Photo of Elite Power by Courtney Snow for Past The Wire
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
LEXINGTON, KY. – Juddmonte’s Elite Power ($13.10) surged by favored Jackie’s Warrior passing the sixteenth pole en route to a 1 ¼-length victory in the 39th running of the $2 million Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) for 3-year-olds and up Saturday afternoon at Keeneland.
Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Elite Power completed the 6 furlongs on a fast track in 1:09.11. It is the second victory in the race for Ortiz, who won aboard Whitmore at Keeneland in 2020.
The victory was the third of the weekend for Ortiz and 17th overall in the World Championships. It was Mott’s second win Saturday and 12th Breeders’ Cup triumph overall.
Longshot Super Ocho (CHI) opened a daylight advantage quickly after the start while being tracked by Jackie’s Warrior. Super Ocho drifted out at the top of the stretch carrying Jackie’s Warrior wide and opening a hole along the inside for C Z Rocket and Elite Power to challenge.
Jackie’s Warrior and C Z Rocket were quickly joined at midstretch by Elite Power, who pushed to the front on the outside passing the sixteenth pole. C Z Rocket dug in to hold second by a half-length over Jackie’s Warrior, who was three-quarters of a length in front of Manny Wah.
Now a winner of five consecutive starts, Elite Power is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Curlin out of the Vindication mare Broadway’s Alibi. The victory was worth $1,040,000 and improved Elite Power’s earnings to $1,405,711 with an 8-5-0-1 record.
Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint Quotes
Winning trainer Bill Mott (Elite Power): “He’s just a horse with a lot of natural talent. It was just a matter of waiting for his bones and his mind to mature a little bit. Once he got into the rhythm, he just kept improving. He’s been a good ways back in some of his races, but he doesn’t have to be.
“He’s done nothing wrong this year. He was late coming. He had a couple of races as a 3-year-old and since we brought him back, he got beat the first time and has been perfect since. He has improved and won at a variety of distances. The cut back (in distance) today was always a little concerning when you are running against a horse as good as Jackie’s Warrior but hey, he come down in the middle of the racetrack and ran them all down.”
Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Elite Power): “I had the perfect trip. He broke real sharp and I let him settle. I let the speed go. I was able to cut the corner around the turn. When I tipped him out, he was there for me. He kept going forward. He gave me a really good kick from the quarter-pole to the wire. He’s a nice horse. I rode him with a lot of confidence.
“The last four races he has been winning everything the right way. Bill Mott always does a great job. I rode him with confidence. He (Mott) told me to let him do his thing and if you let him close, it will be perfect. He broke on top, I let him sit and he relaxed well. There was a strong pace in front of me. I bided my time and then on the turn, I split horses inside and got in the clear. He deserves all the credit.”
Second-place trainer Peter Miller (C Z Rocket):“I’m pretty happy. Other than winning, I couldn’t be happier for this guy, at 8 years old, to run like this. It took a really big effort from the winner to beat us, I couldn’t be more proud of the team, and of the horse, and Flavien (Prat) gave him a great ride. I thought for a second that we were going to win it, just for a second, then I saw the 6 (Elite Power) was coming. I knew we were getting by the ones in front of us, but the 6 (Elite Power) ran super and ran us down.”
Second-place jockey Flavien Prat (C Z Rocket): “I got him into a good position. I was actually surprised to be that close. I had a little hope for a while, but we’re really proud of his effort.”
Third-place trainer Steve Asmussen (Jackie’s Warrior, favorite):“It’s just amazing that a horse as great as he is has never won a Breeders’ Cup race. He’s a very special horse – physically, mentally and his ability. It’s a disappointment. I was happy with where he was at (during the race). If I could do it over again, obviously, I wouldn’t have hung out where he did. I don’t like the outcome, but hail to the victor.”
Third-place jockey Joel Rosario (Jackie’s Warrior, favorite): “He did everything I asked him to do. That horse (Super Ocho) went to the lead, and I sat right off of him. He ran his race.”
Trainer Wayne Catalano (fourth with Manny Wah and 11th with defending winner Aloha West): “Manny Wah ran such a great race. He always tries hard, and he ran like I thought he would. He’s a great horse to have in the barn and it was nice to see that kind of run from him.
“You know, Aloha West is a really good horse, and he just really needed a prep, I think.”
