Breeders' Cup: Long shot Fort Larned goes wire-to-wire to win $5 million Classic

Breeders' Cup: Long shot Fort Larned goes wire-to-wire to win $5 million Classic

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES -  Jockey John Velazquez rides Wise Dan to victory in the Breeder's Cup Mile Grade 1 race at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

 long shot, led all the way to win the $5 million Classic by a half-length Saturday, capping a weekend of upsets at the Breeders' Cup.

Brian Hernandez Jr. celebrated his 27th birthday with the biggest win of his riding career. Game On Dude, the favorite, was seventh in the field of 12.

"Fort Larned just gave us the greatest birthday present ever," said Hernandez, who rides mostly in the minor leagues at Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs.

Fort Larned ran 1¼ miles in 2:00.11 in the showcase race of the two-day event at Santa Anita Park. Just four favorites won in the event's 15 races.

Fort Larned, a 4-year-old colt, paid $20.80 to win for trainer Ian Wilkes.

Bob Baffert went 0 for 9 on the weekend, with Game On Dude failing to deliver the Hall of Fame trainer a first-ever win in North America's richest race. It was the end of a bummer year for Baffert, who survived a heart attack in March only to finish second in each Triple Crown race.

Mucho Macho Man was second and Flat Out was third.

Upsets dominated six of Saturday's nine races, with Little Mike pulling off the biggest stunner at 17-1 odds in the $3 million Turf.

Little Mike, ridden by Ramon Dominguez and trained by Churchill Downs-based Dale Romans, ran 1½ miles in 2:22.83 to win by one-half length and pay $36.60. Point of Entry was second and St Nicholas Abbey, last year's champion, was third.

Rosie Napravnik joined Julie Krone as the only female jockeys to win a Cup race when she guided 6-5 favorite Shanghai Bobby to a head victory over He's Had Enough in the $2 million Juvenile.

"As long as you've got the horse underneath you, you can get the job done," said Napravnik, who started her career riding under her initials A.R. so no one would realize she was a woman.

Shanghai Bobby, trained by Todd Pletcher, sett himself up as the winter book favorite for the Kentucky Derby.

"He's got everything you want. He's fast and courageous. He just keeps coming," Pletcher said.

Shanghai Bobby, racing for the first time without the diuretic Lasix, ran 11/16 miles in 1:44.58 and paid $4.60 to win.

Baffert's duo of Power Broker and Title Contender finished fifth and eighth, respectively.

Wise Dan, the 9-5 favorite in the $2 million Mile, posted a 1½-length win, finishing in a track-record 1:31.78. He paid $5.60 to win for trainer Charles Lopresti and jockey John Velazquez, who earned his 12th Cup victory.

Animal Kingdom, last year's Kentucky Derby winner who had been off for 259 days after his second and most recent injury, placed second.

Filly Mizdirection beat the boys by a half-length in the $1 million Turf Sprint off a six-month layoff, giving sports talk radio host and co-owner Jim Rome his first Cup victory.

"I'm numb," Rome said. "Having a hard time believing that that happened."

Sent off at 6-1 odds, Mizdirection paid $15.80 to win. She dropped to 11th before rallying on the downhill turf course and was timed in 1:11.39 for 6½ furlongs. Hall of Famer Mike Smith won his 17th Cup race, extending his record for wins among jockeys.

"She ran like a true champion to lose that much ground and still beat a field as talented as this," trainer Mike Puype said.

Other winners Saturday were Tapizar ($1 million Dirt Mile), Trinniberg ($1.5 million Sprint), George Vancouver ($1 million Juvenile Turf) and Groupie Doll ($1 million Filly & Mare Sprint).

Source : San Jose Mercury News - http://www.mercurynews.com

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