Lord Nelson sustains winning streak in Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G1)

Saturday | October 08, 2016


Spendthrift Farm’s Lord Nelson lived up to his advance billing with a commanding 2 1/2-length lead in Saturday’s $300,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G1), the third straight Grade 1 win for the Bob Baffert trainee.

Early on, All Run was full of run, cutting out blazing fractions of :21.37 and :43.83 for the half-mile. Lord Nelson, under Flavian Prat, got into gear at the top of the lane and powered by the pacesetter inside the furlong marker and won going away in 1:08.80.

“I was a little worried about All Run pulling away from us and at the three-eighths pole, I didn’t look like the winner,” Prat said. “I think my horse is better going farther, but when he switched leads, he just took off and we really started running.” 

“To win the (Breeders’ Cup) Sprint, you have to be doing really well—be at the top of your game. The Sprint is a difficult race to win,” Baffert added. “But if you have the right kind of horse, you can do it, and so far, Lord Nelson looks like the right kind of horse. He likes this track and he hasn’t lost this year.” 

Prior to Saturday’s win, Lord Nelson collected victories in the Bing Crosby S. (G1) and Triple Bend S. (G1) in his previous to starts. His overall record is now 7-1-1 in 13 starts, with earnings of $958,271.

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