Japan's Remake Good Fit in Breeders' Cup Sprint

The $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) will be contested at six furlongs Saturday, Nov. 2 at Del Mar. The 2024 running has attracted a high-powered, 11-horse field. Who will prove to be the fastest of the fast? Here is an "at a glance" look at the contenders for the 2024 Breeders' Cup Sprint. 1. Raging Torrent (10-1 morning-line odds): Enters the Sprint on a three-race winning streak that includes a win last time out in the grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar, where he gamely defeated heavy favorite The Chosen Vron at seven furlongs. He's in tremendously good form now and is proven at Del Mar. His early speed will prove handy because he'll probably need to send for the lead from the rail, and it's good to see that he doesn't necessarily need a clear lead in order to win. Doug O'Neill has a chance to notch his second Sprint win after winning this race for the first time in 2006 with Thor's Echo. JOCKEY: Antonio Fresu; TRAINER: Doug O'Neill 2. Gun Pilot (20-1): Career highlight came earlier this year when he blew away the field to win the grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes, but his two losses since then, both at Saratoga Race Course, were not nearly as good. Got beat by Mullikin by 5 3/4 lengths last time in the Forego Stakes (G1), and he will need to turn the tables on that rival and beat some other tough ones to get the win in this spot. Asmussen won the 2019 Sprint with Mitole. Gun Pilot's best chance in this spot is to lay off a swift pace and hope to come from behind if the speed horses tire late. JOCKEY: Cristian Torres; TRAINER: Steve Asmussen 3. Federal Judge (3-1): Quickly ascended to this high level with wins in his past two races, including a wire-to-wire, 5 1/2-length win in the Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland last time out. May have benefitted from a speed-favoring track that day at Keeneland, and 3-1 odds on the morning line offer little value, but there's no denying that this speedster is an upwardly mobile and serious contender if he can somehow get clear on the lead again. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has won the Sprint three of the past four years, and it's hard to discount the chances of anyone he's aboard. JOCKEY: Irad Ortiz Jr.; TRAINER: Brad Cox 4. Nakatomi (6-1): Finished third behind the likes of Elite Power and Gunite in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Sprint and became a grade 1 winner in 2024 when he defeated Skelly in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga. Stalker didn't get a great pace scenario last time in the Phoenix when chasing Federal Judge, who was blazing up front on a speed-friendly track, but the Sprint appears to be overloaded with enough early speed to help set the table for a late runner. The last four editions of the Sprint have been won by horses coming from behind, and if there's another pace meltdown this year, the race sets up for Nakatomi. JOCKEY: Tyler Gaffalione; TRAINER: Wesley Ward 5. Don Frankie (JPN) (15-1): The first of three horses in this year's Sprint that hail from Japanese connections, this horse already has positive international experience from earlier this year when he finished second ahead of Nakatomi and fellow Japanese invader Remake when second in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1). He's raced only once since then, which resulted in an August victory going six furlongs in Japan. Has never finished out of the exacta in five career races at six furlongs and has proved he fits well against this kind of competition. JOCKEY: Cristian Demuro; TRAINER: Takashi Saito 6. Bentornato (30-1): Survived a speed duel last time to win the Gallant Bob Stakes (G2) at Parx Racing in a race that featured much easier competition than he will face today. Nevertheless, it seems it would be reckless to ignore this horse at 30-1 odds on the morning line since he is a perfect 5-for-5 in his career in one-turn sprint races. He earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure in the Gallant Bob, and he still has room for improvement in what will be his third race back from a long layoff. JOCKEY: Luis Saez ; TRAINER: Jose D'Angelo 7. Meta Max(20-1): Japanese invader finally notched his first win of the year last time in his fourth outing of 2024. Likes this six-furlong distance the best with three career wins at this trip. Once upon a time, he sold for $1.1 million as a 2-year-old in training. Kentucky-bred seems to be the least accomplished of the three Japanese-based entrants in the Sprint, but his main selling point appears to be his pace versatility as a runner that has had success both on the lead and coming from off the pace in his past wins. JOCKEY: Akira Sugawara; TRAINER: Hideyuki Mori 8. Straight No Chaser (5-1): Exits an impressive win in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G2), which is the same race Aloha West came out of en route to his Breeders' Cup Sprint victory the last time the race was held at Del Mar in 2021. Has only raced twice in 2024 and has tons of upside based on flashes of brilliance at times in his career, including in his most recent race. His problem in the Sprint will be the same challenge that all of the early speed horses will face Saturday: Can he outrun the murderer's row of Raging Torrent, Federal Judge, Bentornato, Mullikin, and Skelly, and if he does, will he then have anything left to hold off the closers? He has John Velazquez aboard, and that won't hurt. Johnny V. will seek his second career Breeders' Cup Sprint win and first since 2004 aboard Speightstown. JOCKEY: John Velazquez; TRAINER: Dan Blacker 9. Remake (JPN) (8-1): International traveler exits a victory, a second straight win of the $1 million Korea Sprint (G3), and also owns a victory earlier this year in the $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) on the Saudi Cup undercard where he beat Skelly, who at that moment was in career-best form. His only loss in three outings so far in 2024 was when fourth behind both Don Frankie and Nakatomi in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen on Dubai World Cup Day when he was hampered by a troubled stretch run. He will be launching a rally from off the pace, and that will be a tactical advantage in a race overloaded with speed horses that could setup for a closing winner. JOCKEY: Yuga Kawada; TRAINER: Koichi Shintani 10. Mullikin (7-2): Sports a perfect 4-for-4 record in 2024 and comes into this race off a win in the Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, where he went wire-to-wire and soundly disposed of Gun Pilot in the process. He owns plenty of early speed but probably won't be able to get the lead in the Sprint against a field that includes several fearsome blazers. On the plus side, he does seem to have an advantage over the other speed horses in the field because he has already shown that he can still win in instances where he doesn't get the early lead. Ignore Mullikin at your own risk. JOCKEY: Flavien Prat; TRAINER: Rodolphe Brisset 11. Skelly (8-1): Loomed the best sprinter in the land during the early stages of 2024 when he was rolling through multiple stakes wins at Oaklawn Park. His form has remained good throughout the season and has yet to finish out of the exacta in seven outings. Nevertheless, when confronted this year by a couple of the top challengers now in the Breeders' Cup Sprint field, Skelly came up short, first behind Remake in the $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint and later behind Nakatomi in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga. Skelly is a front-running speedster who will go for the lead from the outside post and will need to overcome what could be an excessively fast pace in order to win. JOCKEY: Ricardo Santana Jr.; TRAINER: Steve Asmussen THE PICK: Remake LIVE LONGSHOT: Don Frankie SUPERFECTA: 9-10-4-5