Glatt Goes for Third Straight SA Sprint Championship

Trainer Mark Glatt could win his third consecutive Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) Sept. 30 if Dr. Schivel  comes through. The 5-year-old speedster has the grit and heart to reach the finish line first, but he has to face eight tough rivals, including three from the Bob Baffert barn.

The Santa Anita Sprint Championship is part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen program, in which horses that finish 1-2-3 earn a tiered bonus bankroll applicable to Breeders’ Cup entry fees.

Dr. Schivel gave Glatt the first of those back-to-back Sprint Championships in 2021. The son of Violence   missed last year while taking a break from racing and instead Glatt won the race with Howbeit , a 6-year-old gelded son of Secret Circle .

Upon his return this year, Dr. Schivel won a Santa Anita Park allowance race, ran fifth behind Cody’s Wish  in the one-mile Metropolitan Handicap (G1) probably beyond his best distance, and then lost a heartbreaker in the six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes (G1). Seven wide in the turn, Dr. Schivel battled gamely with The Chosen Vron  and Anarchist  through the stretch, only to come up two heads short in third.

It isn’t the first time Dr. Schivel has lost a close one. In the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), the margin was the slimmest of noses when he finished second to Aloha West  . Yet despite those two losses, Dr. Schivel has amassed lifetime earnings of $1,207,100 and is always dangerous. For the Sprint Championship, he drew post 2 and has the services of Juan Hernandez, perpetually the leading rider on the Southern California circuit.

Baffert has entered a trio of 3-year-olds: Arabian Lion  , by Triple Crown winner Justify  ; Fort Bragg , by Tapit  ; and Speed Boat Beach , by Bayern .

Arabian Lion won in his racing debut at Santa Anita, but his best efforts have been on the East Coast, where he captured the May 20 Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico Racecourse and the June 10 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. He most recently finished third on a muddy track in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course | BloodHorse.com Track Profile”>Saratoga Race Course, a race marred by the catastrophic injury suffered by New York Thunder . Edwin Maldonado will ride Arabian Lion for the first time, and they drew post 3.

Fort Bragg finished fourth in the Jerkens after winning the one-mile Dwyer Stakes (G3) at Belmont over subsequent Pennsylvania Derby (G1) winner Saudi Crown . Fort Bragg has never competed at six furlongs and has stakes-placings at a mile and 1 1/16 miles. Baffert has named Ramon Vazquez to ride from post 4.

Speed Boat Beach (Victor Espinoza, post 8) hasn’t been seen under silks since late 2022, when he won the Cecil B. DeMille Stakes (G3T) at Del Mar on the turf as a 2-year-old. His only attempt on the dirt came when he won in his debut at Del Mar. Speed Boat Beach captured the 2022 Speakeasy Stakes at five furlongs on the turf at Santa Anita in his second race.

Like Glatt, Miller is bringing a former Sprint Championship winner into this year’s edition. C Z Rocket , a 9-year-old gelded son of City Zip , won the race in 2020 and finished second in the 2020 and 2022 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. A five-time stakes winner and earner of more than $2 million, C Z Rocket most recently finished third in the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2). Geovanni Franco will ride from post 6.

Visitant   (Antonio Fresu, post 5) will be making his second start under Miller’s tutelage. A multiple stakes winner at Turfway Park and 7-year-old son of Ghostzapper  , Visitant ran third in the Sept. 2 Del Mar Mile (G2T) on the turf.