The Breeders’ Cup World Championships are finally here and Santa Anita is once again the home for the global phenomenon. The Sprint runs for a purse of $1.5 million and is another race on a fully stacked card. Previous winners of the race include Secret Circle, Big Drama, Midnight Lute (Twice), Kona Gold and Gulch.

Race: Turf (G1)

Location: Santa Anita Park

Distance: 6 Furlongs

Purse: $1,500,000

Age: 3+

Date: Saturday, November 1, 2014

Post time: 4:01 PT

TV Coverage: NBC Sports Network 3:30 Pm EST, NBC 8 PM EST

PP M/L Horse Jockey Comments 1 20-1 Seeking the Sherif Maldonado It would be quite a miracle. Did finish 3rd in the Bing Crosby (G1) but has only won a minor stakes. I tried to find a way but I cannot fathom how he hits the board. 2 12-1 Indianapolis Smith A talented horse that keeps stepping up and remains undefeated. Impressive after the layoff. The Sprint will be a major step up in class and it remains to be seen if he can handle it. You will get a price if the promise of excellence pays off. 3 30-1 Wind Fire Spencer Here is something you will not normally hear me say about an invader from across the pond. Never should have made the trip. Outclassed and never raced on dirt. Just not possible unless there is a miracle in a bottle we do not know about. 4 9-2 Secret Circle Garcia The defending champion of the Sprint returned from an eight month layoff to finish 3rd at the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G1). Second off a long layoff should mean a step forward and has already built a 3-2-1 record at SA. Major contender. 5 6-1 Private Zone Pedroza Defended title in the Vosburgh (G1) last out. Finished an uninspired 10th at last years Sprint but this horse is better than that. Third off the layoff and will be a contender in what appears to be a tougher field than given credit for. 6 5-1 Rich Tapestry Doleuze Needed a break after the 8th in The Sprint Cup. Took five months off and returned with a victory at the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G1) against tough field including SC. Arguably the one to beat. 7 15-1 Mico Margarita Napravnik Short and simple. Congrats on the Stakes wins, enjoy the trip around SA and see you again next year when this class might not overmatch you. 8 6-1 Palace Velasquez Unimpressive 3rd last out in the Vosburgh (G1) but won the Forego (G1) and Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) the previous two. Battle tested and could rebound. 9 6-1 Salutos Amigos Castellano Been better as of late as evident by the score in the Bold Ruler (G3) and does add Castellano but… this is a whole new world and I salute you for entering the starting gate. 10 12-1 Big Macher Baze Raced well winning the Bing Crosby (G1) in July and the Potrero Grande (G2) at SA. However, last race was a poor run that saw a 6th in the Pat O'Brien Handicap (G2) with no excuses. First back and will not hit this board. 11 10-1 Bakken Stevens Plenty of upside her but not sure the time is now. This will be second start since a 2nd in the True North (G2) in June. Only trip to SA yielded a 5th at the Malibu (G1). I do not think the time is now against this class. 12 12-1 Fast Anna Velazquez Very lightly raced and can only improve. After winning first two starts, he finished 2nd in the King's Bishop (G1) and the Gallant Bob (G3). Training form says he likes the SA surface. Could be live if left a bit of room in the opening qtr. Interesting. 13 10-1 Work All Week Geroux Last race was the first trip to graded stakes competition which yielded a win in the Phoenix (G3). Perfect 5-0 on dirt in career. Would take a step up but stranger things have happened in the BC. 14 30-1 Burbon Courage Santana Jr. Won first off a layoff last out at Keenland but that was only an allowance score. The race of a lifetime might not be enough for a horse that has never won above G2 and that was in 2012. Not likely. AE 20-1 Bahamian Squal Bejarano A horse I prefer on a lower level stakes day. This competition is to tough and to expect even a return to the 6th here in the BC Sprint last year might be asking to much if he makes the gate. AE 30-1 Indexical Gutierrez Regression must be the better part of valor for Indexical because ever since the Triple Bend (G1) in June things have gotten worse. Coming in off form and a turnaround of epic performances would be needed if he makes the gate.

Breakdown and Betting

Here is another great Breeders’ Cup race. The Sprint is always a fun one for me to handicap and watch. Picking a winner from this group is interesting. There are plenty of horses here that could be removed from contention and I talked about them in the comments. But, there are four that I believe have a chance to take the title if everything goes according to the connections plans.

The top logical choices for many are obviously the defending champion, Secret Circle and Rich Tapestry. Secret Circle took a nice long eight-month rest before returning to finish third last out. Second off a layoff for a horse that already has an incredible feel for the Santa Anita track. The major logical competition comes in the form of Rich Tapestry. Rich Tapestry came out after a five month layoff to take the Santa Anita Sprint Championship over Secret Circle. They are the clear front runners to win.

After those two there are a couple of 12-1 shots in this field worth talking about as possible upset candidates. The first comes in the form of Fast Anna. He is a young and lightly raced horse with a ton of upside. Fast Anna represented himself well with a couple of runner-up places in his first two graded stakes. There is one speed here and that is go, if he can get a bit of a breather in the second quarter (I know it is the Sprint) then there is a chance he might steal it from the front.

Another I like is Indianapolis. No person would dispute the step up in class that he is taking in the BC Sprint but this is a talented horse that just keeps getting the job done. Is it likely? Hard to say but if the ceiling is as high as I believe you just might see a horse in the neighborhood of 15-1 making a huge move on the far turn at Santa Anita. Don’t be shocked. I will be ready.

Below is how I would play $20 and $50 at the 2014 Sprint. Keep in mind there is an eye to value here. As always, if you have to scrounge up to find $5 or $10 for the race I would pass and just watch. Pay the bills and enjoy the day. Don’t forget, this is supposed to be fun.

$20 investment $1 Exacta Box 2 with 4 with 6 $1 Trifecta Box 2 with 4 with 6 $4 Win/ Place 6 $50 investment $2 Exacta Box 2 with 4 with 6 $ 1 Trifecta 2,6 with 2,4,6,12 $.10 Superfecta 2,6 with 2,4,6, 8,12 $5 Win/ Place 6 $2 Win/ Place 2

Breeders’ Cup Race Predictions