Drefong Too Good in $1.5 Million TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint

ARCADIA, Calif. (Nov. 5, 2016) – Baoma Corporation’s Drefong ($9.80) put away favored Masochistic in deep stretch to win the 33rd running of the $1.5 million TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) for 3-year-olds and up by 1 ¼ lengths on Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita Park.

Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Martin Garcia, Drefong covered the six furlongs on a fast track in 1:08.79.

The Sprint victory was the fifth for Baffert, who has 13 World Championships victories overall. His other Sprint winners were Thirty Slews in 1992, Midnight Lute in 2007 and 2008 and Secret Circle in 2013.

It was the second Sprint victory for Garcia, who was aboard Secret Circle in 2013, and fourth overall.

Now a winner of five consecutive races, Drefong is a 3-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Gio Ponti.

TWINSPIRES BREEDERS’ CUP SPRINT QUOTES

Winning jockey Martin Garcia (Drefong) – “We drew a great post down the inside. My horse broke sharply and came out running. My horse likes to run on the lead and ran hard every step of the way.”

“I’m thankful for this opportunity, especially on a day like this. I am glad to get this win for the team.”

Winning trainer Bob Baffert (Drefong) – “What a racehorse. What a race. He’s been getting better and better, but we didn’t know how fast he was. He had trained so well coming into this race I thought he was peaking. When I saw him in the paddock I just knew he was going to get it done.”

Second-place jockey Mike Smith (Masochistic, favorite) – “My horse ran dynamite but Drefong was tremendous. I wish there was something I could have done differently but Drefong just kept running. Every time I thought I would go get away, there he was again.”

Second-place trainer Ron Ellis (Masochistic, favorite) – “Mike got him a perfect trip. I thought we were a winner at the quarter pole, but the other horse (Drefong) just dug in and outgamed us to the wire. We just got beat by a better horse today.”

Third-place jockey Joel Rosario (Mind Your Biscuits) – “He had a good trip. They were going fast. I thought I was going to get a bigger part of it but he was third best today. He made a good run. I was happy with him today.”

Third-place trainer Robert Falcone Jr. (Mind Your Biscuits) – “He ran great. All respect to the two horses that beat us. He ran the race he needed to run and showed he’s competitive in here. There’s always that saying ‘I wish the wire was a little bit farther’ because he galloped out in front (of Drefong and Masochistic). He showed he belonged. He’s a real professional. He handles himself well and knows what his job is and loves doing it. He takes it easy on himself.”

Breeders’ Cup and Santa Anita Park