Amazombie feeling good ahead of defending his title in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint
Despite Amazombie’s unexpected and uncharacteristic defeat in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes, formerly known as Ancient Title Stakes, trainer Bill Spawr has thrown out his sprinter’s fall out in the Grade 1 Xpressbet Breeders’ Cup Sprint prep race, and said that on 3 November a different horse will turn up.
The winner of the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, and the winner of 2011’s champion sprinter Eclipse Award, Amazombie was not feeling himself ahead of the Santa Anita Sprint Championship according to Bill Spawr.
"He seemed a bit off-edge, he wasn't himself saddling and wasn't himself warming up," Spawr said. "We only got beat 1 1/4 lengths but we thought we were going to win it."
The top three of the Santa Anita Sprint Championship will meet Amazombie again in the Grade 1, $ 1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint in a day’s time, and the trio includes the likes of Coil, Capital Account and Jimmy Creed.
However, Spawr wouldn’t have gone without investigating more into the sprinter’s health after his off-colour showing on 6 October, and the tests revealed that Amazombie had an elevated white blood cell count and his protein levels were down.
With change in diet, Amazombie is back to his own self, and ready to bounce back in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
"He is back to what he was, mentally and physically, at this time last year at the Breeders' Cup," Spawr said, standing in front the horse's stall. "Look at his hair, he's like a seal."
The gelded son of Northern Afleet this year started with a third place finish in the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita Park in February, but bounced back to register his first win of the season in the Grade 2 Potrero Grande Stakes at the same venue.
Visit to Churchill Downs almost yielded a perfect result, but Amazombie was denied a first place finish in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes as he finished second, but it was back to winning easy in his next start, the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes on 29 July, 2012, at Del Mar race course.
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