Work All Week Captures the Breeders' Cup Sprint

The gamble to supplement Work All Week paid off as he ran his record on dirt to a perfect 10-for-10 in winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The 5-year-old City Zip gelding normally needs the lead to win most of his races, but today he rated kind off of the speedy Fast Anna, as he blazed the first quarter mile in 21.19. Approaching the top of the stretch Work All Week engaged Fast Anna after a half mile in 43.34, but moving in on the rail was 2-time Breeders’ Cup winner Secret Circle.

A thrilling stretch duel developed as Work All Work clung gamely to the lead and rail. With Secret Circle tipping out into the two-path and bearing down in the final sixteenth of mile, Work All Week desperately hung on and won by a diminishing half length, covering the six furlongs in a sizzling 1:08.28.

Work All Week is a blue-collar Midwesterner, owned and bred by Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc., a barn known for their shrewd claiming tactics, and becomes only the second Illinois-bred to capture a Breeders’ Cup race (Buck’s Boy). It is also the first starter and victory for both jockey Florent Geroux and trainer Roger Brueggemann.

“It feels great.  It is a dream come true. To compete in these races and win on the first try is unbelievable.  Especially with a horse from home,” Geroux said.

Though Secret Circle was defeated on his home track, the connections were pleased with the effort.  “I knew that post was going to be tough. He ran really hard today and he tried so hard. He was trying to get there. I thought he was going to get there, but he came up short. He ran too good to lose,” trainer Bob Baffert said.

Private Zone checked in third, a 1 ¼ lengths behind the runner up for jockey Martin Pedroza and trainer Alfredo Velazquez. “I am disappointed that I didn’t win, but I’m not disappointed in the way the horse ran. I could have gone to the lead, but I didn’t want to because of the speed. I was happy to be off the pace. I didn’t know this horse very well, but I’m happy with the way it worked out,” Pedroza said.

Work All Week returned a stout $40.20 to his backers and $825,000 to Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc.