Amazombie, at post-time odds of 7-1, won the Grade 1 $1,500,000 Breeders' Cup Sprint by a neck over Force Freeze. Force Freeze was 2 1/4 lengths in front of Jackson Bend.
"I feel very fortunate and very fortunate and very lucky," said owner Bill Spawr. "After he won the Ancient Title [at Santa Anita], we decided to send him here. That's a 'Win and You're In' race, and it it weren't for the Ancient Title, we wouldn't be here."
Spawr was fortunate just to have Amazombie.
"I was in a race for yearlings one day, and we were watching the yearlings go, and the manager said I got a couple of horses at the track you should look at," Spawr said.
The owner had had a heart attack and was liquidating his stock. Spawr initially wasn't interested, but when he learned the yearlings were from the sire Northern Afleet, he decided to take a look. Spawr asked the price and was told to make an offer.
Spawr recounted his offer, "Oh, $5,000. That will make him go away."
But the seller took the offer and told Spawr he could have the yearlings.
"A couple days later, we sent him a check, and he said, they will be in tomorrow," Spawr recalled. "I said 'they'? He said didn't you mean Amazombie, too? Oh, yeah, I sure did."
Jockey Mike Smith earned his 14th Breeders' Cup victory as the winning jockey.
"When I got on him in the paddock, he took a big, deep breath and was cool, calm, and collected," said Smith. "I think we actually out-broke the field, but then he settled. I cut the corner with him and then got out."
Amazombie returned $17.80, $7.40, and $5.00. Jackson Bend paid $7.00 and $5.00. Jackson Bend paid $3.20 for third. The $2 exacta returned $145.20. The $0.50 triple returned $152.60.
Photo: Courtesy Breeders' Cup