BC Sprint

Thor’s Echo engineered an upset in the Sprint (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com)

THOR’S ECHO (Swiss Yodeler) entered the $1,951,080
Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1)
at Churchill Downs with a tall task. The Doug O’Neill trainee hadn’t won since
August 2005 when capturing the Real Good Deal S. for California-breds at Del Mar, and he was facing a
powerhouse 8-5 favorite named Henny Hughes (Hennessy).

All that was thrown out the window when the sturdy chestnut crossed under the
line in front of all rivals in the six-furlong test Saturday. When the gates
opened, Attila’s Storm (Forest Wildcat) and Kelly’s Landing (Patton) bounded out
first while the usually quick Henny Hughes stumbled at the break and found himself playing pinball with
the horses around him. The betting public’s 8-5 choice was bumped and squeezed
before being shuffled far back, a position he’d never found himself in
before.

Up front, Attila’s Storm was setting a pressured pace through a first
quarter in :21 2/5, with Bordonaro (Memo [Chi]) and Thor’s Echo pushing him all
the way. Coming around the turn, jockey Corey Nakatani swung Thor’s Echo three
wide, and the four-year-old easily pulled off to record his first graded victory
in style. Running in the colors of Jaime S. Royce Racing Stable & Suarez Racing,
Thor’s Echo completed six furlongs in 1:08 4/5 while paying $33.20, $15.80 and
$10.20 as the seventh choice in the wagering at 15-1.

Friendly Island (Crafty Friend) managed to get up for second, returning $50
and $32.80 as the second longest shot on the board at 58-1. Nightmare Affair (Out of Place)
beat out Bordonaro for
third, giving back $15.20 at 29-1. The exacta paid $955.40, the trifecta was
worth $10,611.80, and the 1-2-7-6 superfecta returned an incredible $113,911.80. Attila’s Storm held
fifth and next under the line were Too Much Bling
(Rubiano), War Front (Danzig), Siren Lure (Joyeux Danseur), Pomeroy (Boundary),
Kelly’s Landing, Lewis Michael (Rahy), Malibu Mint (Malibu Moon),
Areyoutalkintome (Smokester) and Henny Hughes, who never got in the
race.