San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Accelerate wins Classic at Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Accelerate took the lead at the top of the stretch and held off Gunnevera to win the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a length Saturday, strengthening his bid for Horse of the Year over Triple Crown winner Justify.
The race lacked the retired Justify and left a wide-open field, which the chestnut 5-yearold horse eventually overtook after breaking from the No. 14 post as the favorite. Accelerate made a sweeping move in the far turn and was in charge at the top of the stretch, then held off Gunnevera for his fifth consecutive Grade 1 victory and sixth of seven overall this year.
That gave trainer John Sadler his first Breeders’ Cup win since his initial starter 30 years ago. As for Accelerate being named this year’s top thoroughbred, Sadler said he’d leave that up to the sportswriters who vote on the Eclipse Awards. He noted his own bias, though.
“To me, he’s the Horse of the Year, no doubt,” Sadler said. “He’s won all those great races. To win the Santa Anita Handicap (in March) was for me probably one or two on my bucket list.
“The Classic is a newer race but a great race, and he won that so smashingly. He’s just a great horse and had a great year.”
Ridden by Joel Rosario, Accelerate covered 11⁄4 miles in 2:02.93 and paid $7.40, $6 and $4.40.
The Classic triumph capped a successful Breeders’ Cup for Rosario, who also rode Game Winner and Jaywalk to victories on Friday in the Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies Turf, respectively.
Gunnevera returned $21.80 and $11.80, while Thunder Snow paid $8 in redeeming himself at Churchill Downs after a last-place finish in the 2017 Kentucky Derby.
Off the board were Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s duo of West Coast and McKinzie. They finished seventh and 12th, respectively, after projections of challenging Accelerate in the marquee race of the seasonending championships.
In highlights from other races:
Monomoy Girl bolstered her case as the top 3-year-old filly by winning the $2 million Distaff. Peter Miller made Breeders’ Cup history as the first trainer to saddle two repeat winners in the same Breeders’ Cup races. Soon after Stormy Liberal outdueled favorite World of Trouble to retake the Turf Sprint by a neck, 6-year-old Roy H swept past Promises Fulfilled and flew to a 31⁄4-length win in the Sprint. Jockey Paco Lopez earned his first Breeders’ Cup victory.
Enable followed up last month’s Arc de Triomphe victory by winning the $4 million Turf by three-quarters of a length over Magical. The 4year-old British filly became the first horse to win both prestigious races in the same year. Miss Sunset, trained by Jeff Bonde, was close early but faded to last in the field of of 14 at odds of 37-1 in the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint, which was won by Shamrock Rose, a 25-1 long shot.