Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Jackie’s Warrior big favorite
DEL MAR, Calif. – Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen summed up his feelings and the confidence he has in Jackie’s Warrior coming into Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar in just three words: “Wow he’s fast!”
Asmussen knows a little bit about training fast horses. Two years ago he sent out Mitole to prove a popular winner of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint just up the road at Santa Anita. And as recently as late September his Yaupon sat atop the division before retiring due to a sesamoid fracture suffered during a routine gallop in preparation for the 2021 Sprint.
Fortunately for Asmussen, he has a formidable replacement for Yaupon in Jackie’s Warrior, who will face eight rivals in the six-furlong Sprint. The field includes C Z Rocket and Firenze Fire, the second- and thirdplace finishers, respectively, in the 2020 renewal of the Sprint; the vastly improved former claimer Special Reserve; Breeders’ Cup Challenge race winners Dr. Schivel and Following Sea; along with the up-andcoming Aloha West.
Jackie’s Warrior has won four of his last five starts while showing steady improvement from a Beyer Speed Figure standpoint. He avenged his lone setback during the streak – Drain the Clock beat him in Belmont Park’s Grade 1 Woody Stephens – by defeating that nemesis convincingly by a widening 7 1/4 lengths eight weeks later in the Grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga.
Although Jackie’s Warrior earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 110 cruising to victory in his most recent start, the Grade 2 Gallant Bob, it’s hard to argue that his most impressive effort to date didn’t come four weeks earlier when he outgamed Life is Good, the likely odds-on favorite in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, by a neck following a torrid stretch battle in the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens at Saratoga.
“I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a better horse race than the Allen Jerkens,” said Asmussen. “He’s absolutely a brilliant horse. When you lead him over and watch him in the paddock you just think how glad you are to have him on your team. As a trainer, any time you get to run a Jackie’s Warrior, you feel great.”
Asmussen said one stat he finds hard to believe is that the Gallant Bob was only Jackie’s
Warrior second lifetime start at six furlongs. The first came in his second lifetime outing at 2, an easy wire-to-wire triumph in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special.
“We gave the two-turn thing two tries and he had an excuse in one of them,” said Asmussen. “His strength sprinting comes in his second quarter-mile. It’s unprecedented how easy he seems to do it. That’s literally where he wins those races. He’s just such a fun horse to watch run.”
Jackie’s Warrior will break from post position 2 with regular rider Joel Rosario aboard as the heavy favorite in the Sprint despite the fact the race will mark the first time he’s ever faced older horses.
Jackie’s Warrior is one of three 3-year-olds in the field along with Dr. Schivel, who is perfect in three starts this season, and Following Sea, whose connections did not confirm their intent to compete in the race until last weekend despite the fact he captured the Win and You’re In Grade 2 Vosburgh in his last start.
Dr. Schivel has won his last five outings dating back to his maiden victory in August 2020 at Del Mar and certainly has a home-court advantage with three wins in as many tries locally, including the Grade 1
Del Mar Futurity in his 2-yearold finale. Transferred to trainer Mark Glatt’s barn at the end of his juvenile campaign, Dr. Schivel won a pair of Breeders’ Cup Challenge races, the Grade 1 Bing Crosby and Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, the latter even though jockey Flavien Prat had to call an audible strategy-wise and let his mount go to the lead after his right rein broke early in the race.
“Up until his last start, he pretty much did what he had to do to win but he really put a number on them this time,” said Glatt after the Santa Anita Sprint. “He certainly looked like he had more left in the tank at the end so I see no reason why he wouldn’t be sitting on his best one yet. I hope so, because he’s going to need it.”
Trainer Todd Pletcher said the decision to enter Following Sea in the Sprint came after his most recent work, a half-mile in 48.80 over the Belmont training track one week ago.
“He sold us on how well he’s been training since the Vosburgh,” Pletcher explained. “We kicked around the idea to wait for the Cigar Mile, but when a horse is doing well you have to go, you cannot sit around and wait.
“Joel [Rosario] wrapped up on him at the end of the Vosburgh. It wasn’t particularly taxing on him, although we know he’s going to have to show up and run as well or even better than he ever has on Saturday.”
Aside from Dr. Schivel, C Z Rocket is the only member of the field with a win over the track, that coming in last year’s Grade 2 Pat O’Brien. He also finished third here, beaten a neck by Dr. Schivel, earlier this year in the Bing Crosby and second in defense of his title in the Pat O’Brien. As consistent as they come, even at the age of 7, C Z Rocket has not finished worse than third in his last dozen starts dating back to May of 2020.
Firenze Fire will be competing in his fifth consecutive Breeders’ Cup and third straight Sprint. He was beaten a neck for second by C Z Rocket behind runaway winner Whitmore a year ago at Keeneland.
Special Reserve has four wins and two seconds in six starts since being claimed for $50,000 by trainer Mike Maker out of his 2021 debut at Oaklawn Park. He comes into the Sprint sporting four consecutive triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures, while showing his class by finishing second in the Grade 1 Alfred Vanderbilt before rebounding to win the Grade 2 Phoenix to secure an automatic Breeders’ Cup berth.
Aloha West, unraced at 3, finished a fast-closing second in the Phoenix, a neck back of Special Reserve, despite a troubled start and wide trip while making his graded stakes debut. He is another who seems to be peaking at the right time for the Sprint and looms a live outsider if he gets some help with Jackie’s Warrior from a pace perspective during the early stages of the race.