Snapper Sinclair may 'surprise everybody' in Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile
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Snapper Sinclair’s biggest victories have come over turf at Kentucky Downs, but Bloom Racing’s 4-year-old colt will try to top that in Saturday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Park.
Jeff Bloom, head of the syndicate carrying his name, bought Snapper Sinclair for $170,000. The son of the deceased stallion City Zip, known for producing quality runners on both turf and dirt, earned his purchase price back and more in winning Kentucky Downs’ 2-year-old stakes (then worth $350,000 and now the $500,000 Gainesway Farm Juvenile) in his third career start.
Though he had won a pair of allowance races and been second or third in four stakes in between, Snapper Sinclair’s second stakes victory came in the $750,000 Tourist Mile this year. Those seconds include dropping last year’s Grade 2 Risen Star over the Fair Grounds dirt by a nose.
Snapper Sinclair was pre-entered in both the $1 million Dirt Mile and the $2 million TVG Mile on turf. But the Dirt Mile was always the plan.
“He’s such a versatile horse, and obviously he’s run some spectacular races on the grass,” Bloom said. “But the fact that it’s a two-turn mile, we think is ideally suited for his running style. Really some of his best (handicapping) numbers have come on the dirt, including, looking back to his race in the Risen Star last year as a 3-year-old. And, too, the chances of him actually drawing into the Mile on turf was slim and none with so many horses entered. But preference-wise, the Dirt Mile was our first choice anyways.”
The heavy favorite in the Dirt Mile is impressive Grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner Omaha Beach, who was the Kentucky Derby favorite until being sidelined by a breathing obstruction days before the fabled Churchill Downs classic.
Asked about facing off with Omaha Beach, Bloom said, “It would be nice if we didn’t have to, but our colt has been improving. He’s training lights out, and I think he’s up to the task. I mean, it’s not going to be an easy race, but it’s the Breeders’ Cup. With Omaha Beach in there, it’s that much tougher. But we think we’re ready, and if everything goes his way we can surprise everybody.”
Snapper Sinclair has not raced since the Aug. 31 Tourist Mile by design. He has been training at Santa Anita for Saturday’s race for more than a month.
“I think it being a two-turn mile suits him,” said Scott Blasi, who has been overseeing trainer Steve Asmussen's Breeders’ Cup contingent at Santa Anita. “There’s a big difference between a one-turn and two-turn mile for some of these horses, kind of like when Tapizar won out here (in the 2012 Dirt Mile). I think he was a really good two-turn miler. I think this sets up well for Snapper. He runs hard on either surface. He’s just one of those horses that if he runs his race, he can compete with the best of them.”
Snapper Sinclair came into the Tourist Mile off of a third-place finish in a Grade 3 dirt stakes at Mountaineer Park.
“He didn’t have the best of trips in the West Virginia race,” Bloom said. “We felt he was a much-deserving horse to be one of the leading contenders going into the Tourist. It was a tough race, good horses in there and really nothing went his way. He had a very troubled trip. So for him to come out on top, that was very gratifying and a strong checked box for him to prove he’s a legitimate horse.”
Bloom Racing had an amazing streak at Kentucky Downs, winning its first five starts at the track spanning three years before My Sweet Baboo finished fourth in a maiden race this past meet.
“We just missed continuing our win streak at Kentucky Downs,” Bloom said. “We love it there. It’s been so good to us. We’ve had such great success running at Kentucky Downs. We had one horse cost us that consecutive win streak this year, but hopefully we’ll get back on a winning streak.
“It’s such a unique configuration and style of race there that if you find a horse that likes it, they really like it and they stand out over horses that don’t necessarily love the track. Typically, good horses will run anywhere over any surface. But for whatever reason, he’s a big fan of Kentucky Downs, clearly.”
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