breeders' cup sprint | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sprint: Whitmore To Get Well-Deserved Vacation, Point For 8-Year-Old Campaign

Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Whitmore, who was making his fourth start in the race, was back at Louisville, Ky., in his Churchill Downs stall not long after the Breeders' Cup races concluded and enjoyed some hydrotherapy in an equine spa Sunday morning. He'll stay at Churchill for about a week before leaving to have his normal vacation at Rebecca Maker's farm in Versailles, Ky., according to trainer and co-owner Ron Moquett.

As long as the horse continues to show he wants to run, the Pleasantly Perfect gelding will race again next year at age 8.

“That was awesome,” Moquett said. “It's always fun when you are a big fan of a horse and they win. It's even better when you are a fan and their trainer. Laura (Moquett, wife and assistant) said he was cooled out by the time they got to the test barn.”

When asked who was more tired this morning, him or the horse, Moquett said it was probably him.

“I stayed up late last night responding to texts from people congratulating me. They may not even like me, but they like the horse. I had texts from (Richard) Mandella, (Bob) Baffert, (Steve) Asmussen, (Todd) Pletcher, (Nick) Zito and (D. Wayne) Lukas. I'm so proud that Whitmore's touched those guys because they know something about a good horse.”

Whitmore was unplaced in 2017, second in 2018 and third the Sprint in 2019.

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Fourth Time’s A Charm: Whitmore Stages Bold Rally To Win Breeders’ Cup Sprint

In a career that's seen him do just about everything, Whitmore ticked one of the few boxes left to check on Saturday at Keeneland with a convincing score in his fourth attempt at the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

The 7-year-old Pleasantly Perfect gelding settled in the middle of the pack across the backstretch as Japanese longshot Jasper Prince shot to the lead from one of the outside posts, followed a couple lengths back by Empire of Gold and favorite Yaupon. Jasper Prince and jockey Jose Ortiz led the field through an opening quarter-mile in :21.64 seconds, and he continued to guide it to the half-mile mark in :44.66 seconds.

As the field turned for home, Empire of Gold drew up to the outside of Jasper Prince, while a crush of horses ran behind them trying to stage a stretch drive. Those potential challengers bottlenecked in the stretch, which opened up a seam for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. to continue a rail rally he'd begun staging in the turn. As Jasper Prince faded, Irad Ortiz took his mount off the rail to pass the tiring pacesetter, and swung three-wide to take aim on upset candidate Empire of Gold.

Whitmore's momentum blew him past Empire of Gold as they passed the eighth pole, and he was well clear by the final sixteenth. He crossed the wire 3 1/4 lengths ahead of a steadily-gaining C Z Rocket, who was himself a neck ahead of Firenze Fire on the rail. Empire of Gold carried on for fourth, three-quarters of a length behind Firenze Fire.

Whitmore won the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint in 1:08.61 over a fast main track at Keeneland. He paid $38.80 to win.

Ron Moquett trains the winner, and he co-owns the gelding with Robert LaPenta, and Head of Plains Partners. The Sprint was Moquett's first Breeders' Cup win in six attempts.

Four of those tries have come with Whitmore in the Sprint. He finished eighth in the 2017 edition, then finished second and third in the years that followed.

What Whitmore has become runs in stark contrast to the early years of his six-year career, when he was groomed to be a classic contender. After consistently performing well on the Oaklawn Park branch of the Triple Crown trail, he was entered in the 2016 Kentucky Derby, where he finished second-to-last. He was moved to the sprint ranks after the Derby, and established his place as one of the division's top runners for the years to come.

The 7-year-old Whitmore is a Kentucky-bred son of Pleasantly Perfect out of the Scat Daddy mare Melody's Spirit. The victory was worth $1,100,000 and boosted his earnings to $4,307,850 with a record of 38-15-11-3. It is his second Grade 1 victory to go with a score in the 2018 Forego at Saratoga.

