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BREEDERS' CUP PREVIEWS
Electric sophomore ZENSATIONAL (Unbridled's Song) will look to lock up championship honors in the $2 million Sprint (G1) on Saturday, but the Bob Baffert charge must overcome the rail post and face easily the best field he's encountered to date. A facile winner of three straight Grade 1 races, Zensational is a scintillating beast of a sprinter and could run this field off their respective feet with a lifetime showing. With that said, we feel compelled to try and upend the favorite in this deep field. We like GAYEGO (Gilded Time) to rally for the win in here for Godolphin. The Grade 2 hero set a track mark at Hollywood last November and has put in a quartet of strong showings since, most notably a stylish win in the Ancient Title S. (G1) most recently, and he's a top BRIS figure-earner, registering 111 Late Pace numbers as well as triple-digit Speed ratings in his last two outings. The ultra-talented four-year-old is not a pure sprinter but loves this oval, and a strong early tempo in front of him might be all he needs to run by them late under Garrett Gomez. Top European sprinter FLEETING SPIRIT (Ire) (Invincible Spirit) has been first or second in 10 of 13 tries for trainer Jeremy Noseda and clearly belongs with this type, ranking first by BRIS Class ratings. The four-year-old filly was a stylish winner of the July Cup (Eng-G1) three back and has put in a pair of big second-place finishes since. The combination of Frankie Dettori, the outside draw and an expected square price makes the late runner more than playable to us. Zensational shouldn't be too hampered by the inside post as he was likely to fly early regardless, but he's yet to see early pressure from foes that will likely push him every step of the way in here. Baffert knows how to ready them for this stage, so we wouldn't be shocked to see him lead at every call if he runs his best. FATAL BULLET (Red Bullet) was a strong second in this race in 2008, netting an impressive 106 BRIS Speed rating over the Pro-Ride, and comes in off of a sharp score in the Phoenix S. (G3) at Keeneland last out. The Reade Baker pupil is a synthetic machine, winning nine of 11 with a pair of seconds in 11 all-weather tries, and he's posted a pair of solid five-furlong works in advance of this race. He's favorably drawn outside of Zensational, and he seems to be a bit more relaxed this time around. We give the four-year-old a big chance to run well. CROWN OF THORNS (Repent) has been on our radar since he broke his maiden in January 2008, and he showed that he can sprint when second in the Ancient Title last time for Richard Mandella. The talented four-year-old looks to be in excellent form since missing a lot of time with an injury, making his third start off the layoff here, and while this trip might be a tad short for him, he can surely rally for a top-three award with a lifetime best. Rafael Bejarano inherits a live mount. Grade 1 winner COST OF FREEDOM (Cee's Tizzy) was denied a chance to run in this last season but will line up on this day with hopes of pulling off a major upset. The John Sadler trainee had a dream prep for this when taking the lead prior to tiring to fourth in the Ancient Title S. (G1) over this oval -- indicating that he might have been a tad short in his second race of the year -- and is a threat to move forward off that effort. We see the gelding as a live exotics threat at big odds. Grade 1-winning sophomore CAPT. CANDYMAN CAN (Candy Ride [Arg]) proved that he can handle synthetic surfaces with a rallying second in the Phoenix last out for Ian Wilkes and is another who should be considered for the exotics in this group. The consistently excellent gelding is a superb one-turn animal in superb form, but we feel that this is not his preferred surface and the trip out west after a long campaign might take something out of him. DANCING IN SILKS (Black Minnaloushe) has registered a trio of wins in succession for conditioner Carla Gaines, but has yet to try graded foes and might be a cut below the best in here. JOIN IN THE DANCE (Sky Mesa) is winless in two career synthetic tries, has just one tally from 12 races and is not nearly fast enough to run with this group early.
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