Bacio Wins Breeders Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland, Fifth Straight Win for the Ward Colt

Bacio won the $1 million Prevagen Breeders Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland on Saturday, taking the Grade 1 race over 5 1/2 furlongs on turf and stretching his winning run to five races in a row.

The 3-year-old colt, trained by Wesley Ward and ridden by Juan Hernandez, went off as the favorite in the race for 3-year-olds and up, which went off at 1:48 p.m. Eastern. He was away quickly from the gate and matched strides early with Miss Yechance. Entering the stretch he slipped a gear, moved clear of the field and cruised home in splendid isolation.

A one-two for the home team

Cy Fair finished second to make it a one-two for the United States. Cy Fair won the Juvenile Turf Sprint at last year's Breeders Cup, and she chased the winner home without ever threatening to catch him. Third place went to Starlust, a former winner of this race and the best of the European runners on the day. The result was confirmed in the official order of finish listed by USA Today, which had Bacio first, Cy Fair second and Starlust third.

A record that keeps building

Bacio is a son of Maclean's Music, and his record now reads seven starts, six wins and one second. He has never finished lower than second in his career. Saturday's win was his fifth straight victory, and it carried a piece of history with it: he became the first winner of the Nunthorpe Stakes at York to also win the Breeders Cup Turf Sprint.

That Nunthorpe win came on August 21, 2026, when Bacio won the Group 1 sprint at York by 1 1/4 lengths in a field of 18 runners. Earlier in the British season he also won at Royal Ascot, taking the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Keeneland win now sits on top of those two British successes and makes his 2026 campaign one of the strongest sprint seasons of the year on either side of the Atlantic.

Second championship race of the day

The Turf Sprint was the second championship race on Saturday's Breeders Cup card at Keeneland. Ward, who has built much of his reputation on fast horses that travel well, had his colt ready to run his race from the first stride. Hernandez kept him close to the early pace rather than asking him to come from behind, and once the field turned for home the only question left was the order of the horses behind him.

For the Europeans, Starlust's third place was the best return on a day when the home sprinters held the advantage on the Keeneland turf. Cy Fair's second place added to a strong weekend record for American-trained turf sprinters, and Bacio's own next step will be watched closely after a season that has now brought him wins at Royal Ascot, York and Keeneland.