Elite Power defends his title in the Breeders' Cup Sprint

In his final start before retiring to stud, Elite Power defeated long-time rival Gunite to retain his Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Sprint title on Saturday.

Taken from the Thoroughbred Daily News, 5th November 2023, by Stefanie Grimm:

A rivalry in any sport makes it more exciting. People tune in to watch a pair of foes with a well-established history of beating one another give it another go. And so it was that Elite Power, in his final start before retiring to stud next year, came home first in front of his long-time rival Gunite to defend his title in the Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Last year's Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter, Elite Power kept his good form going into 2023 and defeated Gunite for the first time in the Middle East with a three and a quarter-length score in the Gr.3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint. After winning both the Gr.2 True North Stakes and the Gr.1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap - defeating Gunite for a second time in the latter - the five-year-old saw his win streak end at eight races when the tables were turned in his last race and he had to settle for second in the Gr.1 Forego Stakes.

Off a two-month break, the Bill Mott trainee shipped west for the first time and was given a deserving 8-5 shot on a day that had already seen a pair of horses successfully defend their crowns. With rival Gunite breaking just to his outside, Elite Power broke in a line that only Speed Boat Beach was quick enough to clear. Nakatomi was not going to let the Baffert runner get an easy lead and the 26-1 longshot surged up along the inside to stick a head in front through a contentious opening quarter in :21.99. Elite Power, running near the back of the field, kept his face clean along the outside and really began to pick it up as Speed Boat Beach again tried to open up on the front end. Moving three wide with an impressive move to draw to within a length of the leading pair at the top of the lane, the Juddmonte runner really turned it on once he switched leads at the eighth pole.

Speed Boat Beach and Nakatomi both began to fade along the rail as Gunite surged up but he had to tip outside of that pair for running room as Elite Power was already finding his best stride close to the wire. And, just as they had in their last three starts against one another, Elite Power and Gunite came home one in front of the other. The win gave Juddmonte a second on the day following Idiomatic in the Distaff and was a third win on the weekend for trainer Bill Mott.

"It's a difficult job to keep a horse going year after year," admitted Mott. "To come back and win two Breeders' Cups in a row says a lot about the durability of the horse and the luck that I have. We were lucky enough to have him and he's had a great career. He's off to his new career which will be in the stud barn and we wish him all the best. Irad [Ortiz Jr.] warmed him up good and he said he wanted to be close to the pace without using him too hard. He recognized all day that the only horse to come from behind was Cody's Wish and he is observant enough
to see that. The rivalry with Gunite was there and he certainly showed up. I thought he was the one we had to beat."

"I had a beautiful trip," added Ortiz, Jr. "I was in the clear early and the horse took me beautifully right to the quarter pole. I was a good passenger sitting in the passenger's seat until the quarter pole. Then I asked him and he just responded well."