A. P. Indian much the best in Forego

A. P. Indian made short work of nine rivals in Saturday's $700,000 Forego (G1), thus sweeping both of Saratoga's Grade 1 sprints for older horses and punching a ticket to the TwinSpires.com Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita November 5.

Under Joe Bravo, the 11-10 favorite pressed a pace of :22.83 and :45.35 set by Chief Lion. Only a half-length behind that rival through the first two calls, A. P. Indian surged clear of that one in the stretch, opened up an insurmountable lead and passed the finish 2 1/2 lengths to the good of 20-1 chance Tamarkuz. Stallwakin' Dude was another 1 1/2 lengths behind in third.

A homebred racing for Green Lantern Stables and trained by Arnaud Delacour, A. P. Indian completed seven furlongs in 1:20.99 over a fast track and paid $4.20.

"He's having a lot of fun at what he does," said Delacour, who has trained the six-year-old son of Indian Charlie to consecutive wins in the $74,000 Decathlon at Monmouth, $100,000 Donald LeVine Memorial at Parx, Belmont Sprint Championship (G3), Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1), and Forego. "The race [Belmont Sprint Championship] at Belmont [was a turning point for him]. He came back so much more confident for some reason. Ever since, he has been improving and consistent. I told Joe nothing. I just asked him what he wanted to do and he told me what he wanted to do, and I said 'good luck.'

"I will have to talk to the owner [regarding the Breeders' Cup]. We will map out a plan if it is what we want to do. He needs to bring us there. I just want to make sure he is still going well and happy. In that case, we will consider."

Also the winner of the Decathlon and LeVine Memorial in 2015, A. P. Indian has now earned $1,112,434 from a line of 16-10-4-0. The Kentucky-bred is a half-brother to Indiana Derby (G2) winner Tiz Shea D. Both were reared by multiple stakes winner Ender's Sister, a daughter of A.P. Indy.

(Teresa Genaro photo)