To view the full chart, click here.

Race Quotes:

Winning trainer Ron Moquett (Whitmore) – “I said in the pre-race interview that whenever there are this many track records, it's almost impossible to think a closer is going to do well. For him to run against the bias the way he did and the patience of the rider, the willingness to listen, it all worked out. I'm so proud of the horse, proud for the connections. I'm proud for everyone out there that's thinking when you run last in the Kentucky Derby, kick them out, do right by the horse come back, and you have a shot to reach other dreams. You don't discard them. You just do right by the horse and it keeps working out.

“I'm just grateful. Grateful for the horse. Grateful to everyone that sends me well wishes and congratulations after the race. Just grateful.”

Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Whitmore) – “He had a great trip. We wanted to break and have him relax and that's what we did. He relaxed so good. I was able to cut the corner on the turn and when I tipped him out he just exploded. He's a nice horse. He's been running for so many years. He's a warrior.”

Second-place trainer Peter Miller (C Z Rocket) –“He ran his eyeballs out. I think the draw really hurt us. If we drew where Whitmore drew, I think it's a different deal, but that's horse racing. We had to ride him away from there and that's not the way he really wants to run, but he had no choice on this speed-favoring racetrack. From the inside, you don't want to get shuffled back to last. He rode a super race. It was just circumstance. Speed favoring track and an inside draw on a horse who wants to sit and doesn't want to be ridden away from there, but I couldn't be prouder of the horse. He's shown up every time we ran him.”

Second-place jockey Luis Saez (C Z Rocket) – “He had a beautiful trip. I thought he was going to win but he just kind of stayed there. But he ran a nice race.”

Third-place jockey Jose Lezcano (Firenze Fire) – “We kind of lost a little bit of contact early. The pace was very fast early and he was a little bit more behind than I wanted to be. From the five-sixteenths to the three-sixteenths I didn't have any place to go. I was waiting and waiting and when I really asked him to go he gave me a good kick. He really came running. If we could have gotten a little clear earlier we would have been right there. He gave me a good race.”

Eighth-place jockey Joel Rosario (Yaupon, favorite) – “Coming out of the gate he kind of hesitated for a little bit. I think that cost the chances for us to probably win the race.”

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Fourth Time Lucky In the Sprint for Fan-Favorite Whitmore

Making his fourth consecutive appearance in the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint, the 7-year-old gelding Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) did what few have done over the course of the weekend–rally from far back on the main track to score an 18-1 upset in the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint Saturday at Keeneland.

The $4.2-million earner lagged in the latter third of the field early as Japanese raider Jasper Prince (Violence) ensured a fast pace, chased along by fellow longshot Empire of Gold (Goldencents). Traveling nicely within himself on the turn, Whitmore crept into it while steadily gaining on the leaders, angled out into the three path entering the final furlong and outran C Z Rocket (City Zip) to the wire to take it by 3 1/4 lengths. Firenze Fire (Poseidon’s Warrior) rallied up the inside to just touch Empire of Gold out of third.

Heavily favored sophomore Yaupon (Uncle Mo), unbeaten in four prior attempts racing on the engine, including Saratoga’s GII Amsterdam S., tired to eighth after chasing the early leaders on the outside from third.

“I said in the pre-race interview that whenever there are this many track records, it’s almost impossible to think a closer is going to do well,” winning trainer and co-owner Ron Moquett said after saddling his first Breeders’ Cup winner. “For him to run against the bias the way he did and the patience of the rider [Irad Ortiz, Jr.], the willingness to listen, it all worked out. I’m so proud of the horse, proud for the connections. I’m proud for everyone out there that’s thinking when you run last in the Kentucky Derby, kick them out, do right by the horse come back, and you have a shot to reach other dreams. You don’t discard them. You just do right by the horse and it keeps working out.

Moquett continued, “I’m just grateful. Grateful for the horse. Grateful to everyone that sends me well wishes and congratulations after the race. Just grateful.”

