Whitmore tries to punch ticket with a strong Phoenix result

Early this year, Whitmore was the talk of the sprint division, opening his campaign with four consecutive victories, including a pair of Grade 3 wins, that vaulted him into the upper echelon of the division.

But things have not gone quite as well during the second half of the year. Whitmore has started just twice since defeating A. P. Indian in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint on May 20, finishing third in both the Grade 2 True North at Belmont and the Grade 3 De Francis Memorial Dash last month at Laurel.

On Friday, Whitmore will attempt to earn a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, which seemed like a sure thing only months ago, when heading postward as one of the favorites in the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland. The race is one of two Breeders’ Cup Sprint qualifiers this weekend, along with Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship.

“The Breeders’ Cup has been our main goal for him all year,” trainer Ron Moquett said. “The Phoenix wasn’t a race that was originally on our schedule. The race I really wanted to win with him was the Vanderbilt at Saratoga. But he sprung a shoe on the flight to New York, and although it was very minor, I decided to scratch him, which also gave me an excuse to back off on him a little bit since he’d already had a pretty hard campaign up until then.”

That’s when Moquett drew up Plan B for Whitmore’s route to the Sprint, which included the De Francis Dash and now the Phoenix.

“He’s not an undefeated superstar, but I believe on his best day he can beat anyone in the country sprinting,” Moquett said. “Things really didn’t work out for him in the True North, although he was probably closing as well as anyone at the end. And he got trapped on the rail and didn’t really seem to handle the track at all at Laurel in the De Francis.”

Moquett said Whitmore doesn’t necessarily have to win the Phoenix to punch his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup.

“I’m not calling this a prep race – we’re in the Phoenix to win,” Moquett said. “But what I’m looking for most is a good effort and for him to come out of the race in good order. And then we would go on to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Whitmore will break from the far outside in post 11 in the Phoenix while facing a strong field that includes Awesome Banner and Limousine Liberal, who finished second and third behind runaway winner El Deal in the Vanderbilt, and the speedy Favorite Tale, the thirdplace finisher in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland.

Ransom the Moon, Roy H, and American Anthem are among the top contenders in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Ransom secured a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint with his 1 1/2-length victory over Roy H in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar on July 29.

Takaful added his name to the list of Breeders’ Cup Sprint contenders with his game victory over the favored El Deal in last Saturday’s Vosburgh, a Win and You’re In qualifier, at Belmont Park. Takaful earned a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his first Grade 1 win.

Trainer Jorge Navarro said El Deal probably will head to Del Mar for the Sprint despite suffering his first loss since being purchased privately and transferred to his care during the spring. Trainer David Jacobson is keeping the veteran Stallwalkin’ Dude, who finished third in the Vosburgh, “under consideration” for the Breeders’ Cup. Stallwalkin’ Dude finished eighth in the 2015 Sprint.