Masochistic (Sought After), hero of the 2015 GI Triple Bend S., will look to punch his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint in Saturday's “Win and You're In” GII Pat O'Brien S. at Del Mar.
Second as the 2-5 chalk in last term's GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar, he was given plenty of time to recover following a well-beaten 14th-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland Oct. 31. He blew the doors off the hinges in his comebacker with a 6 1/4-length tour de force–good for a 107 Beyer Speed Figure–in a $75,000 optional tagger at Santa Anita July 8.
“Visually, it was very impressive, he looks like a different horse this year,” trainer Ron Ellis said of the 6-year-old. “He always used to be a bit of a run-off and it was nice to see how he settled for Mike [Smith]. Even though they were going fast, [Masochistic] had his ears up in the air and was really relaxed, which was kind of a different thing for him.”
As for the time on the shelf, Ellis continued, “He fractured a hind leg coming out of the gate [in the Breeders' Cup]. Mike said that his hind end gave way at the start, and that's why he ran so poorly. It was a hairline fracture, he didn't appear lame or anything. To find it, we had to run him through a nuclear scan and the hind leg lit up on X-rays.”
Ellis added that Masochistic would train up to the Breeders' Cup Sprint if he runs to his odds Saturday.
Vyjack (Into Mischief) returns to dirt in his first try for trainer Phil D'Amato. The 2013 GIII Gotham S. hero and 2014 GII Kelso H. winner was primarily campaigned on the grass in his recent form for Hall of Famer Bill Mott, including a close second in Monmouth's GIII Red Bank S. June 5.
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