Sprint Diary

SPRINT DIARY

MARCH 11, 2005

by Jordan Strickler

Santa Anita hosted the seven-furlong San Carlos H
(G2) on February 26, which was absent champion Brazilian sprinter PICO CENTRAL (Brz)
(Spend a Buck), leaving room for HASTY KRIS (Kissin Kris) to earn his
second straight victory for this year. The John
Sadler trainee sat off the pace behind Sinister G (Matty G) and Perfect Moon
(Malibu Moon) through the first two points of call before finding a hole and positioning
himself on the rail entering the stretch. The eight-year-old gelding battled
briefly with Choctaw Nation (Louis Quatorze), pulled away under urging from Rene
Douglas, then held off a late charge from Harvard Avenue (You and I),
who ran out of room and finished a half-length short. Both horses earned 109 BRIS
Speed figures for their efforts.

The San Carlos was meant to be a prep race for Pico Central for the Dubai
Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1), but the Paulo Lobo charge had to miss the race due to a hoof injury.
He is still on track, though, to head to Dubai, where he will
square off with SARATOGA COUNTY (Valid Expectations).

“We were very happy not to see Pico Central in here,” Sadler said. “When he
didn’t go I thought we had a very nice chance.”

We can probably expect to see Hasty Kris make his next run in the Potrero
Grande Breeders’ Cup H. (G2) on April 3 at the Arcadia, California, track.

Notable sprint races this weekend include the Richter Scale Breeders’ Cup
Sprint Championship S. (G2) at Gulfstream Park and the Toboggan H. (G3) at
Aqueduct. The Richter Scale features a talented field of eight, including Grade 1 winner
Lion Tamer (Will’s Way), who will be making his five-year-old bow; Grade 1
victor Silver Wagon (Wagon Limit), who enters off an allowance win last out;
dual Grade 1 runner-up Value Plus (Unbridled’s Song), who is coming off a
second-place finish to Silver Wagon last out; and multiple Grade 3 hero Sir Shackleton (Miswaki),
who exits a win in an optional claimer.

The Toboggan will be shorted to six furlongs from its originally scheduled
seven furlongs due to the postponement of the opening of the main track at the
Big A. Shake You Down (Montbrook) enters as the most logical favorite but could
face some competition in New York veteran Papua (Louis Quatorze), who exits off
his third consecutive victory in the Holly Hughes H.

An interesting note in the sprinting world is Silent Witness (El Moxie), who
improved his win record to 15 straight on February 27 when victorious in
the Centenary Sprint Cup (HK-G1). If the five-year-old manages to win his next
contest, he will be tied with Cigar, Citation and Hallowed Dreams, who all hold
the record of 16 consecutive wins.