Sharp Azteca ran his eyeballs out in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, finishing second to Battle of Midway. The race is even more impressive when you consider it was around two turns which is more than the colt wants to do, and it was against a strong closers bias.
It was an outside bias as well, and Sharp Azteca was on the inside. From a handicapping standpoint this can go either way. The horse can run huge off that race back on a speed or even fair track. On the other hand that huge race may have taken a toll and he can regress or bounce. That becomes even more likely when you factor in the cross country travel.
Jorge Navarro has to consider a second in the Breeders’ Cup a win on racing’s big stage after all the controversy that surrounds him and the ridiculous video he was a part of. You have to think Jorge wants that Grade 1 for Sharp Azteca real bad. I lean more towards the bounce, but we will see soon enough.
