Favored Amazombie Eyeing a Sprint Repeat

Defending sprint champion Amazombie is the morning line favorite against a deep and full field of 14 in the $1.5 million Xpressbet Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I).

The California-bred son of Northern Afleet , who won last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs and was subsequently named champion sprinter for the year, was assigned odds of 4-1. Amazombie is trained by co-owner Bill Spawr and will be ridden by Mike Smith, who has been the 6-year-old bay gelding's regular pilot for the past three seasons.

The champ faces four other grade I winners and four additioFnal graded stakes winners but does have an affinity for Santa Anita Park's main track, with four wins, a second, and third out of seven starts.

Just behind Amazombie in the morning line at 5-1 is Coil . Bob Baffert's 4-year-old son of Point Given  is coming into the Sprint off an impressive victory in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (gr. I, formerly known as the Ancient Title Stakes) in which Amazombie finished fourth. Coil's stablemate, Capital Account , who finished second in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship has also been entered and is 8-1. Coil is owned by the extraordinarily successful partners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. Capital Account is owned by Thoroughbred Legends Racing.

Another top California trainer, Richard Mandella, is getting a lot respect for his lightly raced Jimmy Creed , a 3-year-old son of Distorted Humor  out of the grade I winner Hookedonthefeelin, who broke his maiden in July. The chestnut colt, who is 6-1 in the morning line, has not finished out of the money in five starts and comes into the Sprint off a third-place finish in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Jimmy Creed is owned by B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm.

Other grade I competitors in the field include Poseidon's Warrior  (Albert G. Vanderbilt Invitational Stakes), The Lumber Guy (Vosburgh Invitational Stakes), and Smiling Tiger  (2011 Triple Bend Handicap).