BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Three Florida-breds who pre-entered for the Grade 1 Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint to be run next Saturday, October 31 at Keeneland Race Course, put in their final serious preparations Friday and Saturday. The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint for 3-year-olds and older will be contested at six furlongs and has drawn 19 pre-entries.

Multiple graded stakes-winner Roll On Big Joe worked at Keeneland Friday, clocking five furlongs in 1:02 flat, the fifth fastest of eight moves at the distance.

Trained by Robert Hess Jr. for Rancho Temescal, Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners, White Fence and Richard Hale Jr., Roll on Big Joe has not started since second to Cornucopian in the Grade 3 Aristides going six furlongs at Churchill Downs on May 30.

Florida-bred Mad House – ©Renee Torbit/Coady Media

Bred in Florida by Max Ubide of Ocala, the 6-year-old son of Prospective out of Nina’s Gift, by Victory Gallop nears millionaire status with $981,475 in earnings from 10 wins in 25 starts with eight seconds and a third.

Among his wins are the Grade 3 Palos Verdes at Santa Anita and the Grade 3 Kelly’s Landing at Churchill Downs, both in 2025. In two starts this year before the Aristides, Roll On Big Joe was won the Listed King Cotton at Oaklawn Park on Febuary 8 and was second to Mad House in the Grade 3 Count Fleet at Oaklawn on April 11.

Blazing Meadows Farm and Thomas K. Equels’ Little Thunder and James Thares’ Mad House, second and third respectively in the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix at Keeneland on October 2, both worked Saturday.

Trainer David Van Winkle breezed Mad House four furlongs in :46.80, the second fastest of 92 works at the distance Saturday morning.

Since taking the Count Fleet, Mad House was fifth in the Aristides and fourth in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar on July 25 before returning in the Phoenix.

The 4-year-old son of Vekoma out of Stifled Heiress, by Munning was out of the money in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint won by Florida-bred Bentornato. Should he make the starting gate this year, he would join a list of 60 Florida-breds that have started in at least two Breeders’ Cup races.

Mad House has won six of 15 career starts with a second and two thirds and has banked $662,572. He was bred in Florida by Dr. Jean White and Steve Venosa’s SGV Thoroughbreds, both of Reddick; and Amy and Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Farm located in Ocala.

Little Thunder popped a bullet work at Mahoning Valley Race Course for trainer Timothy Hamme, clocking four furlongs in :48.50, the fastest of 12 moves at the distance there.

The 4-year-old gelded son of Noble Bird had won three of four career starts before making his stakes debut in the Phoenix, including a head victory in a second condition, $80,000 optional claiming going six furlongs at Saratoga Race Course on September 7. That came off a seven-month layoff after just missing the 14-year-old track record for six furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs on February 17, winning a first condition, $16,000 optional claiming by nearly eight lengths in 1:08.95 That was just .28 of a second off the record set by Florida-bred It’s Me Mom in the 2012 Hilton Garden Inn Sprint.

Bred by Thomas Equels of Ocala, Little Thunder is out of Circular Rainbow, by Circular Quay and has won three of five career starts with two seconds while banking $208,175.

In addition to Bentornato, five other Florida-breds have won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint starting with the first three editions beginning with Eillo in 1984, Precionsist in 1985 and Smile in 1986. Cherokee Run took the 1994 Sprint and Big Drama won in 2010.