Romans surprised by Mile upsetter Court Vision's long odds

Though one of the more stunning efforts on a day of many such

events, the upset victory by Court Vision in the Breeders' Cup Mile, trainer

Dale Romans said Sunday morning he was among those who thought the six-year-old horse

"would run big."

"All we needed to do was get him back to his old form, and if they backed up

at all, he would come running," Romans said Sunday morning. "When you have the

best milers in the world running, they will go fast early. We were just hoping

they would go too fast and he could run them down. And it all worked out

perfectly for us."

Romans indicated a bit of surprise by the fact the six-year-old son of Gulch had been passed up

so many bettors and got away at odds of 64-1.

"He's a classy old horse that was really doing good," the trainer said.

"That's a good combination. He hadn't won in a long time, and even though I

didn't have him at the time, I knew there were some quirks about him earlier in

the year that seemed to be behind him.

"We picked him up in August and I ran him once in Canada and he only got beat

three lengths in a field that included Courageous Cat and Turallure. It was his

first race back in a long time and he had a rough trip. So it wasn't a bad race

to build on."

Romans thought he was on his way to the winner's circle earlier in the day

when his Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford seemed to be in an unreachable spot

on the lead in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile as the field entered the stretch.

However, that feeling disappeared fairly quickly as Caleb's Posse rushed past

the front-running Foresty colt to win, with Shackleford finishing second.

"I thought we were going to win turning for home, just like I did in the

(Kentucky) Derby," Romans said. "He ran a super race, though. Caleb's Posse is a

serious racehorse around one turn. We just couldn't hold him off.

"I still think he (Shackleford) should be champion three-year-old, with a classic

win (Preakness) and the fact he showed up so well in all the other races.

"In fact, I think we have two champions, him and Sassy Image. She won two

Grade 1s (Princess Rooney and Humana Distaff) and beat Hilda's Passion easy

here. And she beat the filly that won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint

(Musical Romance). So I think she should be champion filly sprinter.

"She had a little chip in a back ankle that made us miss this race. She's in

the (Fasig-Tipton) sale and we'll see what the new owners want to do with her.

The chip can come out and she could race next year. If she doesn't bring enough

money (in the sale), we'll bring her back, take the chip out, and if she rehabs

well, we'll run her next year. If not, we'll put her in a broodmare band."