Trinniberg wins the Breeders' Cup Sprint!
The 3-year-old colt flashed past pacesetter Sum of the Parts and drew away in the 6 furlong race under jockey Willie Martinez for owner/trainer Bisnath Parboo. Fellow 3-year-old The Lumber Guy came in second and Smiling Tiger closed for third. It was the first Breeders' Cup win for Parboo, and the first win in a Breeders' Cup race for Martinez as well.
Reigning Sprint champ Amazombie was never a threat, finishing in the back of the pack.
Trinniberg is sired by Teuflesberg. He paid $29.40 for the win.
Quotes:
Shivananda Parbhoo (trainer, Trinniberg, 1st) – “When he
turned for home, I felt really good. I added blinkers today because I thought
in his last few races he had lost confidence, but we never lost our confidence
in him. I knew he would be in front at the eighth pole, and that’s why I added
the blinkers. This is awesome.”
Willie Martinez (jockey, Trinniberg, 1st) – “You can
dream it, you can feel it, but when you taste it, it’s a totally different
thing. I never lost confidence in him. He’s been running against the best
sprinters all year, I figured if I was first or second turning for home, he was
going to be very tough to beat. This means the world to me.”
Mike Hushion (trainer, The Lumber Guy, 2nd) – “I
thought he was going to get it done at the eighth pole; that he would reel him
(Trinniberg) in from there, but he kept going. Second-best.
John Velazquez (jockey, The Lumber Guy, 2nd) – “We had a
good trip, second-best I guess. But he ran very good. I was watching the
eventual winner (Trinniberg) and he was going well. I was just hoping I would
get to him. I did at the quarter pole, but then he opened up another length on
me. I thought ‘wow, it’s going to be tough to beat him,’ and it was.”
Jeff Bonde (trainer, Smiling Tiger, 3rd) – This is
certainly a tough race to make a comeback in. I’m very proud of him. He ran
great, despite it all. Ramon (Dominuguez) said he got a little tired at the
end, but he still ran great.”
Ramon Dominguez (jockey, Smiling Tiger, 3rd) – “I had a
great trip and I was in close range. Turning for home, I angled out into the
clear but he stayed even. He ran a very good race. He was pretty energetic to
get third.”
Mike Smith (jockey, Amazombie, 8th) – “He wasn’t
himself today. I don’t know what it was, but something was wrong. I knew around
the turn that we were in trouble. He quit running, and it was like he didn’t
want to be here.”