Two years ago Moquett was diagnosed with autoimmune disease, which affects the lungs and can make breathing difficult. The disease forced him to avoid the racetrack for several months.

Whitmore, who gave Moquett his second career Grade I victory in the 2018 Forego at Saratoga, has helped the affable trainer get through his darkest days.

“Right after the race they come up and they want to do interviews, and for a little bit, for a guy that’s lung compromised, I’m sitting over here trying to go, ‘Okay, first you catch your breath and then you can talk and then when you put these, what I call life restrictors on me, then it makes it that much harder to get air through there,'” Moquett said.

“He’s everything. You get a horse like this, and all horses, I mean, we drive across the country all the time just to see horses. But a horse like this that tries and fights and gives you everything consistently, you want to be there. I’m not saying that even in one of these big barns that he wouldn’t have performed beautifully and done just as well, but I am saying that Whitmore in a big outfit may not have received the exact attention that he needed to get there. So, I use that as motivation. If I’m not there to do my job, who is going to do it?”

Whitmore, a Classics hopeful after finishing third in the GI Arkansas Derby in 2016, finished 19th in that year’s GI Kentucky Derby.

Re-invented as a sprinter since, Whitmore finished eighth in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar, second to Roy H (More Than Ready) at Churchill two years ago and third to Mitole (Eskendereya) last year at Santa Anita.

Whitmore lined up six previous times this season, led by wins in Oaklawn’s Hot Springs S. (4x winner) and GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. (3x winner). This term’s GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. runner-up entered off a flat fourth in the local GII Phoenix S.

Whitmore is campaigned in partnership by Robert LaPenta, Moquett and Sol Kumin’s Head of Plains Partners LLC.

“It’s just an incredible win,” said Kumin, also a co-owner of Friday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Aunt Pearl (Ire) and Saturday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff heroine Monomoy Girl (Tapizar). “You own lots of horses, but very rarely do you find one that is a fighter like this guy, with so much heart. All the credit goes to Ron and his team and Whitmore because he’s just, you know, he’s a warrior and it was just amazing to see today.”

Will we see the popular gelding back again at age eight?

“I see no reason, as long as Whitmore wants to do it. I see no reason to do anything but what he wants to do,” Moquett concluded.

Pedigree Notes:

The veteran Whitmore, who would undoubtedly win any popularity contests of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup, is the most accomplished horse sired by 2003 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Pleasantly Perfect–although the latter also sired 2010 GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Shared Account, who in turn foaled 2019 GI Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing (Speightstown)–from his 20 black-type winners and seven graded winners. Pleasantly Perfect died in June in Turkey, where he had stood from 2015-2019. Whitmore is out of the Scat Daddy mare Melody’s Spirit, who was unraced and produced Whitmore as her first foal. Her 2-year-old colt Skip Intro (Liam’s Map) is a barnmate of Whitmore’s in Ron Moquett’s shedrow and was second in a Churchill maiden special weight Nov. 1. Melody’s Spirit’s yearling colt by Arrogate–named Arrogates Spirit–was a $170,000 RNA at Keeneland September. The mare has been bred back to Constitution. The late Scat Daddy’s record as a sire has been well documented, but he also has nine black-type winners out of his daughters, led by Whitmore.

