Breeders' Cup Sprint 2021 Entries: Jackie's Warrior opens as big favorite

A year after Breeders' Cup disappointment, Jackie's Warrior returns once more as a very short priced favorite. Last year it was the Juvenile whereas this year it is the Sprint and he looks a much safer bet this time around.

We have a look at the Morning Line Odds following the Post Position draw at Del Mar on Monday...

It comes as no surprise that Jackie’s Warrior has been installed as the 6-5 favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint following the Post Position draw at Del Mar on Monday afternoon.

The Steve Asmussen trained four-year-old came to the 2020 Breeders’ Cup as the red hot favorite to win the Juvenile. He finished fourth and suddenly all the Kentucky Derby buzz dissipated. A third-place finish in the Southwest ended any thought that he would stretch out to two turns and one this Maclean’s Music colt concentrated on one-turn races, he became one to watch once more.

In five races since that day, he’s won four times and his only defeat came by a neck to Drain the Clock in the Grade I Woody Stephens. He would go on to get revenge for that defeat next time out in the Grade II Amsterdam at Saratoga. This is a fine three-year-old who is very deserving of leading the betting for this race but you could’ve easily said the same a year ago.

His biggest competition is likely to come from the west coast based Dr. Schivel. This Mark Glatt trained three-year-old has won five straight including a very nice win over Eight Rings and C Z Rocket in the Bing Crosby at Del Mar. This son of Grade I winner Violence has three career wins over the Del Mar dirt track and could well give JW a real run for his money. That 4-1 price is what I’d call intriguing at this point before I properly handicap the race later in the week.

Lexitonian finally got a big Grade I win when he took out the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga but I’m not expecting him to challenge at the pointy end of the race here. At 20-1 it would be fair to say that the book is not expecting a challenge from this horse either.

Several horses though at decent prices could easily hit the board. The likes of Aloha West, C Z Rocket, Firenze Fire, Following Sea and Special Reserve will all deserve serious consideration when handicapping the race later in the week. C Z Rocket has not had a great 2021 but class is permanent. Can he roll back the calendar and win one more big time race?

Our racecard is at the top of the page with all the M/L odds and check back later in the week for J.N. Campbell’s preview along with my thoughts for the race.