Canadian champion and two-time grade I winner Kodiak Kowboy will be entered in the Nov. 7 Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park even though his experience on synthetic tracks is limited and he has enjoyed his greatest success on dirt.
Originally, the colt's connections had indicted the 4-year-old son of Posse wouldn’t compete in the race. But they changed their minds because a victory in the Sprint would provide the biggest boost to Kodiak Kowboy’s quest to win an Eclipse Award, according to Vinery president Tom Ludt. In addition, Ludt said they decided that another race they had been considering for the colt, the Oct. 24 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (gr. I), was “too close” to his Oct. 3 victory in the Vosburgh Stakes (gr. I).
Raced by Vinery Stables and Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farm in partnership, Kodiak Kowboy also has captured the Carter (gr. I) and Donald Levine Memorial Handicaps this year. He has earned $1,483,363 while winning 10 of his 22 career races.
The six-furlong BC Sprint will be run on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface. Kodiak Kowboy scored in the Victoria Stakes on Woodbine’s Polytrack in 2007, but all his races but one have since been on dirt. He finished fourth in the Lafayette Stakes on Keeneland’s Polytrack in April 2008.
Kodiak Kowboy was third in the 2007 Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) at Momouth Park.
