Louisville - AFP
Secret Circle lived up to his status as odds-on favourite, with fast-closing filly Shumoos second in the $500,000 Breeders Cup Juvenile Sprint on Friday. The race was a new addition to this year\'s Breeders\' Cup programme and kicked off the two-day, 15-race slate worth $26 million. Secret Circle, trained by Bob Baffert, was in control at the top of the final straight but drifted to the outside before he was put back on track by jockey Rafael Bajerano in plenty of time to deny the Brian Meehan-trained Shumoos, the only European invader in the race. \"He’s just a very gifted horse, he has unbelievable speed,\" said Baffert, who notched his eighth Breeders\' Cup win. \"I feel good about it because he came off the plane and won here. \"I was a little worried about him coming down the lane, he kind of lost focus, but he’s just young.\" Added Bejarano: \"We were going fast, but he was relaxed to the outside. I waited until the stretch to let him go, and when I did he showed me a big kick. He wasn\'t comfortable on the track. That\'s why he was lugging out a little.\" Under Garrett Gomez, Shumoos stormed from 12 lengths off the pace to finish second. Holdin Bullets was third. \"She ran really good,\" Gomez said. \"She finished willingly. Coming down the lane, I thought I had a good chance to win.\" \"I thought she was going to get there,\" Meehan said. \"Never mind -- she’s run really well though. Getting beat is always hard, but she ran a great race, so we’re delighted with her.\" Meehan said Shumoos will stay in the United States with trainer Ben Cecil.