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"The Breeders Cup 2006 Sprint"
 
 
by Jim Lambert
Founder Horse-Race-Handicapping.com

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SPRINT

With Bordonaro supplemented to the Sprint following his big victory in the Grade 1 Ancient Title Breeders' Cup, an historic duel could very well shape up with the west coast star Bordonaro against the east coast star Henny Hughes. Bill Spawr trains the speedster Bordonaro, winner of nine races in twelve tries, all in California. A son of the Chilean-bred Memo, Bordonaro is scary fast but he has never seen a horse like Henny Hughes before. Henny Hughes, a son of the champion Hennessy, has six wins in nine starts, seven of those starts in graded stakes. Henny Hughes looks to be the classiest horse (in the Sprint) off his dominant win over War Front in the Vosburgh at Belmont. Kiaran McLaughlin trains Henny Hughes for Zabeel Racing International, headed up by Sheikh Rashid of the famed Maktoum family of the United Arab Emirates. Trainer McLaughlin has brought Henny Hughes into his 2006 campaign carefully and deliberately, having raced him only three times (this year), all dominating victories. The result is a championship caliber horse in tip-top condition. The only chance to beat Henny Hughes is on the front end, and if Bordonaro can't do it maybe Kelly's Landing can. In the summer of 2005 Kelly's Landing set a record for six panels at Churchill Downs at 107 and 2 in graded stakes company. Handler Eddie Kenneally's horses are very good in big events and Kelly's Landing may have the best chance to score the upset. The fourth place finisher in last year's Breeders Cup Sprint, Attila's Storm, returns for another try in 2006, but must overcome any remnants of a serious injury (hind leg fracture) to do so. A third place finish to Henny Hughes in the Vosburgh was promising, but Henny Hughes was not even tested on that day. Bob Baffert enters Too Much Bling after nearly two months off and Bling is a definite threat for the exotics, although he does not match up well against the duo of Henny Hughes and Bordonaro. Too Much Bling is a big talent, but not as fast as Bordonaro and not with the staying power of Henny Hughes. West coast sprinter Siren Lure enters the fray (for trainer Art Sherman) after an awkward 76 days off and a series of brilliant but brutally draining sprints. Seventy-six days is not long enough to heal anything but minor bumps and bruises, and it's too long of a layoff to stay really fresh. Siren Lure has beaten Pure As Gold, but he has not faced the best sprinters in the division. Pomeroy returns to the track for the first time since winning the Forego at Saratoga (63 days ago) and he also has a chance to hit the board. Henny Hughes and Too Much Bling are the only 3-year-olds in the field, but they both belong. Friendly Island, a 5-year-old trained by Pletcher, has become a reliable sprinter in graded stakes, without being brilliant. He has managed a second to Bordonaro and a third to Pomeroy, and the speedy New York bred son of Crafty Friend could be an exotics factor. Nightmare Affair is a hard-knocking Florida bred with 11 wins in 41 overall starts, including an upset win over Pomeroy in the Smile Sprint Handicap (Calder) in July, but next out Nightmare Affair was well-beaten by Pomeroy in the Forego.  Thor's Echo (trained by Doug O'Neil) is always on or near the pace in sprints in California, but he is another who has not faced the top east coast sprinters. Nick Zito pre-entered Commentator at the last moment, and the speedy New York bred has a big Whitney Handicap (2005) win over Saint Liam to his credit. Commentator is not a pure sprinter, and his tenth place finish in the Forego supports that premise, and Nick Zito may have seen the writing on the wall as Commentator has been withdrawn from the Sprint. In the place of Commentator will be the alternate Areyoutalkintome, a Doug O'Neil charge. Despite a recent second in the Phoenix on Keeneland's new polytrack surface, Areyoutalkintome has only eight wins in thirty-four starts on dirt and has only limited possibilities in the Sprint.