $10,611.80 for a $2 ticket.

Two favorites have won the Sprint over the past ten years. The average win mutuel over that time is $20.42.

Here is a look at the top contenders for this year's Sprint:

Midnight Lute: The Bob Baffert trainee was a good looking winner in the Grade 1 Forego in his last start at Saratoga on September 1. What made his last start so impressive was he was coming back off a 4 ½ month layoff. The colt has won 4 of 9 career starts and still appears to have plenty of upside. If there is a negative, it's the fact he has mostly been running at seven furlongs. His last six furlong race came in his second career start at Del Mar in June of last year, a runner up finish in his first start against winners.

Smokey Stover: This colt won four in a row in California before shipping east. He showed up at Calder for the Grade 2 Smile Sprint and finished third as the 6/5 favorite. The colt bounced back with a good effort winning the Icecapade Stakes at Monmouth Park going six furlongs. It's encouraging to see him run so well over the same surface as the Sprint, although he certainly will be facing a much tougher group on Breeders' Cup Day. The colt is trained by Greg Gilchrist, who trained the multiple sprint stakes winner Lost in the Fog.

Idiot Proof: This colt won the Grade 1 Ancient Title in his last start on October 7, which in years past has been an important prep for the Sprint. This year he only had to beat four foes and the race was contested over the synthetic surface polytrack for the first time. The three year old son of Benchmark has won 5 of his 8 career starts, and this colt has the advantage of a race over the Monmouth Park surface. He won the G3 Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup on July 4 by better than seven lengths.

Greg's Gold: The gelding finished in the runner up spot in the Grade 1 Ancient Title in his most recent start behind Idiot Proof. The David Hofmans trainee had a tough trip, lacking running room exiting the far turn, splitting rivals in deep stretch and bumping with the eventual third place finisher in the late going. His two previous efforts put him right in the mix in this race. On August 19, the gelding earned an automatic berth in the Sprint by winning the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Handicap, a race that was part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" series of races. Three back the gelding missed winning the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Handicap by a hard fought nose to In Summation.