Sprint

POST: 12:10 P.M. Fourth of eight-race Breeders’ Cup card at Santa Anita.

CONDITIONS: For 3-year-olds and up.

DISTANCE: 6 FURLONGS on the main track.

PURSE: $1 MILLION. First place: $520,000. Second place: $200,000. Third place: $120,000. Fourth place: $57,000. Fifth place: $30,000.

THE FIELD

*--* PP Jockey Wgt Trainer Owner Odds Hor se 1 Gary Stevens 123 Patrick Biancone Michael Tabor 15-1 ZAV ATA 2 Mike Luzzi 126 Scott Lake Robert Cole Jr 4-1 SHA KE YOU DOW N 3 Pat Day 123 Steve Asmussen Hiligbrodt Stable 15-1 POS SE 4 Edgar Prado 123 Dennis Manning Mac Fehsenfeld 8-1 VAL ID VID EO 5 John Velasquez 123 Bobby Frankel Edmund Green 10-1 MID AS EYE S 6 Jerry Bailey 126 Bobby Frankel Flaxman Holdings 3-1 ALD EBA RAN 7 Rene Douglas 126 Pat Byrne West Point Tbrds 20-1 ETH AN MAN 8 Mike Smith 126 Ted West Jeffrey Sengara 12-1 BLU EST HES TAN DAR D 9 Jason Lumpkins 126 Joe Cain Billy Tucker 20-1 PRI VAT E HOR DE 10 Tyler Baze 123 Darrin Miller Silverton Hill 20-1 GRE AT NOT ION 11 C. Velasquez 123 Steve Margolis Sanan & Iracane 20-1 CAJ UN BEA T 12 Pat Valenzuela 126 John Shirreffs Mr-Mrs Martin Wygod 6-1 YAN KEE GEN TLE MAN 13 Alex Solis 123 Jeff Mullins Bone & Diener 10-1 CAP TAI N SQU IRE Not e: PP (po st pos iti on) num ber in fir st col umn wil l als o be the hor se’ s sad dle clo th num ber

*--*

HOW TIMES HANDICAPPER BOB MIESZERSKI SEES THE SPRINT UNFOLDING

START

There is usually a scramble for the lead in the day’s shortest race and this year should be no different. SHAKE YOU DOWN, the likely favorite, basically has only one way to go and he probably will be challenged for early supremacy by several others, among them YANKEE GENTLEMAN, who is reuniting with Patrick Valenzuela. There’s little doubt where ALDEBARAN will be. He should be trailing the field in his first visit to California since he won the San Carlos Handicap at Santa Anita on March 2.

AT THE HALF-MILE POLE

Continuing down the backstretch, SHAKE YOU DOWN will be done if he doesn’t have the lead and he wouldn’t be the first New York-based sprinter to fail in this race in California. VALID VIDEO, a hard-knocking 3-year-old gelding who has come a long way since beginning his career at Monmouth Park, should be positioned in a good spot just off the leaders. ALDEBARAN will still be trailing, but he should be starting to move up at a distance that he has never run in a career that began three years ago in England.

AT THE QUARTER POLE

ALDEBARAN will be well underway. Those who believe six furlongs is too short for him should note that he has not been that far behind at this point in his recent victories in New York and the pace in front of him should be hotter and heavier than most predict. His main threat in the lane could be VALID VIDEO because the California sprinters are not up to those of previous years. The only one with a recent victory is YANKEE GENTLEMAN and he’s something of a question mark, given his flop in the Ancient Title on Oct. 5.

FINISH

The first three times the Breeders’ Cup was held in California, speed horses won the Sprint. But on the last two occasions, closers got the money. Cardmania rallied from ninth to win the 1993 Sprint at Santa Anita and Elmhurst, a 16-1 longshot, was 14th and last after the first quarter, but prevailed in 1997 at Hollywood Park. The same can happen today with ALDEBARAN, who has won both of his other starts in Arcadia. VALID VIDEO, who has not lost in three starts at six furlongs, should be close by and the “all” slot is again advised for those playing trifectas and superfectas.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

The First Four

1. ALDEBARAN 2. SHAKE YOU DOWN 3. VALID VIDEO 4. YANKEE GENTLEMAN

The Rest

5. Midas Eyes 6. Captain Squire, 7. Great Notion 8. Bluesthestandard

9. Private Horde 10. Cajun Beat, 11. Zavata, 12. Posse, 13. Ethan Man

SPRINT WINNERS

*--* Year Track Horse Jockey Win Margin $2 Payoff 1984 Hollywood Park EILLO Craig Nose $4.60* Perret 1985 Aqueduct PRECISIONIST Chris 3/4 length $8.80 McCarron 1986 Santa Anita SMILE Jacinto 1 1/4 length $24.00 Vasquez 1987 Hollywood Park VERY SUBTLE Patrick 4 lengths $34.80 Valenzuela 1988 Churchill Downs GULCH Angel 3/4 length $13.60* Cordero Jr. 1989 Gulfstream Park DANCING SPREE Angel Neck $35.20 Cordero Jr. 1990 Belmont Park SAFELY KEPT Craig Neck $26.40 Perret 1991 Churchill Downs SHEIKH ALBADOU Pat Eddery 3 lengths $54.60 1992 Gulfstream Park THIRTY SLEWS Eddie Neck $39.40 Delahoussa ye 1993 Santa Anita CARDMANIA Eddie Neck $12.60 Delahoussa ye 1994 Churchill Downs CHEROKEE RUN Mike Smith Head $7.60* 1995 Belmont Park DESERT STORMER Kent Neck $31.00 Desormeaux 1996 Woodbine LIT DE JUSTICE Corey 1 1/4 lengths $10.00* Nakatani 1997 Hollywood Park ELMHURST Corey 1/2 length $35.20 Nakatani 1998 Churchill Downs RERAISE Corey 2 lengths $9.60 Nakatani 1999 Gulfstream Park ARTAX Jorge 1/2 length $9.40 Chavez 2000 Churchill Downs KONA GOLD Alex Solis 1/2 length $5.40* 2001 Belmont Park SQUIRTLE SQUIRT Jerry 1/2 length $21.20 Bailey 2002 Arlington Park ORIENTATE Jerry 1/2 length $7.40* Bailey * As favorite

*--*

THROUGH THE YEARS

HIGHLIGHTS FROM EACH BREEDERS’ CUP

* 1990 at Belmont Park: Bayakoa won the Distaff for a second consecutive year, but the victory was hollow. With a sixteenth of a mile to go, she was locked in battle with the younger -- and favored -- Go For Wand, but that talented filly suffered a fatal breakdown. Gary Stevens won his first Breeders’ Cup race with In The Wings in the Turf and Unbridled followed up his Kentucky Derby triumph with a 6-1 surprise in the Classic.

* 1991 at Churchill Downs: Making his first start on the main track and first in this country, Arazi was devastating in the Juvenile. After breaking slowly, the son of Blushing Groom was angled to the inside by Patrick Valenzuela, then came outside, and blew by his rivals to open up five lengths with an eighth of a mile to run. Alas, this was the high point of his career. He was the 9-10 favorite in the Kentucky Derby the following spring but never threatened and finished eighth of 18.