Saturday, Keeneland
BREEDERS’ CUP SPRINT-GI, $1,840,000, Keeneland, 11-7, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:08.61, ft.
1–WHITMORE, 126, g, 7, by Pleasantly Perfect
                1st Dam: Melody’s Spirit, by Scat Daddy
                2nd Dam: Capture the Cat, by Tale of the Cat
                3rd Dam: Ten Flags, by Seattle Slew
O-Robert V. LaPenta, Ron Moquett & Head of Plains Partners
LLC; B-John Liviakis (KY); T-Ron Moquett; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.
$1,040,000. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 38-15-11-3, $4,247,850.
Werk Nick Rating: A++.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–C Z Rocket, 126, g, 6, City Zip–Successful Sarah, by Successful
Appeal. ($800,000 2yo ’16 OBSOPN). O-Madaket Stables LLC,
Gary Barber & Tom Kagele; B-Farm III Enterprises LLC (FL);
T-Peter Miller. $340,000.
3–Firenze Fire, 126, h, 5, Poseidon’s Warrior–My Every Wish, by
Langfuhr. O/B-Mr Amore Stables (FL); T-Kelly J. Breen.
$180,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, NK, 3/4. Odds: 18.40, 5.90, 8.80.
Also Ran: Empire of Gold, Manny Wah, Diamond Oops, Hog Creek Hustle, Yaupon, Lasting Legacy, Bon Raison, Frank’s Rockette, Collusion Illusion, Echo Town, Jasper Prince. Scratched: Vekoma. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Breen: Breeders’ Cup Sprint Contender Firenze Fire ‘As Honest As They Come’

Mr. Amore Stable's Firenze Fire galloped 1 1/8 miles Thursday morning at Keeneland in preparation for his fourth career Breeders' Cup start in Saturday's Sprint.

The 5-year-old son of Poseidon's Warrior will make his first Breeders' Cup start for trainer Kelly Breen, who accepted him and approximately 20 Mr. Amore Stable runners into his stable last winter from the barn of indicted trainer Jason Servis.

“It took a while for me to see the horse because of the pandemic. I was in Florida. My assistant, John Attfield, sent me pictures and videos to show me how well he looked. I've seen him race before, but it was a while before I laid eyes on him,” said Breen, who recently saddled Firenze Fire's 3-year-old sister, Firenze Freedom for an allowance win at Belmont Park. “He's a nice looking horse. He's got a lot of muscle. He's straightforward. He trains well. He does everything we ask of him.”

Firenze Fire has won two of five starts for Breen with two subpar showings coming over off tracks. He made his first start for Breen with a fourth-place finish in the June 6 Carter Handicap on a sloppy Belmont strip and won his first race for his new trainer three weeks later in the True North over a fast Belmont track. Firenze Fire was beaten two lengths while finishing fourth in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga before running 11th over a sloppy track at Saratoga in the Forego.

“The only bumps in the road I've had with him were on off tracks. He doesn't like the mud,” Breen said. “You throw those couple races out and he's as honest as they come.”

Firenze Fire rebounded from his Forego disappointment with a 2 ¾-length victory in the Vosburgh at Belmont, which was a “Win and You're In' Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race.

“We were extremely excited when he won a 'Win and You're In' because there's no contemplating, because you're going once you've got a 'Win and You're In' under your belt,” Breen said. “He showed that he belonged, and the 'Win and You're In' stamps your ticket to the Breeders' Cup.”

Breen wouldn't have had to contemplate long to determine that Firenze Fire deserves a shot at a Sprint victory Saturday.

“I look at the Thoro-Graphs and the Ragozin sheets. He runs fast. His bounce numbers seem to be on an off track, and his numbers are fast enough to put him in there with this bunch,” he said.

Firenze Fire, who captured the Champagne at two, finished off the board in the 2017 Breeder's Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. He finished fourth in the Dirt Mile at Churchill Downs in 2018 and fifth in the Sprint last year at Santa Anita.

Breen will also be seeking his first Breeders' Cup success after notching third-place finishes with 2011 Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice (2011 Classic) and multiple graded-stakes winner Pants on Fire (2014 Dirt Mile).

“Pants On Fire reminds me of this horse. Pants on Fire didn't win a stakes as a 2-year-old and this horse did, but he won a stakes as a 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7-year-old,” Breen said. “Knowing a little about what it takes to keep a horse going at an older age reminds me a lot about Firenze Fire.”

Jose Lezcano, who was aboard for his Vosburgh score, has the return call aboard Firenze Fire in the Sprint.

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