BC Sprint Door Open for Captain Squire

Bob Bone and Jeff Diener's Ancient Title Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. I) runner-up Captain Squire will be pre-entered on Oct. 14 for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I), but a decision on whether or not the 4-year-old son of Flying Chevron will run won't come until later, trainer Jeff Mullins said.

Captain Squire came out of the Ancient Title in good shape and will return to the track and resume training later this week.

"He came out fine so far," Mullins said. "(The Breeders' Cup) is a long way off still. I don't know yet if he's going to run, but I do know that we're going to pre-enter, that way the opportunity is there."

Captain Squire currently has 10 points on the Breeders' Cup preference system, placing him tied for 10th with four other horses. Several with more points are expected to bypass the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

In addition to his second in the Ancient Title, the bay gelding won the Sunshine Millions Sprint, placed second in the Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. II) and third in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-I). Overall he's banked $753,925 from a record of 15-5-4-3.

Trainer Darrell Vienna said that grade I winner Joey Franco, fourth in Saturday's Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. II) will not be supplemented to the Sprint and will likely turn up in the Nov. 8 Cal Cup instead.

According to trainer Thomas R. Bell, Norfolk Stakes (gr. II) runner-up Capitano will be pre-entered for the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), but that a decision won't be made until he and the colt's owners see how the race shapes up.

"We're definitely considering it," Bell said. "It's probably the clever thing to do. He's doing well at the moment, knock on wood, and it would be a nice story if he were to run well because he wasn't a very expensive horse, but he's got a lot of racing yet to do and we don't want to use him all up just now. But we are still considering it and we'll just have to wait and see."

Pennsylvania-bred Capitano broke his maiden at Hollywood Park in July and paid a whopping $220. Since then he earned his second in the Norfolk and another second in the Best Pal Stakes (gr. II) at Del Mar. The bay son of Belong to Me was a $53,000 Keeneland September yearling last year and has so far earned $106,400 with a record of 3-1-2-0.