Bob Baffert trained Coil and Capital Account one-two in the Sprint Championship
Bill Spawr would have been bitterly disappointed after his Eclipse Award winning 2011 champion sprinter, Amazombie failed to defend his title in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, as the Bob Baffert trained 7 to 1, Coil, spoiled the party for Amazombie
and Capital Account in the 6-furlong sprint at Santa Anita on 6 October, 2012.
Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman owned 4-year-old colt, Coil, registered his first stakes win since winning the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational last year, when he showed an impressive turn of foot to down a massively talented field that had
the likes of the Preakness Stake winner, Shackleford, and the Belmont Stakes winner, Ruler on Ice.
After capping off his 2011 season with a third place finish in the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes with a third place finish over at 1 1/8 miles, Bob Baffert has cut him down in distance significantly this year, with two seven furlong races, and a lone 6-furlong
sprint in three starts this season.
This was also Bob Baffert’s first victory in the race, which was previously known as the Ancient Title Stakes and was inaugurated back in 1985.
Both winner and runner-up, Capital One, are from Baffert’s stable, and for the Breeders’ Cup the trainer was planning to enter both of them in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, but after the Sprint Championship results, Baffert might seriously consider
of rethinking plans.
Coil earned an automatic berth in the Grade 1 XpressBet Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Jockey David Flores, who was aboard Capital Account, reported that he was pushed wide on the final turn, which could have cost him the race.
“I tried to stay as close as I possibly could to (Coil) but he got away a little bit at the top of the stretch," Flores said. "(Capital Account) showed nice talent at the end. It was very close at the end but I knew it would have taken a couple more jumps
to beat the winner. I have to give great credit to my horse because when I asked him to go he was responding. Maybe next time I'll have to go a little bit earlier."
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