Breeders’ Cup 2009 – Kodiak Kowboy Will Run in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint

Trainer Steve Asmussen has confirmed that his Grade I Vosburgh winning star, Kodiak Kowboy, will run in the 2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint on November 7th.

Asmussen was debating on whether to run Kodiak Kowboy in the Sprint or save him for a race later in November or December.  Asmussen confirmed on Saturday, October 24th, that Kodiak Kowboy would try the Sprint.  The debate had more to do with the fact that the 2009 Breeders’ Cup is being held at Santa Anita Park over the Pro-Ride surface then whether or not Kodiak Kowboy could handle the best thoroughbred speedsters in the world.

Kodiak Kowboy has only 1 victory out of 3 tries over an all weather surface and the victory was when he was a two year old at Woodbine.  Woodbine has a Polytrack surface which is different than the Pro-Ride, but a good race over any synthetic surface is better than no races at all over the plastic.  Asmussen did admit that the connections of Kodiak Kowboy were “definitely worried that the race is being run over the Pro-Ride”.   

Asmussen is taking a shot with Kodiak Kowboy in the Sprint as it will be only the second time that the trainer has saddled the horse.  Asmussen received Kodiak Kowboy from the Larry Jones’ barn shortly before the Vosburgh.  The decision to run Kodiak Kowboy in the Sprint is similar to Asmussen’s decision to run Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes shortly after acquiring the filly for owner Jess Jackson.

The gamble paid off when Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness Stakes, but will it pay off in the case of Kodiak Kowboy?

It just might.  There will be few horses as classy in the Sprint as the son of Posse who possesses the ability to either run close to the pace or close from behind.  Kodiak Kowboy has a record of 10-4-3 out of 22 lifetime races.  He has won two Grade I races, the Carter Handicap and the Vosburgh, and finished second in another Grade I race, the Forego.  He has beaten some very good horses such as Fabulous Strike, Munnings and Ready’s Echo.  He’s won close to 1.5 million dollars.

So, the class is there, but the question, and Asmussen knows this, is whether or not Kodiak Kowboy will be able to run on the Pro-Ride surface.  His preferred style, to lay around 5 to 6 lengths off of the pace, might help him in the Sprint as there not only appears to be a lot of speed but the Pro-Ride often times favors closers.

If Kodiak Kowboy does take to the surface, then there is little doubt that he could win the race.  He has won 3 races out of 6 at the Sprint distance of 6 furlongs and has finished 2nd once and 3rd two times.  That means that out of 6 lifetime races at the distance, Kodiak Kowboy hasn’t finished off the board. 

That in itself makes him a contender.  Add in the fact that the Sprint will be his second race for Asmussen and all of a sudden horseplayers have a serious contender to beat the likely Sprint favorite, Zensational.

Perhaps, it will be yet another terrific call by Steve Asmussen who has made such terrific calls in the past, or it could be a disastrous failure.  Asmussen saddled the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Classic favorite, Curlin, who finished 4th behind Tiago, Henrythenavigator and Raven’s Pass.  Maybe, Asmussen’s fence riding was due to the fact that his star was crushed last year.

Kodiak Kowboy, however, is no Curlin.  As brilliant as Curlin was in his career there is no doubt that he peaked in the 2008 Dubai World Cup.  Kodiak Kowboy is a simpler racehorse.  If he is feeling good that day, and Asmussen is terrific at making horses feel good, then he will run well.  If he’s having an off day, then he won’t run well.

In Kodiak Kowboy’s past performances an interesting pattern emerges.  He usually runs a terrific race after a sub par or two sub par efforts.  The Vosburgh was a terrific race which means that Kodiak Kowboy shouldn’t run his best on Breeders’ Cup day.

But that doesn’t mean that Steve Asmussen and Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm, Kodiak Kowboy’s owners, shouldn’t take a shot in the Sprint.  The purse is for 2 million dollars and Kodiak Kowboy just beat two of the best sprinters in the  United States in Fabulous Strike and Munnings in the Vosburgh.

He’s obviously at the top of the game.  Asmussen made the right choice.

After all, it’s only a horse race.