17-1 shot Little Mike, making only his second start at a mile and a half, rallied to a clear advantage in mid-stretch and held off a late run from Point of Entry to win the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I) by a half-length.
Ridden to victory by Ramon Dominguez, Little Mike showed speed from the start, but the five-year-old gelding -- who usually races on the lead -- found himself in third early on as Turbo Compressor and Optimizer sprinted clear through fractions of :23.83, :46.77, and 1:10.80. Trailblazer, Slim Shadey, and Treasure Beach were next in line, followed by St Nicholas Abbey, Point of Entry, Shareta, Cogito, Dullahan, and Kindergarden Kid.
Rounding the final turn, Trailblazer made a bold run on the far outside to challenge for the lead, but was beaten to the front by Little Mike, who split horses with terrific acceleration to take command of the advantage. Point of Entry put in a strong late rally through the final eighth of a mile to secure second, but simply didn't have enough time to catch the winner, who hit the wire in front by a half-length while stopping the clock in the spectacular time of 2:22.83, the fastest Breeders' Cup Turf in history and just .03 seconds off of the world record.
St Nicholas Abbey put in a good run to finish third, while Trailblazer rounded out the superfecta. Shareta, Kindergarden Kid, Cogito, Slim Shadey, Dullahan, Treasure Beach, Optimizer, and Turbo Compressor completed the order of finish.
The winner is trained by Dale Romans and owned by Priscilla Vaccarezza.
-Keelerman
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