T O Elvis unleashed a furious kick inside the final furlong and flew past Englishman to win the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Keeneland by 1 ¼-lengths.
The 4-year-old son of Volatile had been away from the races since his record-setting performance in the Churchill Downs S. (G1) on Derby Day. The layoff was by design according to his Japan-based connections, who preferred to skip the warm summer months.
“After a clean start, T O Elvis dropped well off the pace and was 12th of 13 after a quarter-mile. Around the turn, Englishman took the lead from Liam Smith and looked to be in command turning for home. T O Elvis, in the meantime was still in ninth at the top of the stretch and was in the center of the racetrack. With clear running in front of him, T O Elvis closed within four lengths with a furlong to run, then showed a tremendous kick from there to win going away in 1:08.20, less than a half-second off the track record.
“First of all, I thank all the stable staff for doing their best to bring him in this condition into the race,” said winning owner Tomoya Ozasa. “For the race, I thought the pace was a little bit high, but that was what we have expected. Race close the rear and move toward the outside coming from home and showed very good acceleration. That’s what I was expecting.”
Trained by Daisuke Takayanagi, the winner has won six races in a row dating back to March of 2025. His earnings now stand at $2189,212. His owner indicated that T O Elvis would likely return to racing in 2027.
T O Elvis was bred in Kentucky by Jeff Prunzik & Melissa Prunzik and is the first Breeders’ Cup winner for Volatile.
Volatile’s excellent Breeders’ Cup Saturday started with his filly Foie Gras in the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), who finished second to likely champion Ways and Means in the seven-furlong contest.
Three Chimneys stated recently that Volatile’s 2027 stud fee would be announced in the near future. He will be available for inspection at the farm’s open house that runs Nov. 2-8 from 10 am to 1 pm daily.
