Hymn Looks Like His Best Self Heading Into Sprint

Trainer Ron Moquett wanted to be first. With a full moon still bright in the sky and the sun a couple hours off from making an appearance, Moquett made sure his grade 1-winning charge Hymn was right there when the Keeneland track opened for training at 5:30 a.m. ET Oct. 24, wanting to take advantage of a fresh surface for the gelding's final serious workout in advance of his slated start in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). Not only did Moquett get the slot he desired, he got the visual he was most looking forward to, as Hymn put forth what his conditioner deemed a career-best move, drilling 4 furlongs in a bullet :46 3/5 Saturday to lead a packed slate of Breeders' Cup breezers on the day. "Obviously being the first horse to breeze, you get a tighter track, so the time doesn't matter as much as the way he looked doing it. I was very, very impressed at the ease at which he went and the way he came back to the barn," Moquett said. "Today was the best breeze we've ever had from him though." The expected Sprint lineup is set to have a monster in the form of multiple grade 1 winner Englishman, the sophomore phenom coming off consecutive victories in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) and Woody Stephens (G1) stakes. If Englishman is the wonder kid of the group, Hymn is the spirited prospect who is finally getting his mind to match up with his talent. Owned by Fleur De Lis Stables, William Sparks, and Bret Jones, Hymn kept teasing his connections of what could be by showcasing traits of high-level talent only to be undone by an unfocused work ethic. Since making the decision to geld the son of McKinzie, Moquett has been treated to a fuller version—so to speak—of the capable athlete he knew was in his care. After posting just one win in his first 10 starts, Hymn has now prevailed in four of his last five outings, including his breakout victory in the Aug. 29 Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. "I thought with his athleticism he was ready to give us a better performance earlier (in his career). And we kept asking him and kept asking him, different riders kept coming back saying, 'If this horse would just try, he could be anything,'" Moquett said. "He drags you to the front and looks like he's going to go right on by with ease and then he lunges in and almost tries to bite the other horses and drifts out. It was just hard to get him to focus. "I did not want to geld him. But the last (straw) was when I knew he was going to bring a great effort at Oaklawn... and he had to be cooled off in a lip-shank because he didn't give us a full effort. It wasn't night and day, but you started seeing signs of it. The first breeze right before we ran him at Churchill in the allowance race... I saw him at about 60% trying. Then the next race it was like 85% effort." Moquett still doesn't believe he's gotten 100% out of Hymn, which is why the venerable trainer is also steadfast in his opinion that the Sprint outcome is far from a foregone conclusion. "I say this right here, I love how we're coming into the race," said Moquett, who upset the 2020 edition of the Sprint at Keeneland with another opinionated gelding in Whitmore. "Obviously there are some lofty competitors and we're going to try and give the best example of ourselves. And if we do, that will put us right there. "He's got a lot of natural ability, maybe more than Whitmore. But what Whitmore had was something you can't measure and that's a whole bunch of heart and attitude to give everyone the middle finger." Final BC Works for Kilwin, The Puma Joining Hymn as part of the early morning set of breezers was BBN Racing and Rick Howard's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) contender Kilwin, who worked a half-mile in :49 4/5. Kilwin will have a new jockey for her Breeders' Cup run with Javier Castellano set to take over for the injured Irad Ortiz Jr. Among the standouts during the 7:30 a.m. set was Pennsylvania Derby (G1) winner The Puma, who worked 5 furlongs in a bullet 1:00 2/5 for trainer Gustavo Delgado in preparation for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). "To me, his time, visually, looked slower than the official time," assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said. "I thought it looked like he might have gone 1:02. But it doesn't matter. He looked really good out there and that's what we wanted." Other notable Breeders' Cup workers on the Keeneland tab included: Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) contender Coach Pope covered 5 furlongs in company with Real Goodbar in 1:02 1/5. Multiple grade 1 winner and Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) contender Fully Subscribed drilled 5 furlongs in a 1:00 2/5, co-fastest with The Puma of 19 works at the distance. Godolphin's champion Immersive breezed a half-mile in :48, also in preparation for the Distaff. Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) contender and grade 1 winner Kathynmarissa went 5 furlongs on the turf in 1:03 4/5. Lynch Trainees Breeze at Churchill Brian Lynch was all smiles after winning the Oct. 23 Valley View Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland with Woodslane Racing's Sister Troienne, and his upbeat mood carried into the morning of Oct. 24 at Churchill Downs, where he worked two of his stable's stars and bases his stable. Lynch put two of his Breeders' Cup World Championships contenders through maintenance workouts Saturday, both of which went well in solo workouts. Manuka Honey, pointed to the Oct. 30 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), and Owen Almighty, aimed at the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), traveled smoothly without encouragement. Reflecting on his barn's momentum, Lynch told Caton Bredar of FanDuel TV during the "Breakfast at the Breeders' Cup" television program, "Look, the crew's been working hard. I couldn't be more proud of them. The horses are training good. I have a wonderful group of owners. So things have been going good, so I'm going to ride it out while it's going good." Along with grade 1 winner Further Ado, Manuka Honey and Owen Almighty were among more than a half dozen horses who breezed Saturday at Churchill Downs ahead of the two-day Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. Manuka Honey, perfect in three starts for owners Lisa Lee, Jason Sciortino, William Lynch, Brian Howe, and Terry Hamilton, covered a half-mile in :49 3/5 in preparation for her first start around two turns and at 1 1/16 miles. The 2-year-old daughter of Upstart comes off a victory in the 1-mile Pocahontas Stakes (G3) in her last outing at Churchill Downs. Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing's Owen Almighty is well suited to the distance of the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, having excelled in middle-distance races over his career. He is currently an alternate after Breeders' Cup pre-entries, but is expected to gain entry to the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile when entries are finalized and post positions are drawn Oct. 26. Numerous horses ahead of him are cross-entered in other races and likely to run elsewhere, based on their connections' initial preferences. Those preferences are not finalized until the time of entry. The 4-year-old son of Speightstown took the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby (G3) last year and has four wins from 15 career starts. He most recently finished third, beaten a length, in the 1-mile Ack Ack Stakes (G3) Sept. 26 at Churchill Downs. One of those pre-entered in the Dirt Mile ahead of him but more likely for the Classic is Further Ado, a Gun Runner 3-year-old trained by Brad Cox for Spendthrift Farm. The colt was one of the flashier horses to breeze Saturday, eagerly zipping 5 furlongs in 1:00 2/5, followed by an enthusiastic gallop out. If he runs in the $7 million Classic, he'll enter the race with question marks at the 1 1/4-mile distance, but not with the track surface. He has been spectacular in two starts at Keeneland, winning both by commanding margins. He romped by 20 lengths to break his maiden at the Lexington oval a year ago and took the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) by 11 lengths this spring. He is scheduled to enter stud next year at Spendthrift Farm. Cox, who hasn't ruled out the Dirt Mile, believes Further Ado can handle a classic distance with the right setup, noting how the colt settled and closed once securing running room in a runner-up finish behind The Puma in Further Ado's most recent start: the Sept. 19 Pennsylvania Derby at 1 1/8 miles. In other works at Churchill: Cox sent Stellify through a half-mile work in :49 ahead of an intended start in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Regaled went a half-mile in :48 3/5 for Whit Beckman ahead of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff. Minaret Station covered the same distance in :49 1/5 for Will Walden in preparation for the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T). The Bob Baffert-trained Nooni blitzed a :46 4/5 half-mile ahead of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Evanescence went a half-mile in :48 3/5 for trainer Eddie Kenneally in preparation for the same race. Mike Maker-trained Foie Gras completed 5 furlongs in 1:01 1/5, also for the Filly and Mare Sprint. Baffert is expected to put additional Breeders' Cup runners through breezes Oct. 25 at Churchill, including expected Breeders' Cup Juvenile favorite Hughes, before shipping his horses to Keeneland. Latest Breeders' Cup Withdrawals Breeders' Cup announced three horses as withdrawn after being pre-entered to races during the two-day World Championships. So Lovely, trained by Aidan O'Brien for Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, and Michael Tabor, is out of the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). She was in the projected starting lineup when pre-entries were released. Her defection will allow the first also-eligible pre-entry Go for Launch to draw in. Carry The Flag (IRE)—also conditioned by O'Brien, this one for Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg, and Peter Brant—was pulled from the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T), where he had been an alternate. Another alternate, Power Blue (IRE), trained by Robson De Aguiar for Amo Racing USA, will not run in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T).