Hard-fought Phoenix victory earns Whitmore spot in BC Sprint

As trainer Ron Moquett watched Whitmore battle Awesome Banner down the stretch of the $250,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G2) on Friday, he worried that maybe he should have put in one last work.

“I was debating on whether or not to work him in between the last race (a third-place finish in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash-G3 at Laurel),” Moquett said Saturday morning. “When I saw him happen to go wide in what was showing to be a little bit of a ‘nobody-pass-anybody’ down the stretch kind of race track, I thought maybe I’d misjudged what I should have done. I thought maybe I should have put a work in. I’m glad he bailed me out again.”

Whitmore won by nose, earning a spot in the $1.5 million TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) Nov. 4 at Del Mar.

“He’s happy, he came back good,” Moquett said. “He’s going back (to Churchill Downs) this morning.”

In 2013, Moquett sent out Gentlemen’s Bet to finish fourth in the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (then a Grade 3 race) and run third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint next.

“(They are) different in the fact that Gentlemen’s Bet was a naturally fast horse – both obviously very good horses,” he said. “I think this one right here (Whitmore) finds ways to win, and ‘Gentlemen’ was just a really talented fast horse. This one, he’s a battler.”

Jacks or Better Farm’s Awesome Banner returned to his home base at Laurel Park in Maryland shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday.

“He ran a good race and came out of it excellent,” trainer Kenneth Decker said. “We ran with the intention of the Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup. There is no decision yet. Give it a few days and let Mr. (Fred) Brei (of Jacks or Better) think it over.”

Katherine Ball’s Limousine Liberal, who was beaten a nose and a neck for the win, came out of the race in good order also.

“He was mad at the trainer,” trainer Ben Colebrook said with a laugh.

A participant in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint the past two years, Limousine Liberal won’t make a trip to Del Mar for this year’s event.

“We may look at the ($200,000) Fall Highweight (G3 at Aqueduct on Nov. 23) and if not there, we may put him up for the year,” Colebrook said.